Trading Summary Week Ended 16th December 2022

24 Trades:

24 US 500 + 107 BPS.

18 long trades - 470 BPS.
6 short trade + 577 BPS.
20 intraday trades + 160 BPS.
4  multi-day trades - 53 BPS.

Total trades net  + 107 BPS.
Net points + 42.1.

Return on account for the week + 0.55 % net.

P:L ratio 1.3:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 9 days
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very challenging week on the equity markets.

The main event was the CPI data release on Tuesday, which came in a bit lower than expected, leading to huge rally on the futures, which was pretty short-lived.

The ES futures hit 4,140 after the data release, but the high on the cash market after the open was just 4,100.96. Obviously a lot of short positions got stopped out on that move.

We then had the Fed rate announcement on Wednesday evening, and as expected, the Fed raised the rate by 50 BPS. There was quite a bit of volatility following the rate announcement, and the press conference.

On Thursday and Friday the equity markets dropped quite a bit, the SPX testing the 3,830s on Friday. It seems the markets didn't like the Fed's hawkish comments, the ECB and the Bank of England also raised rates on Thursday, which probably didn't help sentiment.

Tricky trading conditions, well below my 2.5 % weekly benchmark. I should have traded more on the short side.

Hoping for more opportunities, and better results next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

 

Trading Summary Week Ended 9th December 2022

18 Trades:

18 US 500 + 32 BPS.

17 long trades + 36 BPS.
1 short trade - 4 BPS.
16 intraday trades + 62 BPS.
2 multi-day trades - 30 BPS.

Total trades net  + 32 BPS.
Net points + 12.5.

Return on account for the week + 0.26 % net.

P:L ratio 3.7:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 19 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A very challenging week on the equity markets.

The US markets were fairly weak, with the SPX struggling to hold above the 4,000 level early in the week, and testing the low 3,900 levels on Tuesday.

Hoping for more opportunities, and better results next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 2nd December 2022

28 Trades:

28 US 500 + 298 BPS.

19 long trades + 197 BPS.
9 short trades + 101 BPS.
24 intraday trades + 96 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 202 BPS.

Total trades net  + 398 BPS.
Net points + 119.4.

Return on account for the week + 1.08 % net.

P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 11 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A difficult week on the equity markets.

Hoping for more opportunities, and better results next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 26th November 2022

16 Trades:

16 US 500 + 188 BPS.

16 long trades + 188 BPS.
0 short trade.
16 intraday trades + 44 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 143 BPS.

Total trades net  + 188 BPS.
Net points + 74.

Return on account for the week + 0.76 % net.

P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 8 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A better week on the equity markets.

Mostly scalping the SPX.

Hoping for more opportunities, and better results next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 11th November 2022

 

34 Trades:

34 US 500 + 386 BPS.

28 long trades + 392 BPS.
6 short trades - 6 BPS.
33 intraday trades + 264 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 122 BPS.

Total trades net + 386 BPS.
Net points + 149.

Return on account for the week + 2.89 % net.

P:L ratio 29.7:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 1 day.
Shortest trade duration: < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another week on the equity markets.

We had the US elections on Tuesday, in which the Republicans didn't do as well as some predicted. Markets were range bound, with the SPX trading just above 3,800, support in the 3,740s, resistance around 3,840.

Then on Thursday we had the CPI data release, and the equity markets exploded upwards, with the Nasdaq up over 7 % on the day, the Dow up over 1,200 points and the SPX up over 5 %, breaking above 3,950 and touching 4,000 on Friday.

I was scalping the SPX, made some poor exits, just above my 2.5% benchmark. I really should have just bought the dips and let them run.

Hoping for more opportunities, and better results next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 4th November 2022

20 Trades:

20 US 500 + 43 BPS.

19 long trades + 5 BPS.
1 short trades + 38 BPS.
19 intraday trades + 43 BPS.
No multi-day trades.

Total trades net + 43 BPS.
Net points + 16.

Return on account for the week + 0.49 % net.

P:L ratio 2.6:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 350 min.
Shortest trade duration: < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another difficult week on the equity markets.

The main event of the week was the US Fed rate increase and press conference on Wednesday.

 

The equity markets initially rallied on the news of another 75 BPS cut (exactly what had been expected), then sold off heavily, especially after Powell started speaking.

 

I've noticed the markets often fall when he opens his mouth, maybe some trading programs do this automatically.

 

I think he has done a terrible job as Fed chair, allowing US inflation to get out of control they way it has.

 

I'm sure a decent computer algorithm could do a better job of setting interest rates, and would be far cheaper.

 

I didn't trade the Fed announcement.

Not a great week, although still positive. Again well short of my 2.5% benchmark, although I was distracted by having work done at home (a new hot water tank being fitted).

 

Still following the rules I outlined last week, so no trade entries after the US market open, no net short positions. I will continue like this and monitor my progress. 

 

Hoping for more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 28th October 2022

  

37 Trades:

37 US 500 + 167 BPS.

36 long trades + 435 BPS.
1 short trades - 268 BPS.
35 intraday trades + 169 BPS.
2 multi-day trades - 2 BPS.

Total trades net + 167 BPS.
Net points + 63.5.

Return on account for the week + 0.96 % net.

P:L ratio 2.2:1.
Days traded: 4.5.
Longest trade duration: 7 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another challenging week on the equity markets.

The rally on the US indices ran out of steam on Wednesday, poor tech stock earnings from Google and Meta and Amazon didn't help the Nasdaq and the SPX.

 

This week I have been experimenting with some new trading rules:

    Trade the SPX exclusively.

    No net short positions.

    No trade entries after the US market open (trade exits only).

    Trade intraday only.

These rules are the results of my trading experiences over the last few years.

I feel comfortable following them, which is really important.

I will continue to trade using these rules for the next two weeks, and monitor progress.

(The two multi-day trades closed this week were opened last week). 

 

My net gain of over 60 points on the SPX is quite encouraging, equivalent to over 500 Dow points, or 100 on the FTSE. This is despite missing some nice intraday moves.

Adopting this strategy also means my day is effectively over at 14:30 London time, unless I am still managing trades opened earlier in the day. I tend to start pretty early, around 06:00 London time, so it can be quite a long day, which takes its toll on my effectiveness. I will not trade in the evening.

A tricky week, I made some poor trading exits. Well short of my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.

 

One more thing - I've recently discovered an excellent podcast for traders, called the 'Trader's Mastermind Podcast':

 

https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mz8uy-214a77/Traders-Mastermind-Podcast

 

Well worth a listen.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 21st October 2022

 

60 Trades:

60 US 500 + 1005 BPS.

39 long trades + 217 BPS.
21 short trades + 788 BPS.
58 intraday trades + 266 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 739 BPS.

Total trades net + 1005 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.21 % net.

Net points + 98.

P:L ratio 21.3:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 48 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another busy week on the equity markets.

US markets were stronger early in the week, before falling on Wednesday and Thursday. 

We then saw a rally on Friday, after weakness in the pre-market.  At one point about 14:00 London time (30 minutes before the cash open) the futures were trading around 3630, we then broke above 3700 after the open, quite a move.

Some really challenging trading conditions. 

I focussed 100% of my efforts on the SPX, again mainly trading in the pre-market (47 of 58 intraday trades).

Above my 2.5 % weekly benchmark, even though I made some very poor exits.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 14th October 2022

59 Trades:

59 US 500 + 648 BPS.

41 long trades + 57 BPS.
18 short trades + 591 BPS.
54 intra-day trades + 584 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 64 BPS.

Total trades net + 648 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.9 % net.

P:L ratio 3.9:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 12 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A volatile week. I traded the SPX quite a bit, we saw some decent moves but I was mostly scalping. I scalped 210 points on intraday moves. I made some VERY poor trade exists, especially longs on Thursday when the market tanked (easy to say in hindsight)..

Interestingly, 44 of the 53 intraday trades were entered during the pre-market session. I believe that traders based in Europe may have an advantage here, since the pre-market offers some good entry levels, (of course US - based traders can just get up early, my earliest entry was around 6 am London time, that's 1 am in New York...) 

On Thursday, CPI data broke at 14:30 London time, and the futures markets dropped very sharply, before staging a huge rally after the cash open. The SPX  broke below 3,500 for a time, the intraday move was 193 points, for the Nasdaq the figure was 647 points, and the Dow a whopping 1507 points.

Here is the SPX:

 

The week was also made more difficult by some PC problems, right at the wrong time.

Well short of my 2.5 % weekly benchmark despite the decent intraday trading, as I was trading smaller size due to the volatility.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 7th October 2022

28 Trades:

2 UK 100 + 5 BPS.

26 US 500 + 145 BPS.

24 long trades + 279 BPS.
4 short trades - 129 BPS.
26 intra-day trades + 144 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 6 BPS.

Total trades net + 150 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 0.87 % net.

P:L ratio 3.1:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 13 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A difficult week on the equity markets.

Monday was pretty weak, with the FTSE dipping below 6,800, before rally later in the week.

The SPX got near 3604.

On Friday, we had the US non - farm payrolls, which caused a sell off on the futures.

Here is the chart of the SPX futures after payrolls:

Later in the session the index fell further, at one point the Dow was down over 700 points.

I didn't run my profits, and I missed several great trade entries.

Maybe I had too bearish a mindset. Well short of my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Hoping for more better trading next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 30th September 2022

45 Trades:

5 UK 100 - 30 BPS.

40 US 500 + 910 BPS.

20 long trades - 417 BPS.
25 short trades +1,297 BPS.
38 intra-day trades + 315 BPS.
7 multi-day trades + 565 BPS.

Total trades net + 880 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.26 % net.

P:L ratio 2.6:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 22 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very volatile week on the equity markets.

We saw a rally after the Bank of England announced they they would buy gilts. But the rally was short lived. 

On Friday, the SPX broke below 3,600, closing ay a new low for 2022.

A very challenging week.  Well above my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 23rd September 2022

For various reasons, I haven't updated this blog/journal for some time, but I plan to add weekly updates.

48 Trades:

48 US 500 + 1,438 BPS.

31 long trades - 53 BPS.
17 short trades +1,491 BPS.
39 intra-day trades + 217 BPS.
9 multi-day trades + 1,221 BPS.

Total trades net + 1,438 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.46 % net.

P:L ratio 4.8:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 8 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A very volatile week on the equity markets.

US indices fell heavily, after the Fed hiked rates on Wednesday.

On Friday, the SPX touched 3,644, just eleven points above the June 17th lows, before a sharp bounce in the last couple of hours.

The Dow was down over 800 at one point. Over the week the SPX lost 180 points (4.65%).

The Nasdaq is now over 32% down from the all time highs, the SPX 23%.

A pretty busy week.  Well above my 2.5 % weekly benchmark. 

I missed some excellent short entries.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.