Thursday (Time for a break)

(Speaks softly) Sorry for the lack of s finishing post yesterday and for the late arrival of today's.

I've been in bed with a migraine since last night and the funny feeling I've had over the past couple of days or so was most likely the build up, no wonder I didn't feel on top of my game.

Instead of being involved with Bloomberg and the news and views in the build up to the tapering announcement I was throwing years of old paper orders into a roaring fire I'd built in the living room (the fireplace silly!) and I noticed it was one minute to 7pm.

I raced into my office, opened my platform and as I heard the announcement I saw the initial drop. I tried to place a short order (in line with what I through may happen with the announcement) but couldn't get it on as the price was seesawing so dramatically. I noticed a rise and thought I'd get a better price. Of course when I was filled my order took about 50 points higher than when I clicked my mouse and continued to climb.

Fortunately I'd only gone in at £5 point and within 5 minutes I was 150 points behind. I know sometimes you can get an odd reaction before the market digests the news so I thought I'd leave it. I closed out my position for a 200 point loss aftermarket when I saw this was for keeps.

A few lessons here:

1) Never place a trade immediately following news announcements
2) Listen to the build up with Bloomberg and my twitter feeds so I can educate myself on possible outcomes.
3) Don't trade when I'm not feeling right.

 I couldn't get out of bed until 1pm today and I've been walking around like a zombie ever since with that slightly disconnected feeling. Thank goodness I recognised the migraine from the outset and had started taking my pills or I'd be suffering and most likely still in bed.

So that concludes my trading for this year, it's a good time to take a break. I'm about £1500 down since I went back into the markets in September which although far from ideal is not a disaster. I've had a really good run of winning days and I've learned I must have more confidence in my own calls. I've read a few of my recent entries and my long bias would have served me well. The long trade I closed out recently for a £3500 loss I could and should have let run to at least breakeven. That would have made the last 3 months profitable.

No harm done in the medium term. I've learned so much more about myself and I now welcome the break for a few weeks, I could do with it.

Wednesday as it happens

2.20pm

I've lost my trading mojo!

I closed out yesterday's longer term trade for a £500 loss when at one stage it was £1000 down. Had I left it I would have seen profit this morning but it's my lack of appetite for risk that prompted me to act. Not quite sure why that is, maybe it's the nature of some of the comments that have made me more risk aware or perhaps its because I'm so busy on my day job that I can't devote time to trading.

Of course I'll be keeping an eye on the markets this evening around 7pm ish, I may not trade till then, let's see. More later....

3.45pm

I've scalped a whopping £24 but I simply am so far behind with my day job (vat return, chasing money) that I can't afford the time to trade. I've closed my platform for now and will sign in again in the lead up to tapering.

I've not spent anytime listening to Bloomberg or catching up with my twitter trading feeds and I always like to do my homework before trading which is another good reason not to trade. I still don't think they'll taper but I'm certainly not going into it with an open position. More later....

7.50pm

Surprise surprise, we got a taper!

And the markets made a gravity defying attempt to break orbit, the one act that the market has been fearful of actually happens and the index rockets? I can only think the economy is improving enough to get excited about equities and not fast enough to warrant anything other than the smallest of FED reductions, maybe that's the cause.

In any event I said on here this is a one way market and next time I'll have more faith in my views and stick with my trades.

Tuesday as it happened (no trading)

1.40pm

Good afternoon all.

What the fuck was yesterday's rise all about? On no news! Big intuitions moving the market higher so they can sell into it? Were they waiting for prices to drop and 15666 was just too tempting for them to dive in like sharks in a feeding frenzy?

It just shows how unpredictable trading is and any retail trader who takes money out of the market is a fucking hero in my eyes.

I may not trade today although I'll have my platform open at 2.30pm and if there's an obvious scalping opportunity I'll take it. I'm busy on my day job, end of year is fast approaching and I have a ton of paperwork.

Quick word about the comments yesterday:

Thanks for your advice, I read everything and I take it all on board but ultimately I will stand or fall on my own merits. I believe in this market going higher and if it moves a couple of hundreds points against me I am comfortable living with that. I'm most comfortable scalping but I don't mind making the odd swing trade and I can live with it going behind. Any long trade made in the last 4 years would show profit even on a retracement of 500 points and yes, I have ample funds to cover that kind of variation even at £50 point (although you'd have to have massive balls to live with it).

You can talk all day about risk to reward but you trade the way it suits you and I'll trade my way and if you're reading this to enjoy a car crash you'll be disappointed I promise you. I'm improving massively and I will make good money from this. I succeed in everything I put my mind to and this will be no different.

We all have own styles, methods and trading nuances. We're at different stages of our trading careers, some of you may be relatively new and doing this along with your day job, some of you may be doing this full time. You may be investing in real shares for the long term or spread bet speculating and your pound per point may be £5 or £50 and your budget could vary from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands.

You may prefer to trade with a stop loss of 20 points or 100 points but my point is that we're in a bull market and any trade in that direction is most likely to pay dividends even in the short term.

Onto today and despite my little rant just to show I do listen I have decided to trade at £15 point for the rest of this year. More later.....

4pm

Markets are slightly off but that's not surprising given yesterday's rise and FED meeting tomorrow. I'm surprised they haven't dropped further which tells me something about the strength of the market right now. No scalping today but I may take a small long and hold till tomorrow from here, just watching right now.

5pm

Despite the potential head and shoulders forming (30 min candles) on DOW I'm going to take a small long and leave it alone. I don't expect tapering tomorrow and I do expect this to rise..

I have SO much work to do in my day job that I cannot afford anything other than a cursory glance at my screen this week so I've made my trade and that's it. £15 point long.

My mood

Neutral really, I have to devote time to my day job so my energies are directed away from trading for today.

Hope you've had a successful day!

'till tomorrow

Monday as it happened (+£180)

Close of play trading position -£3420 read on for the days events.

1pm

I've learned a valuable lesson and that is that I must stick to my belief in a trade, after all it's my own money no-one else's.

I blame myself. Andytrader's advice to close my losing long scalp was sound and I saw the logic in it yet I believed in the trade, I'd done my homework, I had plenty of margin and this morning I see I would have been £3600 better off for letting that trade run.

I blame myself entirely (not you Andy) as I should have had more faith in my belief. There's a lot of opinions and noise in this game but ultimately I will stand or fall on my own merits and it's my money I'm trading and I'm responsible to nobody but me.  I invested £30'000 and a year learning this game and since I returned to the markets 3 months ago I'm level, the losing figure you see that sits on top of each post does not take into account the £3500 I made before I re-funded my account.

I'm a much improved trader to my self of even 6 months ago and I MUST have more faith in my judgement. More later.......

2.45pm

£180 scalped, couldn't resist taking the retrace on today's opening blast off. Bull flag on 5 minute candles so I'm sitting it out for now just in case this is a classic pump n dump.

3.45pm

I'm done for the day. I've had a decent return for a few minutes work and it's the kind of fast moving trading I like.

My Mood

I didn't really fancy trading today, I opened my platform only because we'd had such a rise from a plunging overnight low and I thought there may be the sniff of an opportunity. I've had some success and I don't feel like trading any more today.

Trading thoughts for this week

Last week is history, I've analysed my performance yesterday and there's nothing more to say, now we look forward.

As I write this on Sunday evening 8pm I don't feel like trading tomorrow. Wednesday's FED decision is crucial to the markets direction before Xmas and until we get that we're going to be in a consolidating pattern. I'd be surprised if we see much volatility ahead of Wednesday so I may not trade, I'll obviously update you tomorrow but that's my feelings right now.

DOW trading range

There's only one direction to be if you like to trade in terms of days or weeks and that's long. Even if we get tapering announced and we fall a couple of hundred points I see it as a tremendous buying opportunity. The last two weeks have seen a high to low of  around 350 points for each week, I think we may see that beaten this week if we get good news. Even with bad news I can only see a low of 15500 maybe it will struggle to break 15600 but if the news is good I expect a meteoric rise to 16100 and beyond.

'til tomorrow

Weekly Review

Week's Loss £450

I wrote in my weekly preview that less is more. I also wrote in the middle of the week that I'd worked too hard to let one trade go against me yet I allowed just that to happen.

In the end a loss of £450 is manageable and I view it as an occupational hazard, I will make losing trades and I'll have losing days BUT it's vital to ensure I'm still in the game with a healthy trading pot for the next day. I achieved that and in one way I'm pleased I was able to close out and limit further potential downside.

My weeks performance

I got into trouble on one trade and it's the first time in weeks I've taken a position based on a feeling rather than on what the candles dictate and I was punished, thanks market for the reminder. it just shows how important emotion is when trading. I was impatient (reminder to self: less is more) and I paid the price, thankfully with a mere flesh wound and nothing fatal.

The flip side is that having got myself into a losing position I took the bull by the horns and had a spectacular day's scalping, £2400. I simply pulled the trigger when I saw a set up and was rewarded with a string of successful scalps.

I called for a Dow trading range of 15900-16250, I was too optimistic. I have had my eye on 15750 for a while and called it a week ago as the bottom of the market, last weeks low of 15700 opens the possibility of 15600. This is a difficult week to call as everything hinges on Wednesday's Fed decision so I expect pretty much a sideways movement until then, more on that tomorrow.

Thanks for your comments, this week I'd like to thank Andytrader for some good advice. I didn't agree with it at the time (or maybe I should say my ego didn't!) but as I let it digest I couldn't help but see the logic and common sense in it. I do see this market going much higher and I was tempted to let the trade run (even at £50 point my account can survive a fluctuation of 100 points without threatening my margin) but it is nice to sleep at night without the fear that it may drop a further 100 points (it's easily possible when the panic sets in) before retracing.

Comments section

My web stats show that since I've started posting daily the hits have dramatically increased, I hope you're enjoying reading and please do feel free to send in your comments, I love hearing from you and I'm always keen to learn as any trader should be. if you feel you can contribute in anyway or even want to share your view of the market or how your trading is going please pop one on!

'till tomorrow's weekly preview.

Friday as it happened (+£3800)

Close of play trading position -£3600 PHEW :) read on for the days events.

Morning traders, I slept well considering I have a losing open trade.

10am

There appears to be a little more positivity around this morning, currently I'm 60 points adrift and have been as close as 40 points. There's so much noise, a cacophony of opinionated sound bites from experts wheeled in to give their views on Bloomberg and CNBC. Add blogs and twitter and it's easy to be swayed or doubt your own views on the market.

I still believe in my trade, I wouldn't have shorted and I'm comfortable being long. The DOW is 15760 but has been as high as 15786 this morning which is almost 90 points above it's low.

I expect another dip around opening time and then a climb to challenge 15800. More later, for now I'm going out to buy a printer.....This sentence was written at 10am with the DOW 15780, we did indeed get a dip, right down to 15714 before rising to 15794, just as I forecast, not bad!

2.45pm

£90 scalped, open position -£4000, more later

3pm

I forgot to mention I scalped £90 USD/JPY last night, that more than covers the £60 IG charged me interest covering my overnight position.

3.45pm

It looks to me as though 15750 is around where we are right now. We've just had another test of the 15700 level and the index was bought very quickly and powerfully back to 15750, in fact even faster than it dropped.

4pm

I've scalped £350 around my position which is currently -£4500. More later

4.30pm

Scalping now up to £670, losing position £4000

4.50pm

Scalping now at £830, losing position £3600. The 10 EMA  has crossed the 25 EMA on the 5 minute candles and the 10EMA on the 30 minute candles is turning upwards. I think we'll see 15780 shortly followed by an assault on 15800.

6.20pm

We've just touched 15780, not that confident of seeing 15800, we're in the final session and edging closer to the closing bell and I wouldn't be surprised to see some selling going into the weekend. I've 'force opened' a short of £30 to lock in the majority of my position. If we climb I still benefit £20 point, if we drop I'm still in the game. I'll make a judgement before the market closes as to whether I take my medicine and close the trade or let it ride. More later.....

7pm

I'm out of my positions. I closed my losing open trade for a £3600 loss BUT I scalped £2160 around the position so my net loss is £1400, I can live with that. I still feel comfortable that this will rise but I've done the right thing, I have my trading pot and I'm not that far down from this weeks open, just £650. More at the close......

7.30pm

Yesterday's low was 15700 and I'm watching intently, if we drop below that there's 15670 and beyond that 15600. If we get a double bottom it could be a good buying opportunity and if we break 15700 a shorting one. either way I'm enjoying watching the action unfold. More later.....

8.30pm

Another £210 scalp....

9pm

A spectacular day's scalping of £2400 made a huge contribution to me cutting the losing trade at £3600, a net loss of £1200 when at one stage it was £6000 behind. 'Andytrader's' comment in todays section weighed on my mind and the more I thought about the logic, the more it seemed logical!

As it happened I've made a loss this week of £450 which is acceptable and a part of trading, not every day or week will reap dividends but by limiting my financial pain from trades that go wrong will make my consistent scalping profitable. I was forced to scalp for longer than I like today but it shows what I'm capable of ***

My mood

A little miffed at being behind on one trade but that's the game. My forecast today was pretty accurate and I would have cut the losing trade before closing as it would be crazy to let it ride over the weekend and be vulnerable to news.

'till tomorrow where I shall post my weekly review, hope you had a successful day in the markets, now enjoy that beer!

***Note to self: scalp £2400 Monday without open losing trade please :)

Thursday as it happened (-£4700)

Close of play trading position -£7400 with an open long trade 90 points adrift at £50 point, read on for the painful bits.....


Welcome to Thursday!

2.25pm

Lot's of uncertainty in the market right now. I fully expect the DOW to rocket higher very soon, when that is though is the real question, how long are buyers going to keep their powder dry for?

I can see this hitting 15750 when studying the daily candles but it does appear 15800 is holding at the moment. If I had to put my money in scalping one direction only (and I am!) it's long but in order to do that I need to see it a bit lower.

Here's an image of the DOW daily candles, I've drawn a white support line, as you can see there's room to drop further.

2.33pm

Very flat opening, scalped £60 now waiting for movement to dictate my next scalp...

3pm

I've scalped £120 but I've made my first mistake in weeks. I impetuously took a scalp long at 15823 when it really wasn't there. The index dropped 60 points in 5 minutes (as though it was just waiting for me to place my trade) and at £50 point that hurts. The old adage is true, one mistake can wipe out weeks of gains. I've plenty of margin and I believe in the trade so I'm letting it run, I still see 'buy the dip' as the right way forward but it means I have to watch the screen this afternoon and I'm far from happy. I'll have to scalp around the position. More later....

5.30pm

I'm paying the price for taking a trade when I didn't have the conviction. I only want to scalp this market long, I think it offers a great opportunity. Even though I had a good feeling about this dropping I jumped in too quickly. I've scalped £285 around the position (only long scalps) but I'm currently £6000 down on the trade. I'll update later, not a time to lose my nerve.....

6pm

Currently £5000 down, I'm resisting the temptation to add to my position which is a mistake I've made in the past, I'll know when this turns and presents me with the opportunity. Trading is not for the fainthearted or the underfunded. More later.....

7pm

I'm improving my position, currently £2600 down with the ema's on the 5 minute candles in bullish mode and the 30 minutes turning positive. I don't expect to see breakeven or show profit today but I'm holding my conviction that we're in a bullish market and the only question is when it takes off again. I'm resigned to holding my position overnight, I'm not a fan of that but I won't always be able to trade on my terms, that's trading! More after the close.....

9pm

Markets closed and I'm currently £4700 down on the trade. I scalped £280 today, not much meaning to that given my losing open trade. I did however refrain from adding to my losing trade, I was sorely tempted to do so when we hit 15700 and had I done so I could, if I was brave enough have ridden a near 100 point rise, in a way though I'm pleased I had the discipline not to.

My mood

Nothing wrong with my mood, I simply placed my trade without my usual conviction. I chose not to cut it as it I see this as a natural retracement before climbing and I see some profit taking before next week's fed announcement and also year end. I have plenty of margin so need to believe in my ability to read the market direction. There's no doubt we're looking at a bearish candle on the dailies and I do fear a drop tomorrow to 15700 to test that level again, I just have to keep my composure and nerve.

I shall now have a sleepless night as I check my position periodically.

'till tomorrow

Wednesday as it happened (+£300)

Close of play trading position -£2690read on for my 30 minute day

2.35pm

I've opened with a 30 seconds £50 scalp. I'm not sure about direction today. Looking at the daily candles they're starting to look slightly bearish and so I'm not as comfortable scalping in just one direction (long) as I have been.

I wouldn't want to be short this market in the medium term, I can only see higher highs but in order for me to scalp long I'll need to see a drop towards 15930. more later..........

2.50pm

So far scalped £120, there's been a big drop to 15925 but still I'm not that comfortable going long, it feels like it's got a way to drop yet....

2.55pm

Okay now up to £190 and wondering whether to call it a day, whatever happens I'll stop by 3pm.

3pm

I'm happy with today, £220 for 30 minutes trading is a good return and also keeps intact my positive streak.

6.30pm

I couldn't help seeing a dip just crying out for a scalp long so took a very small £5 point take for a further 18 points.

My mood

Actually I'm in a foul mood, my wife and I are poles apart on marriage however my new found ability trading discipline overrides my personal emotional state. I waited until I felt confident, pulled the trigger and reaped the rewards. I've worked too hard to let one mistake sabotage my success and that shows in my trading.

'till tomorrow

Tuesday as it happened (+£7)

Close of play trading position -£2990 read on for the days events

12.30pm

I'm very much in the same mode as yesterday, if we get a drop to anywhere close to 16010 I think it's a good buying opportunity for 20 points.

If I take that trade I plan to run it a little longer than yesterday. There's a good rhythm to my trading at the moment and I have to keep it that way. I'm not looking to hang around too long in front of my screen, I'm waiting for that one entry point which will give me my day's trade. More later....

5.30pm

I've been out all day and so missed an excellent set up just before market opening that would have harvested 30 points comfortably, oh well such is a traders lot. Missing a good trade you predict is almost as painful as a losing trade.

6.30pm

a couple of tiny scalps today, one losing, one winning which give me a net profit of £7 (seven) for the day :) don't knock it, I've had infinitely worse days!

10pm

I prioritised test driving a motorbike over trading the open today, I enjoyed the ride but I missed one hell of an opportunity. I'm developing my style to the point where I trade as little as possible but I really should be in front of my screen at the opening bell.

My mood

I'm going with the flow, allowing my mood room to breathe. I said in my weekly preview that protecting my balance was my priority and to trade as lightly as I have this week (and let's not forget I'm showing modest profit too) is evidence of that. I didn't feel like trading today and so I rode a motorcycle instead :) nice...

'till tomorrow

Monday as it happened (+£156)

Close of play trading position -£2994 read on for the days event (singular!)

1pm

A very warm welcome to a brand new shiny trading week!

I'm feeling bullish about the DOW today, mostly because we had such a strong rise into Friday's close. As I write it's at 16016 and I have a very strong conviction we'll see a push for 16100 today, in fact I'm tempted to take a long now and hold for the afternoon. Not sure I should change my trading style though, however this blog is designed to improve me by recording my mood, trades and sentiment. If I take a half stake long from here it goes a little against my trading style but I have mentioned how I am tempted to make the occasional longer day trade.

More after market opening....

5pm

I've only just got back in front of my screens having run a few errands this afternoon before market opening. I checked the chart on my phone and saw an opportunity to buy the dip, albeit with a wider spread. I took the trade and closed it 10 minutes later for £156 profit. Okay so I've paid £60 on the increased spread for the privilege of making the trade but that matters little, my account has more money than before I placed the trade, that's the idea right?

I could have let the trade run on for a few more points but I was out, I was busy and I made some money without the stress or fear of the trade turning. I'm all for peace of mind and well being right now, it's a good place to be trading wise, in fact it's vital.

So that's my trading day, a single scalp.

My mood

Once again relaxed, chilled and mentally prepared to wait for that one trade. Psychologically I'm in a good place, I've found my groove, my discipline and my trading mojo. More of the same is called for tomorrow.

'till tomorrow

Trading thoughts for this week

My week ahead

The theme for me this week is 'less is more'. I just love taking money from the markets, seeing an entry point I've identified and taking a few precious points and a few hundred quid. I thoroughly enjoy trading.

What I don't enjoy is sitting in front of my screen for hours waiting for an opportunity. When I've done that I find it clouds my judgement and I lose control of my emotions too easily. That's why I've restricted myself mainly to the first 30 minutes (and last) of market hours.

I'm learning to set alerts on price areas I feel make good entries and then closing my platform and doing something else entirely. I have IG trading platform on my phone and if my alert is hit I can make an informed decision whether to enter or continue watching (depending on the speed of the drop/rise).

I love trading but who says I have to trade every day? My primary goal this week is to protect my account balance and only add to it if I see the absolute best opportunity of winning a few points. A part of me is feeling aggressive and is saying 'double your stake', 'make some real money' but I am now experienced enough to know the danger. Get off my shoulder you evil influence, vamos!

In a sentence this weeks goal is to end the week with a greater balance than when I start, simple!

Dow trading range

Friday's positive response to the good NFP and unemployment figures (contrary to every previous negative reaction we've seen) tells me that tapering isn't the signal for a steep sell off we've been fearing. Perhaps a small reduction in QE is already costed into the market?

For this coming week I'm calling a low of 15900 and a high of 16250. If I see anything towards 15950 I think a small stake long should be good for a couple of hundred points. Not my style but could be yours?

'Till tomorrow

Weekly Review

Weeks Profit +£750

I've had a good week, I've scalped cautiously and traded lightly (again). I'm not too far away from being able to live on that kind of net income.

I achieved my target of 5 consecutive profitable days! I still can't quite believe I couldn't catch anything more than £20 yesterday in a 200 point upward move but most of that happened in one wild swing pre-market on NFP and jobs news and was followed by a slow grind higher.

As I've written (and am doing so again to remind myself) I'm a scalper and I trade on volatility that just didn't happen yesterday. it's not my style to take a position and wait for hours for the rise/fall, I don't enjoy that kind of trading.

My scalping performance produced the following:

Monday +£100
Tuesday +£70
Wednesday +£200
Thursday  +£360
Friday +£20

My weeks performance

A few words spring to mind: disciplined, patient, cautious. I followed last week's path of less trading and mostly all around 2.30 to 3pm. I'm even more pleased with the trades I didn't make. There were a number of times the 'me' of a couple of months ago would have come in, experience now tells me otherwise and each time I was right not to. That's progress and it pleases me even more than making a successful trade.

I called for a DOW trading range 15850-16200, again I was pretty accurate, the low being 17797 and high 16127. I called the floor at 15750 and so far we've avoided that and it looks like we won't see that anytime soon.

I was a better trader this week than last, I'm learning from mistakes and I was totally disciplined about trading early and calling it a day. I set alerts in the off chance that a support level I fancied a re-entry came good, one was 50 points and miles away but we actually came within 5 points before flying again. That would have been a great opportunity, it didn't happen but I was right to do it and I may catch the next one or the one after that.

Overall a very positive week. My overall position is irrelevant. I've learned that the fastest way to blow my account is to chase losses. I address my screen each day with the ambition of finishing with more money than I awoke to. Follow that and I'll be a successful trader.

'till tomorrow when I shall post my weekly preview.

Friday as it happened (+£20)

Close of play trading position -£3150 read on for the days events.

12.40pm

A very warm welcome to NFP Friday.

In a little under an hour we'll get the NFP numbers and this will offer a fantastic scalping opportunity for the brave.

I'm feeling confident again today which means I must be on my guard. I've had a good week, I've bang on target to post 5 profitable days so it's important I reign in my enthusiasm and remain focused and disciplined today. Even a small profit of £20 would mean I have achieved my week's goal.

More around 1.45pm....

1pm

Okay so I want to post my trading thoughts before NFP announcement. Bloomberg are reporting expectations of a slightly better than forecast, this will be interpreted negatively as an improving economy means tapering may begin sooner rather than later. Currently DOW is 15877 and if the numbers are good I expect an immediate drop of 30-50 points at which point yours truly will scalp long. I don't like trading out of market hours as it means a wider spread but if there's money to be made the spread is marginalised......

2.50pm

So the numbers were good and the market took it positively, huh it never fails to surprise. There was a huge 200 point spike up on the announcement which almost immediately retraced, nice way to flush out those shorting the market. We're currently sitting at 15950 and I haven't seen anything to come in on so I'm on the side lines. A pullback to 15920 would have me scalping long but we're so strong at the moment and I see a bull flag forming on the 30 minute candles so we may not get anywhere near it. More later........

3.30pm

£20 scalp!

5pm

Here's a screen shot showing every DOW company in positive territory, what a day and my caution meant missing out (DOW 150 points higher today). Note VISA (8% of the DOW) is the worst performing stock today.

6pm (almost)

I'm out for the day and the week. There's nothing to trade, just a slow steady grind up and that's not my style. There could be a sell off towards the close (I don't think so) but I'm inclined to think we'll see 16200 before we see 15850 again.

I've strung together 5 profitable days, I'm so happy!

My mood

I was determined to hold on to what I have today and I've traded (or not actually) true to that. I'm really pleased I haven't forced the issue, if a trade isn't on I'm not going to risk anything.

I'll write a review of my week tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in this week.

'till tomorrow.

Thursday as it happened (+£360)

Close of play trading position -£3170 read on for the days events.


2pm

I'm not feeling great today, I have a headache which refuses to leave my skull. Sadly I believe this was self induced with perhaps one pint too many celebrating Arsenal's win last night.

The markets are jittery, we've just had good numbers come out of the US and the DOW has slumped 50 points pre-market. That has to be in fear of tapering happening sooner than later.

I've had a decent week so far and its important to keep this going. I think we may see a drop on opening and then see buyers step in around 15800. I say that only as I've taken a small £5 long from 15858 and the index has since dropped a further 20 points :) My target is 15900. More at 3pm....

Here's a wedge that's forming on 30 minute candles on DOW, long from the bottom, maybe short at the top

2.35pm

I've closed my £5 long for a whopping £20 profit. I always like to get some points on the board quickly after opening but I specifically don't feel comfortable long at this point, I think my initial call of a drop before a climb could still play out. Let's watch and play when the opportunity presents itself...

3pm

That's me over for the day. We saw the small dip I expected so I scalped long £30 point and set a limit order for 12 points and let the trade run whilst I put something in the oven. I come back to see the trade closed so I've made £360 today, I see no reason to trade on given such a good days return.

My mood

Given my headache and associated lethargy it's not ideal trading material so a quick in and out is most definitely the order of the day. I feel confident enough to trade even though I'm not feeling at my best and that can only serve me well for my future trading.

'till tomorrow.

Wednesday as it happened (+£200)

Close of play trading position -£3530 read on for the days events.

3am

Yep, you read that right, it's 3 in the morning!

I'm not the earliest riser, thankfully I've designed my life so I can get out of bed in a leisurely fashion and at a time that suits me without any damage to my income. This morning I was out of bed by 10.30am, disgraceful I hear you cry and to that I say, live life true to your beliefs :) I do and I love it!

So to trading; I've had my eye on USD/JPY for a while, a couple of weeks ago (and a few hundred pips) I wrote how I fancied it to rise and on glancing at my platform on my phone I saw a significant drop and a 'buy the dip' opportunity. I haven't played it particularly well and I've lost a few points as well as made some and am currently even after 3 hours trading.

The positive note from all this is I have rediscovered my appetite for 'having a go'. I've been ultra cautious this week and have called and missed some good scalps so this has put me back in the mood for scalping later today.

For now though I bid you goodnight (or should that be good morning?). More later.....

1pm

I'm in the mood for trading today, I'm ready to have a good go today so if I lose heavily I know that when I'm feeling bullish is the time NOT to trade :)

I've made a few small scalps on FTSE this morning (only +£40) and as there's also been such a big drop lately I've taken a small swing trade at £10 point at 6522, I did have 6450 on my radar but I see me keeping this for a few days and my target is 6600. More after DOW opening.....

2pm Mood update

I'm excited about my trading today, I feel good, I'm ready to make money. I see this dip as a tremendous buying opportunity and the only question for me is at what point do they step in? Of course NFP is on Friday and we've the FED decision on the 18th but in the overall picture I only see a continuation of the bull run. More at 3pm.....

2.40pm

I've made a £110 scalp on DOW opening. I can feel I'm more risk tolerant today which is the best way to describe my mood. We're currently at 15866 but I expect a dip towards 15820 at which point I'll be comfortable scalping long. Absolutely no short scalping for this market right now. More later....

3.20

So my FTSE swing trade which at one stage was 40 points adrift came slightly into profit so I closed it. I had a little punt, it's really not my style and when I can make £150 (as I have so far today) in seconds trading DOW I don't have the patience for FTSE. It's like walking in treacle with diver boots compared to the DOW which I find electric like roller skating down a steep hill without brakes (Yes, in my youth I did such a thing!). May not trade later, let's see.....

4pm

I'm finished trading for the day. I've made £160 and I'm very happy with that and the 3 successive profitable days.

My mood

As alluded to earlier (above) I was excited to trade today and that showed in my (albeit brief) performance.

'till tomorow

Tuesday as it happened (+£70)

Close of play trading position -£3730 read on for the days (in)action!

2.35pm

Interesting drop overnight and we're currently at 15950. I've opened my scalping with a lightning fast short for £70 .

I'm expecting a test of 15900 and perhaps 15850 today. If it gets there I'll be comfortable scalping long. In the meantime I'm watching to see where we go, it's possible we could also challenge 16000 although I favour the bearish view today. More at 4pm.....

5pm

No further trades so far. Interesting to see the drop to 15880, buyers will step in and I'm waiting for a little lower to be comfortable scalping long.

7.40pm

We've been as low as 15858 and I've had 15850 as my entry for a scalp long, damn! My newly found discipline prohibits me from coming in as I've identified that level and as it hasn't hit I'm not in.

I know this can be viewed as a swing trade but I'm comfortable scalping long from 15850 for a few points and for a few minutes and I have to remain disciplined.

Again as mentioned yesterday, I've made a small profit and if I don't trade again today I will retain that. This week is most important to remain disciplined, to post profit every day and also to see if I can trade only around DOW opening. Of course if a set up invites me I'll jump in and I do see this pullback as a buying opportunity but for now I'm keeping my powder dry.

Having said all that we're now at 15896 and I do see buyers itching to come in as the index rose very quickly from today's low of 15858 to here and the 10 ema is just about to cross the 25. I think we'll see at least 15920 before the close but I'm not tempted.

9pm

No further trading so I post another profitable day. It's interesting to look back on my predictions from earlier in the day, I was pretty accurate all day long, had I traded I would have made a tidy sum but there'll be plenty of time for that in the coming weeks and months.

Monday as it happened (+£100)

Close of play trading position -£3800, read on for a blow by blow account of my trading day

2.35pm

Dow just opened and I've kicked off the week with a £20 scalp. DOW futures are slightly up today but I'm not too confident of a climb from here. I prefer to wait 15 minutes (I expect a slow drop) to see how low we go before we attract buyers. I'll post update at 3pm....

2.55pm

Decent drop to 16032 and I've scalped another £50, now it looks like settling around 16050.

There's good support around 16030 and of course the round number below that so I see a trading range today between 16000 and 16080. More later.....

3.45pm

That's me done until close, I've scalped £108 so far and I'm happy to trade lightly. I'll look closer to the close but if I don't see a set up that's it for today. Most important I open the week and month with a profitable day.

5pm

I'm done for the day.

I could come in later but by not making another trade today I can guarantee a profitable day and a positive return to kick the month off and that's very important.

My mood

I have a new relaxed approach to my trading which is serving me well. I was out running errands this morning and didn't get back in front of my screen until 2 minutes before market opening which is not ideal.

Tomorrow I have no plans to go out so can catch up with Bloomberg and open my platform in plenty of time.

'till tomorrow

Trading thoughts for this week

Before anything here's a reminder to myself:

Scalp
Scalp
Scalp

My week ahead

At the risk of sounding boring I'm looking to post 5 consecutive profitable days. If I'm in the mood I'll go for my £500 daily target although last week there were days I was happy to simply make a couple of profitable scalps, take money out of the markets and be thankful for that.

DOW trading range

I don't think we'll see the DOW as bullish as it has been. We formed a slightly bearish candle on Friday (Daily) and the weekly candle also shows we're running our of steam. This makes perfect sense as we've seen such a strong 8 weeks.

We're currently at around 16100 and I think the bulls will have one more go at the high of 16175 achieved last week and after that I think we'll see another flat week. I'm going to put my neck on the block and say a high of 16200 and a low of 15950. If a little panic sets in we could see 15850 at which point I expect to see the bulls step in with all guns blazing. Of course a daily close tomorrow above 16175 will be a bullish sign but as I'm scalping it means little to me.

Weekly Review

Weeks profit +£160

Okay so it's miniscule but nevertheless positive. It's profit!

One of my goals for the week was to post consecutive profitable days. I traded 4 days and if you take each day on it's own merits I was profitable but my swing trade from Friday night close to Sunday night opening cost me £500. As I wrote earlier this week that will NOT happen again.

My scalping performance produced the following:

Monday +£270
Tuesday +£80
Wednesday +£150
Friday +£200

My week's performance

I traded very lightly and thoroughly enjoyed not constantly being 'in' the markets. Watching the price action without holding a position is educational, I make mental calls and watch how it plays and learn.

I called for a high of 16200 and we came within 25 points but my low was hopelessly wrong as we didn't even see 16050. That is evidence of the strength right now and any pullbacks this coming week will be viewed as buying opportunities. Pullbacks are a natural process as markets go on to make new highs, the only question for me next week concerns trader's patience as to how low they let prices drop before they prove too irresistible.

I'm developing as a trader every week. Last week (although not underlined in terms of profits) showed me I can trade lightly which I believe is a key component to me making money. One thing that concerns me is I post after a successful afternoon that I have finished for the day only to come in again before the close. Okay so I've been successful so far and I have written that my premium time for trading is the opening and closing 30 minutes, nonetheless if I make a decision then I have to stick to it, after all discipline is crucial to successful trading.

'till tomorrow when I shall post my weekly preview

Friday as it happened (+£200)

Close of play trading position -£3900 read on for a report on my 5 minute day :)

Welcome to black Friday, let's hope that doesn't apply to my mood after todays session.

2.25pm

We've 5 minutes before DOW opens, I'm looking to make one good scalp on opening and to call it a day as quickly as possible. More very shortly.......

2.35pm

Okay I'm done for the day and the week! I've scalped £130 and I'm really happy to call it a day on that note. My reasoning behind such a brief sojourn is I've spent 8 hours in the past in front of my screen to lose thousands so I'm thrilled to spend 5 minutes making money.

6pm

Okay so I turned on my platform to observe the price action for the closing 30 minutes (Black Friday is half day trading) and watched in the background whilst I've been doing other things when I see a big drop of 60+ points into the close. My RSI is showing totally oversold so I had to take another small scalp for £70, nothing too ambitious just enough to top and tail the day nicely. In the past I would have come in much earlier and watched in dismay as the candles keep plunging, this time however I'm a much more experienced animal and picked the bottom nicely. I could have ridden it up for another 15 points (and £450) but I'm trading cautiously and want to take the feel-good factor into and over the weekend.

I'm improving!

My mood

Again the key is my relaxed approach to trading. I've spent an hour on my day job this morning, I popped out to a café for a late breakfast and returned chilled 20 minutes before market opened.

Enjoy the rest of your trading day, I'm learning less IS more.

A day off!

Good morning,

No trading for me today. A discipline I need to develop is the ability to trade lightly. If I can restrict my trading to scalping around DOW opening and occasionally the close I'll be very successful.

If you're trading today I wish you success and let's catch up tomorrow.

'til tomorrow

Wednesday as it happened (+£150)

Close of play trading position -£4070 read on for a relaxed view of the days events

11.45am

Morning all!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in US and the markets will be closed so I'm not sure how that will effect today's trading if at all. Will there be a little profit taken off the table at the close tonight to reduce risk? We don't have too long to wait for the answer.

Yesterday's range was tighter than a nun's twat (does that gag lose me any readers?) with a low of 16064, we didn't even hit 16050. That shows how strong this currently is and I see this as the DOW's pausing for breath before it's next move. A dip towards 16'000 would bring in buyers and would be lovely scalping territory, not sure that will happen though.

I'm cautious for today but if the trading range continues to remain so narrow it does offer a few points with a short at the top and a long at the bottom. More later........

2.50pm

Only scalped £80 so far. I just missed a spectacular long trade. I was long at £30 point from 16080 but have to rush out and closed for a point....it's just risen 25 points :)

Have to go view a house so back in an hour.....

3.45pm

Hmm, decent house! We have to move in a few months so food for thought.

I made a lightening quick £66 scalp on the way out so today's profit stands at £146 so far. Now back in front of my screens for an hour, let's see if there's another opportunity...

5pm

I've had enough for today. The trading range is tight, there's no volatility and little movement. I've more money than when I started with today and follow that every day and I'll be just fine and dandy!

My mood

Really relaxed is all I can say. I haven't viewed trading as the be all and end all and I haven't chased my overall loss.

Scalping works for me.

I may not trade tomorrow as DOW will be closed. I know IG will make a market on the index but I don't want to trade that way. If the FTSE has some movement I may dip my toes, let's see. Either way I'll post.

'Till tomorrow

Tuesday as it happened (+£80)

Close of play trading position -£4220 read on for day's (non) events

Good morning Traders!

Firstly I want to say a BIG thank you to Andy for his positive comment yesterday. Andy, thank you for your support and advice (which is to take my own advice!), I agree, I'm a scalper. I'm glad you enjoy the blog and I really want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to post, thank you.

7.55am

I'm not trading until DOW open but I'm expecting a small dip today towards 16'050 and maybe 16'000. We've had such a stellar rise that a period of consolidation is inevitable. Of course as I shall not be swing trading and simply scalping it really doesn't make a difference to me but for the first time in a few days I shall not be scalping in simply one direction, I'll wait for the price action to dictate. More later.

2.45pm

I have a £30 short scalp in progress from 16087. I spurned a £100 scalp profit and the 5 minute candles look bloody suspiciously like a bull flag, my bearish sentiment holds today though so I'm letting the trade ride for a while, still hope to see 8-10 points profit from it.

My reasoning behind letting it ride is 10 of the 30 DOW companies are in red so far today and I'm also watching a descending wedge form and we're in the upper area now. More later.

3pm

Okay so I've closed my scalp for a £36 profit. I fancy it to drop but I'm not feeling that confident so best to come out of the arena until I have more conviction. Funnily enough I can see the drop is due to consumer confidence dropping, hey I'm a consumer!

3.06pm

Damn, wish I had more faith in my predictions, had I waited a couple of minutes more I'd have had my 15 points and £450 for the day. Now I'm watching it drop but without a position.

I do think there will be a buy the dip opportunity this afternoon, if it gets to 16050 that's the first strong one.

3.20pm

13 companies in negative territory today and no real conviction to the market in any direction. Quote a benign day which doesn't suit scalpers.

3.40pm

3 times it's tried to break the upper descending line on the wedge and other than poke it's nose across it's failed. I think today's a ranging day between 16070 and around 16100, very tight!

My trading Desk

 

My Laptop has my trading platform plus DOW 30 in real time

The left monitor has 5 minute candles, right 30 minute candles

I trade through the charts, single click execution for speed

5.20pm

DOW threatening to break the descending resistance line once again, I fancy it to go this time and if so we should see another 20 points or so higher to 16124

5.40pm

Okay that's enough for me today, finished +£80 as I took a couple of scalps at £5 point. Only a 34 point range today which is almost unheard of on DOW.

My mood

Despite my prolific posting today I've been running around for most of the day (I didn't get back in front of my laptop until 2.20pm). I felt patient today and was quite prepared not to trade if no opportunity due to little movement.

'till tomorrow

Monday as it happened (lost £230)

Close of play trading position -£4300 read on for the day's events

5pm

A very late hello and welcome to Monday!

I've had problems accessing my blogger account so apologies for the late delay. So far I've scalped £230 on DOW open, the rest of my time has been spent on my day job. More later...

9pm close of play

I've had a decent day's scalping +£270.

HOWEVER I forgot about a silly little punt I had Friday after market close. I saw a spike up on DOW so had a little short at £10 point and completely forgot about it! When I checked in late last night I saw it was 50 points higher and so closed for a £500 loss. Of course with a little clearer head I could have waited (like all gap traders) for it to 'close the gap' as it did Monday afternoon before rising again.  Not to worry, it's a price worth paying as I absolutely WILL NOT do anything like that again.

My mood

I felt supremely confident of scalping on the open and I did so successfully. This is a marathon not a sprint and I absolutely know I can make positive scalps every day. I mentally prepared myself for a 30 minute trading session and although I made a couple of small scalps in the run up to the close at £10 point the bulk of my scalping was on open.

'til tomorrow

Trading thoughts for the week ahead

My week ahead

Firstly an overview of the bigger picture

I'm not an investor and I don't have the financial education traders half my age have had. There are a bewildering array of instruments to trade: Forex, bonds, shares, commodities, funds, the options (ooh options too) are limitless. I would have to train for years to educate myself to the standard required to truly understand how the whole market is inter related.

The way I see it I only need to be good at one or two. I like Indexes as they represent the fortunes of 30 companies (FTSE 102) and are therefore a barometer of general sentiment and are not reliant on a single sector or an individual companies report/health on a given day. I know support and resistance on various time frames and through the reading of candles I can see when demand is close to saturation and when oversupply will mean prices have to drop to become attractive to create more demand. This is true on all timeframes but by scalping daily I reduce my exposure to the market, therefore my risk. If I don't have money in the market overnight I can't lose money.

I have a good background in running small businesses (at my peak I employed over 20 people) and I have 35 years experience managing cash flow, selling, producing and delivering. I've been responsible for generating my own income since 1987. I have a business that gives me a modest living income now so I have to have confidence and belief in my ability to succeed.

I recently found notes in a scrap book I kept from the year 2000 where I wrote about the possibility of trading CFD's so my interest is not just a relatively recent affair. Here I am 18 months after beginning trading and I've found the manner in which I wish to trade (spread betting) and the instruments I want to trade (DOW, FTSE, very occasional FX) and the timescale I wish to trade (scalping in minutes).

I'm a simple man with very basic needs and £10'000 net a month would see me just fine thank you and allow me to help my family live a good life. I don't want to drive a Bentley or Ferrari but I do want to be able to contribute more financially to my children's education, to their daily living and to make my Mum's autumn years joyous. I've had one holiday in 7 years and I'd like to take one a year. As the narrative in the header of my blog says, 10 points a day at £50 point is £500. I have a flair for scalping, I can collect 10 points a day but to do that my account needs to be funded adequately and I need to be ruthless in jettisoning losing scalps quickly. This is not about sitting in front of my screen for hours hoping to pick up 100 points at £5 point. I can achieve the same £500 target in 10 minutes at £50 point.

I'm really most comfortable scalping, I've written that time and time again and it really does represent my core personality in it's most comfortable and truest light. My ideal timescale is a trade for less than 5 minutes, Friday's scalps were measured in units of seconds. The best time for me to trade is market opening as the volatility and volume is at it's highest. I seem to have a flair for picking the right moments and direction and so I will make that my premium trading time. I'm trading at £30 point and right now that's the maximum I'm comfortable with. So if my target is 10 points a day I should be satisfied with £300 a day right now and £1500 a week.

I don't mind supplementing my scalping with the occasional trade for a few hours (on a smaller stake, max £10) if I see a resistance or support on the 30 minute candles and I have a strong conviction but I really identify with the mentality of a scalper and that's what I am.

Trading that way means I'll miss out on big swings but also potentially big losses too (as long as I learn to cut losing scalps quickly). It's so important to know what makes you as an individual tick. Scalping floats my boat, turns me on, rings my bell, tops and tails me and that's how I'm going to trade this week.

The week ahead

My target is simply to post 5 consecutive profitable days. My minimum figure is £300 each day but if I'm in a good scalp and can pick up £500 for the day I'll do that. If and when I hit £500 profit for the day I'll stop trading. That's a mistake I've made in the recent past that I shall not make again.

DOW trading range

I don't have the same conviction for my forecast this week but I'll put my neck on the block and say a high of 16200 with a low of 15850. I see the floor in this right now at 15750, if you're short lower than that good luck.

Weekly review

Weeks Profit £1500

I wrote before the markets opened last week that I thought we'd see DOW low of 15850 and high 16120. The actual low was 15863 (13 points out) and high 16067 (53 points out). It turned out to be a pretty accurate forecast.

Weekly 'open to close' DOW performance:

Last week: +111
Previous week: +208
Previous Week: +140
Previous Week: -2
Previous week: +217
Previous Week: +279
Previous Week: +106

As you can see we've had a pretty stellar rise since the US shutdown. The 'panic' drop to 15877 was on the minutes of the Fed meeting but rather than be the beginning of a catastrophic plunge (as I heard one irresponsible analyst say on Bloomberg at 8am that day) it turned out to be yet another 'buy the dip' opportunity and we sit at a record high and a record close. It will be a very brave person who shorts this market or someone with very deep pockets and limitless patience.

My week's performance

I'm £1500 better off than when the markets opened so I've had a good week. If I trade every week that way I'll be a happy bunny. I made a stupid mistake the previous week that has put my balance back a few weeks but in the grand scheme of things that's fine as long as I take something positive from it. That has to be that I restrict my biggest loss to £1000.

Friday as it happened (recovered £390)

Close of play trading position - £4060 read on for day's events.


Happy Friday to one and all.

2.40pm

I've scalped £290 on DOW open (a couple of £30 point longs) and promptly closed my platform!

I do fancy this to climb and challenge 16030 today but I don't have the appetite to trade any more today. Also I have a tradesman servicing the boiler here at home which is in my office and I can't deal with the disruption.

I may change my mind later when he's finished up. Stay tuned.

6pm

I'm done for the day.

The DOW has made record highs at 16038 but I'm happy with my day's results and have no desire to sit here waiting for an entry point. I'm pretty sure there will be a few points to be had on the drop and that we'll see 16'000 or near enough but that's enough this week for me.

I'm going to my Mum's for dinner.

9pm

Had a quick check after dinner at Mum's around 8.30 and say a sharp move higher so rode a retrace for another £100.

My mood

I was feeling relaxed, confident and really quite chilled about whether or not to trade. Some days I wake and I can't wait to start scalping, not sure how that effects my trading as I need more data to determine that, hence this new approach to my blogging.

I'll post tomorrow with a review of my week.

Thursday as it happened (£1450 recovered today)

Close of play Trading Position - £4450 read on for the day's events

Morning all,

8.15am and overnight movement sees me currently £8500 down, ouch.....

I wrote as recently as last Sunday that I thought we'd hear the word 'tapering' this week and boy did it bite me in the arse, I mean talk about the market throwing it's toys out of the pram, really was there anything new in the Fed minutes released yesterday? Bollocks was there!

Only last week we heard all we need to know on this subject, they need to see the economy make sustained progress before they take their accommodative policies off the table, certainly that doesn't change inside a few weeks and if you think Ben Bernanke would start to reduce QE on his watch think again. I think it we'll see it in March next year and to start reducing (or even to announce it) just before Xmas would be unthinkable,

This I believe is just the market taking a natural breather before it continues higher and traders will use this as an opportunity to buy the dips.

Today

I'm good at forecasting moves and I scalp really well but I'm crap with money management and I need to work on this. There's no point in me trading at £30 point with a £300 stop loss, that's just ridiculous. A more realistic figure would be £1000. If I limit my biggest loss to that figure I'll be just fine.

I've scalped the FTSE this morning for £100 and I'll continue to scalp around my DOW long during the course of the day. I'll post again around midday.

11am Update

I've ridden the DOW rise up 50 points (£60 point) and have closed one of my £30 longs (cautious approach) so am now £30 long. I'm £3500 better off than when I woke this morning, I'm happy with that.

I was £5500 down when I started this week and currently that's at £4900. More later.

2.25pm (5 minutes before DOW opens)

I've closed my trades, currently down £4450. That figure represents a £1500 improvement on opening the week. I'll watch carefully this afternoon and if I see a scalp I'll come in. I fancy DOW to hit 16'000 and even though I closed my long at 15960 it could easily go the other way, this way I have peace of mind. More later.

5pm.

No more trading for me today.

I've had a good day but it should have been spectacular. I was long £60 point (2 x £30 positions) from as low as 15877. With all the bad news on Bloomberg (8am talk of spectacular crashes) I could have panicked. I rode with my trades until I got close to the entry level of one at 15930 and closed out for a small loss. I wanted to reduce my exposure to the market even though I fancied it to rise a little more. My next long was at 15972 and pre market I watched it flirt close but never reach. I decided to be cautious as I now had enough capital to scalp a decent size and was £4000 better off than when I had my first coffee of the day. I closed out for a £500 loss on the trade 10 minutes before markets opened as I feared a big drop on open (just like FTSE this morning).

Where I'm angry with myself and where I need to do a lot better is in letting a trade that's going my way run. Had I had the balls to let both trades run on to 15990 (peak today so far is 16000) I would be a further £2800 better off. That's the paper thin difference between making a whole lot of money and actually losing.

It's still so early in my trading career but I can feel I'm making progress. I made the right call (long) and I traded within my account size (as I weathered the drop) but I lost confidence and faith when I got close to my entry points. That will come, I will develop.

My mood

Obviously I could afford to drop £10'000 otherwise I wouldn't be playing but I feel I'm so close to cracking this right now and I don't want to blow my trading pot. I went to bed late but slept decently and woke early to keep an eye on things. Yesterday's bullishness remained with everything else I achieved (or didn't) 24 hours ago and my mood was one of containment, 'I've made a mistake and I need to get out of it as best I can'. I did that and so I'm out for the rest of the day and maybe the week.

It will be interesting to see if today has been a last hurrah and to see if we get a sell off before close. I predicted we'd be in a tight range this week, top 16120, bottom 15850, so far we've oscillated between the two but the fact that the market doesn't seem to be able to break 16028 I think is quite telling (unless it does so after this post). I think a breather is well due and wouldn't be surprised to see us close to 15800 very shortly. We saw how quickly buyers stepped in at 15860 yesterday, this time I think they'll want a slightly more attractive entry point.

'till tomorrow

Wednesday as it happened (£1500 down today)

Trading Position at close -£5900 read on for the day's blow by blow account

Welcome to another wonderful day of opportunity!

I think that opening line bears testament to my 'bullish' mood today (I mean that in purely positive emotive terms not market direction). It's almost 1pm, I've had a couple of scalps on FTSE this morning -£60 but I'm really waiting for DOW to open.

Another update at 3pm

3pm Update

Okay so I've made a couple of long scalps on DOW for +£400 so currently =£350 for the day. I've closed the screen as I want to enjoy the feeling for a few minutes before coming back in. Even if I don't make another trade it's been a good day. More later.

9pm Close of play

I didn't enter the markets again until 7pm when the FED released minutes of their last meeting. I scalped another £150 which took me to +£500 for the day. That should have been a perfect end to a great days trading.

I felt good and thought I'd continue to scalp. I've written about this before but once I make my days profit total I have to quit. I wrote about how bullish I felt today and so I decided to add to my profit. So I end the day £1500 down from where I opened and with an open long at £60 point. If you feel like commenting and it's a negative one please do me the courtesy of not pressing the submit button.

My Mood

I'm here to trade, I'm here to make money and I'll always have a go. That's my greatest strength and the greatest threat to my profitably. I felt bullish all day, I'll have a go and after picking up a £500 profit my emotions ran away with me. Primarily greed but also a touch of reasoning that I'm having a good day and should continue in the groove.

I did feel the markets were due a breather and this provided traders with a chance to take some profit off the table. Shame my shorts were closed with my lack of 'force open' dexterity as I could have taken them off the table today for a small loss.

'til tomorrow

Tuesday as it happened (recovered £200)

Trading Position - £4400

Welcome to Tuesday!

3pm

The DOW has been open 30 minutes and after yesterdays sell off at the close the index has stabilised at around 15970 so it looks as though buy the dips is still the order of the day.

I've scalped £180 so far and I'm inclined to keep my trading to a minimum today. More later....

4pm

My scalp from earlier was a long from 18979 which I closed at 15986 at £25 a point for £180. That's a decent day's return on it's own but should have been so much better.  My target was 16'000 but I've been hurt from my losses over the last few days and fear of losing a positive return made me close early. Sure enough it climbed to my target and peaked at yesterday's high of 16028.

Had I let it ride to my target I would have closed for a £525 profit. Had I had the balls to let it ride to my 2nd target of 16028 I would have made £1225. That's how I should be trading, having the balls to let a winning trade retrace a few points before hitting my target. Losing out on a winning trade I call feels almost as frustrating as a loss.

I'm now waiting for a retracement towards 16'000 before scalping long again, in fact my point of entry is 15990

6pm

I'm done for the day. I've made a positive return and I've had enough. There are news releases tomorrow (minutes from FED meeting) that I think will have traders adjusting their positions in readiness so best to take my leave for now. I'd be happy to scalp long on a retrace as we've had a strong rise lately.

My Mood

I had a late night and woke up late & relaxed about my trading. I had a good day yesterday and knew how important trading cautiously was today in building on the feel-good factor. +£200 isn't a bad day and I have to forget about chasing lost money and focus on today. I've done that and now look forward.

'til tomorrow

Monday as it happened (Recovered £950)

Trading Position - £4600 read on for the day's events as they happened



I'm writing this opening sentence a few minutes after the DOW has closed. Below you'll see my trading day as it happened.

Welcome to Monday and a new trading week, time now is 1pm GMT.

I watched attentively as pre-market opened at 11pm last night and decided to take action. At £50 a point short I could margin out with an overnight rise of just 30 points so couldn't risk leaving it. I waited for a small retrace and 'force opened' a £25 a point long.

This morning by 9pm I saw the price had faded to 15933 so I waited a few minutes to see if it looked likely to drop further, it didn't. At that moment I decided to close the second £25 short I had opened for a loss of a few hundred pounds, I'm pleased I did.

Currently I'm £25 long and £25 short. I've bought myself some time and it's a good thing I acted decisively as the DOW rocketed through 16'000 to a premarket high of 16015 at midday. Had I not acted I would have margined out.

I'm now in a position to watch the markets and scalp. I have to view my outstanding trades in a longer time frame and I'm expecting to run them for the majority if not all of this week. There's the minutes from the last Fed meeting released Wednesday and no doubt analysts will read and draw conclusions which they'll share with traders and there's a possibility it could move the markets. If so I may be able to close out but we'll see.

Currently my losing position stands at £5700 so a little improvement from Friday's close.

Mid session update this afternoon.

3pm Update

Dow has a high so far today of 16028 although it's faded slightly to 15990 as I write. I've been scalping around my positions, so far £130 better off, let's see what opportunities the afternoon brings.

Amusing 5pm Update

I've forgotten to click the force open button when making a long trade so have lost £800 from my funds, I haven't made that mistake for a long time and hope to never make it again.

Close of play Update

Funny I should mention about forgetting to click force open, I did it again 30 minutes before close! I've lost my entire £4000 short position. I was just about to pick up the phone to their dealing desk to explain my error (in the past they've reinstated my position on hearing it was an error, 1st class people!) when I a wave of relief swept over me. Rather than hold onto a losing position and let it cloud my trading I'm happy to have kissed it goodbye. Go on, off with you...you lousy losing position you.

As it happens by not having anything other than my open trade I managed to recover more. I was long from 16'000 £22 a point and thanks to comments made by someone appearing on CNBC (I think it was Carl Ichan) the Dow dropped 60 points in a few minutes. After making my faux pas I rode the slow retrace higher for 20 odd points before closing out for a loss.

My mood today

I felt good today, thanks to catching up with my day job over the weekend I was ready to trade. I knew I'd made a mistake last week that could prove costly but I felt confident enough to trade my account back and beyond what it was. I'm getting used to playing with £20 a point, your position moves fast, especially in a volatile market like the DOW and it's possible to win (and of course lose) quickly.

I end the day £950 better than when I started and really that's all that matters. I fucked up by not clicking 'force open' but it's actually liberated me from a losing position. Tomorrow I can scalp and each trade will have a maximum £300 stop loss.

'till tomorrow

Trading thoughts for this week

I must have a special talent, I mean how else can you explain my actions? We're in a rising market where everyone is in 'buy the dip' mode, it's a winning formula and it should be as easy as taking candy from a baby yet I'm in a losing position. That's some talent I possess, what a twat!

I'm currently short in a bullish market, low to high it's risen 300 points in 3 days. Naturally it will pause for breath as it consolidates a new level, the question I have to find the answer to is what is that level likely to be and when will we see it? Once I arrive at that I can formulate a plan.

Firstly let's look at my account balance target for the week. I'm currently £5500 down so what should I consider a successful week? Getting all of that back? Making £6000 on top of that?

NO! I'm in this position because I was too ambitious (let's call that plain greedy eh?)

Best to set a reasonable target. Although this £6000 loss was 'achieved' in 48 hours it's unreasonable to expect to get that back the same way. I'll only trade desperately and make further rash decisions. Quite simply I would be satisfied to steady the ship and finish the week by reducing this figure to a £4000 loss. I'd be thrilled to get this to a £2500 loss at which point I'd give serious consideration to closing my position and start scalping again (after taking some time out to refresh).

So, my target for the week is to improve my current position by as little as £2000 and as much as £3500. At £50 a point short the first target equates to a retrace of just 40 points. The opening bell Monday is going to be crucial and I've been working on my day job all weekend in order to have a clear head so I can trade exclusively.

The week ahead

Unless we hear some news that spooks traders I believe the Dow will trade between a high of 16120 and a low of 15850 this week a range of 270 points.

My open position

If I leave my £50 short to touch 15850 I'll feel like I've won money! However that's not realistic and there's also a chance it rises before retracing. In that case I'll have to fund the account a further £7000 and I'm not going to become so firmly married to a position that I make things impossible for myself.

Given full consideration to what I've written I'd like to reduce my exposure to the market to £25 a point. My best case scenario would be to see a drop on open which allows me to close my second £25 short (30 points away) and then review the price action with the option of letting it fall further or 'force opening' a long position.

Taking the trade as a whole: if I close my short completely I have no chance of recovering any of it so by leaving it and 'force opening' long the worst that can happen is I buy some time, pay a little overnight interest on my position and see how things pan out.  I have a strong feeling we'll hear the 'tapering' word this week which may spark a debate and spook the market enough to see a decent retrace.

Since the panic of the debt ceiling & US shutdown here's a weekly 'open to close' performance of the DOW

Last week: +208
Previous Week: +140
Previous Week: -2
Previous week: +217
Previous Week: +279
Previous Week: +106

The lessons for me are quite clear; Scalp with a maximum loss I'm prepared to take on each trade (£250) and don't try to guess when the index is too high, it's NEVER too high or too low.

Update tomorrow night, good luck all.

Me!

Weekly review

It's a pity I didn't read my 'thoughts for the week' post from last Sunday before I pressed the 'sell' button Wednesday night. http://ftsedaytrading.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/trading-thoughts-for-this-week.html as I clearly stated I was only going to scalp LONG on pullbacks.

I'd made money Tuesday & Wednesday (no trading Monday) and I was in profit a little over £300. What possessed me to go against my plan and SHORT the DOW I have no idea and by chasing my losing trade and doubling my pound per point I've made things worse. It's so easy to make a catastrophic error of judgement and undo days, weeks even months of good calls. Had I not traded after Wednesday I'd be sitting on a small but positive return and feeling good about myself and my trading. Instead I'm almost £6000 down in the space of 48 hours and feeling crap.

If I'm to be successful I have to trade according to my plan. It was a good plan and would have yielded profit. Now I'm left with a big decision for Monday. The market does look like it wants to break 16000 but it's also going to want to take a breather and I only need a retrace of 100 points to break even. I'm not going to close my trade but I may have to force open a long position

My upward bias on USD/JPY was a good call by the way.

Still Alive

Trading Position - £5500


I planned to scalp the DOW long today as it's still very bullish. I'm sure of a retrace at some point (if only for the index to take a breather) as it's been quite a few days. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) my day job came calling and I couldn't even look at trading until 4.30pm by which time it had climbed from 15880 to 15933. I managed to scalp £140 around my position.

I'm currently £5500 down and £50 point short. I added to my position at 15930 as I'm hoping for a fade premarket. I'm going to chill over the weekend and I look forward to trading Monday. I'll post my thoughts for the week late Sunday.

My mood today

I was feeling frustrated that I was so busy I couldn't trade but my 'day job' gives me the opportunity to trade and learn and it's very important, I plan to make my reliance on it less so in the coming months and years.

Enjoy your weekend

Me!

Many updates today

Trading Position  - £3500

Midday

Long FTSE £40/point
Short DOW £20/point

Today is going to be a day of fire fighting and scalping around my losing positions.

I re-entered the markets last night and shorted the Dow. Of course a leaked speech from Janet Yellen with dovish news regarding tapering meant the Dow took off so I went to bed a couple of thousand down at £20 per point. It's obvious to say I should have been happy with my scalping profit and not traded for the rest of the day but I fell victim to greed. I wanted more and  paying the price, great reminder!

This morning I took a long position on the FTSE @ £20/point just before it tanked 30 points so I'm long again additional £20/point . I've been scalping around these positions but as I write this post I'm £3000 down.

Dow I'm comfortable leaving for a while. I'm sure 16'000 will be hit soon but I'm hopeful of a retrace.

Update around 3pm.

Mid session update

Janet Yellen is speaking as I write, no much different to what we were treated to yesterday. From what she's saying it doesn't appear she's too keen to taper immediately, of course she's no the only decision maker.

The DOW is slightly bullish in response to her comments and I've forced opened a long with a stop at entry level to hedge my position.

FTSE is a 6660, that's 20 points above it's low of today. My position hasn't changed much but I'm expecting movement UPWARDS after she's finished as the market digests her news.

I'd like to get my FTSE to break even so I'm only on DOW.

More later this evening. Currently I'm down £3500.

4.30pm Update

FTSE's closed and so is my FTSE trade. I decided to call time on it and 6670 for a loss of £700. At one stage it was £2000 down so I decided to take my medicine. I'm only comfortable trading one instrument at a time, lesson noted and learned, never again.

Currently £2600 down, have been as low as £3500 today. Now only one trade and one direction: DOW short.

Final update at the close.

Close of play

Dow closed around 15880 which leaves me £3300 down since my foolish decision to enter at 5pm yesterday. Such is he fine line between success and failure. I should have been perfectly content taking another £150 or so from he market but I thought I was worth more and I got what I deserved. I have no doubt I will make good money from this but the key is controlling my emotions, talking of which:

Today's Mood

I felt sick from yesterdays mistake and in an effort to make good I only succeeded in losing more. The pain and loss of money is worth it if I learn to recognise and control my emotions and not belittle a small days profit.

I've popped another £5000 as margin so I can sleep tonight. the trade is underwater and it doesn't look good but we've moved 250 points higher than yesterday and it's conceivable we could take some of that back tomorrow. It's not yet lost and I can decide to close it a any time. If we get back to 15800 tomorrow I'll give serious consideration to closing for a manageable loss.

Once this trade is consigned to history I'll go back to scalping. I've closed a few scalps today that went away from me, if I'd done that yesterday I would have los a few hundred pounds with no damage.

'til tomorrow.

Today's Profit £142

Trading Position + £1046

I had a feeling last night that we were going to see a fade today, pity I didn't trade it.

Dow and FTSE had both been looking to get higher and not really making progress so it needed a step back or two in order to continue upwards.

With a 70 point fall I took a chance on FTSE retracing at 6650 at £5 a point and added it to it at 6640 another £5. At one stage I was £300 adrift on that trade but closed it for a £50 loss. Dow also was down 80 points and I scalped a few points at £20 a point.

I'm eager to trade on but it's more important I post successive positive days than it is to make more and risk losing. Dow has only been open an hour and I'm done for the day (unless of course I see an opportunity in the run up to the close.

My Mood

I've been watching a series called 'Wall street warriors' on YouTube and it's put me in the mood to trade. I've been excited to make trades today but I'm pleased I'm able to reign my enthusiasm in with a decent day's return.

There is always the temptation to push for my £500 daily target but at this early stage of my trading career I'm happy posting daily profit.

'til tomorrow.

Today's Profit £174

Trading Position + £904

I only traded the Dow today, micro scalping.

Having hit record highs it's natural the index will pause for breath before deciding it's next move. Actually that reads stupidly, it's traders NOT the index that decide the move, I just decided to invest life into it.

Very little movement on opening and a narrow trading range prevents me on entering at my ideal levels so I simply scalped using 5 minute candles.

It's been open only 2 1/2 hours but I've had my fill for the day. I don't feel that confident or have any real conviction on my trades so it's best I stop for the day as I have no desire to sit here in front of my screen for the next 4 hours. ***(See footnote)***

Today's Mood

I didn't feel great before trading, I awoke late for me and was feeling a bit flat. This wasn't helped when 30 minutes before market opening I had a shouting match with my wife which in itself is not unusual although it didn't leave me in the best mental state for trading!

I was aware of this on the opening bell and I'm pleased I controlled myself. I scalped £60 and revised down my daily target to £100 which is the minimum I can draw from my trading account. I waited until we got a sharp 30 point fall on a 5 minute candle which was in stark contrast to the 30 minutes it had taken to get those 30 points. I took the small retracement, got my £100 and withdrew the funds and closed my trading window for the day.

'til tomorrow.


***I was visiting my mum and 30 minutes before closing tuned into my account. I saw the index was steady (I had anticipated a slow decline this afternoon) so scalped a few more points for a further £74. That's what I mean about my moods!