Trading Summary Week Ended 17th August 2018

20 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 421 BPS.
1 ANTO + 20 BPS.
2 BARC + 42 BPS.
2 FRES + 25 BPS.
2 GLEN + 107 BPS.
6 UK100 + 33 BPS.

10 long trades + 113 BPS.
10 short trades + 535 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 388 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 260 BPS.
Stocks net + 648 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 2.35 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 22 days.
Shortest trade duration:  4 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very challenging week on the equity markets.

Equity markets sold off on fears over the effects of Turkey's currency weakening. The FTSE fell below the 7500 level for the fist time since April this year, in fact it stopped just above the 200 DMA.

The mining sector took a huge hit on Wednesday, with the likes of FRES falling over 9%. We had a bit of a recovery on Thursday and then on Friday, (expiration day) markets were weaker again.
All in all a difficult week.
Some very premature exits on short positions.
Well below my weekly 2.5% benchmark.

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 10th August 2018

21 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 145 BPS.
1 BLT + 39 BPS.
1 FRES + 29 BPS.
7 GLEN + 418 BPS.
4 MCRO + 118 BPS.
2 STAN + 43 BPS.
5 UK100 + 71 BPS.

9 long trades + 198 BPS.
11 short trades + 664 BPS.
13 intra-day trades + 292 BPS.
8 multi-day trades + 570 BPS.
Stocks net + 862 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 3.16 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 6 days.
Shortest trade duration:  3 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another busy week on the equity markets.
GLEN missed estimates when it reported on Wednesday. The shares initially sold off before rallying.
We saw a sell off in equities on Friday morning, not really sure what triggered that, but I took advantage of it, closing a couple of short positions. FRES was volatile on Friday, falling over 5% before rallying strongly later in the afternoon (closed too early again).

Above my weekly 2.5% benchmark anyway, first time for a couple of weeks, which is good.

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 3rd August 2018

21 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 296 BPS.
2 BARC + 56 BPS.
1 BLT + 28 BPS.
3 GLEN + 156 BPS.
1 RR + 13 BPS.
7 STAN + 82 BPS.
2 UK100 + 7 BPS.

6 long trades + 156 BPS.
15 short trades + 482 BPS.
15 intra-day trades + 349 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 289 BPS.
Stocks net + 638 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 1.92 % net.
P:L ratio 30.2:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 16 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

 

A quieter week on the equity markets.
The widely anticipated base rate increase on Thursday actually happened. The Bank of England raised rates by 25 BPS. Equity markets were weaker with the commodity stocks hit.
Well below my weekly 2.5% benchmark. I missed some good trades, and made some very poor exits, including a STAN short which I should have held a lot longer, and the day after, a long on the same stock which I closed much too soon. All pretty frustrating.
In fact my trading was pretty poor all round. Hopefully my trading can improve for the rest of the month.

Also trading under the new ESMA rules this week. 

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 27th July 2018

11 Stock Trades:

4 AAL + 118 BPS.
1 BLT + 29 BPS.
2 FRES + 93 BPS.
1 RDSB + 9 BPS.
3 UK100 - 32 BPS.

7 long trades + 99 BPS.
4 short trades + 118 BPS.
7 intra-day trades + 180 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 37 BPS.
Stocks net + 217 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 0.60 % net.
P:L ratio 1.91:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 42 days.
Shortest trade duration:  12 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

 

A quieter week on the equity markets.
Well below my weekly 2.5% benchmark. I missed some good trades, and made some poor ones.

Crude oil rallied, as did copper. Mining stocks had a strong rally on Tuesday, before selling off on Wednesday.

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 20th July 2018

12 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 20 BPS.
1 BLT + 176 BPS.
5 GLEN + 197 BPS.
2 MCRO + 52 BPS.
3 UK100 +  56 BPS.

4 long trades + 249 BPS.
8 short trades + 252 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 137 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 364 BPS.
Stocks net + 501 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 2.60 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 3 days.
Shortest trade duration:  7 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

 

A difficult week on the equity markets. Made some very poor trade exits.
Just above my weekly 2.5% benchmark. 

Crude oil was weak again, as was gold.

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

That and enjoying the Tour de France.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 13th July 2018

24 Stock Trades:

4 AAL + 543 BPS.
2 BLT + 42 BPS.
3 BP + 92 BPS.
3 GLEN + 366 BPS.
5 MCRO + 214 BPS.
7 UK100 + 66 BPS.

9 long trades + 188 BPS.
15 short trades + 1135 BPS.
15 intra-day trades + 473 BPS.
9 multi-day trades + 850 BPS.
Stocks net + 1323 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 5.38 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 50 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

 

Another volatile week on the equity markets.

MCRO came out with results on Wednesday and the stock sold off sharply. The commodity stocks also sold off midweek on more trade tariff concerns.
Equity markets then rallied into the end of the week.

I was pretty busy this week, closing 24 trades.

Above my weekly 2.5% benchmark, but it should have been higher. My trade entries were poor, especially on MCRO. Trades on the short side were much better performers over the week, as shown in the figures above, short trades being over six times more profitable. 

 Crude oil was very volatile with a sell off midweek:

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

That and watching the Tour de France.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 6th July 2018

23 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 286 BPS.
4 BLT + 156 BPS.
5 GLEN + 306 BPS.
1 MCRO + 38 BPS.
8 UK100 + 48 BPS.

9 long trades + 236 BPS.
14 short trades + 598 BPS.
19 intra-day trades + 558 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 276 BPS.
Stocks net + 834 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 3.90 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 61 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

 

A volatile start to the week, stocks sold off at the open on Monday.

GLEN took a huge hit on Tuesday after the company received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice. The stock was down over 12% intraday at one point. Almost unbelievably, I had closed a short position on GLEN the day before - not-so-great timing. I scalped a few points on the rebound but my entries and exits were very poor.

US markets were closed on Wednesday, then we a had a rally on Thursday.

Above my weekly 2.5% benchmark, but it should have been a lot higher. 



Of course, this weekend sees the start of the greatest sporting event of the year - the Tour de France, which means that I will be trying to trade, whilst glued to the coverage of the cycling for the next three weeks.

Looking forward to more trading opportunities, and some exciting racing next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 29th June 2018

24 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 508 BPS.
3 BLT + 241 BPS.
2 BP + 141 BPS.
3 GLEN + 104 BPS.
4 MCRO + 33 BPS.
5 UK100 + 27 BPS.

9 long trades + 348 BPS.
15 short trades + 706 BPS.
13 intra-day trades + 550 BPS.
11 multi-day trades + 504 BPS.
Stocks net + 1054 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 4.59 % net.
P:L ratio 35.3:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 49 days.
Shortest trade duration:  3 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

 

A busy week's trading. Equity markets sold off on Monday, with the commodity sectors being badly hit.
We saw some rebound on Tuesday and Wednesday, with crude oil having a very strong rally. On Thursday equity markets sold off after Wall street reversed its gains on Wednesday night. Then we saw a rally early on Friday.

Miners and other commodity stocks were volatile again.

I made a few poor trade exits, including selling BP too early into the rally on Wednesday, and closing a couple of shorts into the decline on Thursday. I also closed a MCRO long trade criminally early on Thursday - patience....
North of my weekly 2.5% benchmark anyway. 

I made 77 trades during June, with a net return of just over 13%.
Looking forward to better trading opportunities next month.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 22nd June 2018

11 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 36 BPS.
2 BP + 28 BPS.
1 RR + 41 BPS.  
7 UK100 + 129 BPS.

6 long trades + 91 BPS.
5 short trades + 143 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 131 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 103 BPS.
Stocks net + 234 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 2.00 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration:  5 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

 

A quieter week, markets were range - bound for most of the week.
Crude spiked higher on Friday following a meeting of OPEC. BP was volatile, and I closed a long position in it far too early, mainly as as my entry was poor, and I didn't want to let it fall back into the red. Patience is virtue for a trader.

Well short of my weekly 2.5% benchmark. 

Looking forward to better trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 15th June 2018

16 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 44 BPS.
1 BP + 21 BPS.
3 BLT +  125 BPS.
1 GLEN + 35 BPS.
1 OCDO + 88 BPS.
1 RR + 54 BPS.
7 UK100 + 64 BPS.

8 long trades + 234 BPS.
8 short trades + 197 BPS.
11 intra-day trades + 309 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 122 BPS.
Stocks net + 431 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 2.14 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 15 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A difficult week's trading.

Markets were pretty range bound during the first part of the week. We saw a sell off after the US Fed raised rates by 25 BPS on Wednesday night, before a strong rally on Thursday, then a sell off on Friday.

Made a few very poor trades exits again this week, especially on my RR short, which dropped over 400 BPS from the early high on Friday.

Well short of my weekly 2.5% benchmark. 

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 8th June 2018

21 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 54 BPS.
1 BP + 40 BPS.
3 BLT +  189 BPS.
1 FRES + 26 BPS.
14 UK100 + 127 BPS.

14 long trades + 374 BPS.
7 short trades + 62 BPS.
15 intra-day trades + 224 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 212 BPS.
Stocks net + 436 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 2.95 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 16 days.
Shortest trade duration:  5 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another tough week's trading.

Markets were quieter during the first part of the week. Miners were strong, as were the metals. The FTSE held above the 7700 level for most of the week.

On Thursday, due to technical problems the LSE didn't open at the usual 8 am, so we had the FTSE futures trading but no stocks open and the FTSE cash closed. I managed to profit a few points on a couple of shorts when the FTSE futures were pricing in a 60 point plus rally at the open. Sure enough, the futures fell sharply after the cash finally opened at 9am. Actually I closed too early, lowering my stop too agressively.

Markets sold off again on Friday morning, before rallying around midday then selling off again. All in all, a volatile week.
Made a few very poor trades exits again this week.

Just north of my weekly 2.5% benchmark. 

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 1st June 2018

10 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 41 BPS.
1 BLT +  111 BPS.
1 GLEN + 63 BPS.
6 UK100 + 49 BPS.

2 long trades + 174 BPS.
8 short trades + 90 BPS.
5 intra-day trades + 56 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 208 BPS.
Stocks net + 264 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 1.06 % net.
P:L ratio 3.5:1.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 21 days.
Shortest trade duration:  8 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A very difficult week's trading. The London markets were closed on Monday for the bank holiday.

Political uncertainty in Italy sparked a sell off across Europe early in the week. Markets then bounced on Friday. Commodity stocks gained strength over the week.

The net return is lower than the BPS figure would suggest, due to dividends deducted from an overnight short position.

Well below my weekly 2.5% benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 25th May 2018

11 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 140 BPS.
2 BLT +  152 BPS.
3 GLEN + 142 BPS.
4 UK100 + 136 BPS.

11 long trades + 570 BPS.
0 short trades.
6 intra-day trades + 249 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 321 BPS.
Stocks net + 570 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 3.65 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded:5.

Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration:  10 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

The rally in the commodity stocks continued in the early part of the week, but then we saw a sell off on Wednesday morning. Crude oil saw a serious sell off on Friday.

FTSE made new all time highs on Monday and Tuesday. The index has now rallied nearly 15% off the March lows.

Trading was difficult, and I made some poor entries and exits, selling the mining stocks rally too early.

Still, just above my weekly 2.5% benchmark.

Looking forward to a long weekend, and more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 18th May 2018

13 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 46 BPS.
3 BLT + 292 BPS.
2 BP +  172 BPS.
3 GLEN + 142 BPS.
4 UK100 + 155 BPS.

13 long trades + 807 BPS.
0 short trades.
5 intra-day trades + 191 BPS.
8 multi-day trades + 616 BPS.

Stocks net + 807 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 6.34 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded:5.

Longest trade duration: 4 days.
Shortest trade duration:  11 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another strong week for the commodity stocks, as Brent crude hit the $80 mark. BP and Shell both made new 52 week highs this week, helping the FTSE rally.
Three of the big four mining stocks made new 52 week highs, as did the FTSE mining index, which broke above 20,000 for the first time since February 2013.
GLEN was volatile of Friday after news of a bribery investigation.

FTSE made a new all time closing high on Thursday, the rally shows no signs of ending.

Looking forward to further opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 11th May 2018

14 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 169 BPS.
2 BLT + 57 BPS.
2 BT.A + 125 BPS.
2 BP +  49 BPS.
2 GLEN + 126 BPS.
4 UK100 + 149 BPS.

11 long trades + 563 BPS.
3 short trades + 112 BPS.
9 intra-day trades + 350 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 325 BPS.

Stocks net + 675 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.80 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded:4.

Longest trade duration: 22 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another four day week, due to the May bank holiday.
The FTSE made yet another 30 day high on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The rally shows no sign of ending.
Miners and oil stocks were volatile again, crude oil was bid higher after Donald Trump cancelled the Iran deal.
BT.A fell over 8% on Thursday after releasing results. I scalped a few points on a couple of longs on it.
Made a few very poor trade exits this week, including closing BLT long much too soon, given how strong the sector was.
Well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to further opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 4th May 2018

23 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 196 BPS.
6 BLT + 394 BPS.
2 BP + 221 BPS.
3 GLEN + 220 BPS.
1 SBRY + 79 BPS.
6 UK100 + 211 BPS.

11 long trades + 791 BPS.
12 short trades + 530 BPS.
13 intra-day trades + 471 BPS.
10 multi-day trades + 850 BPS.

Stocks net + 1321 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 12.25 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.

Longest trade duration: 13 days.
Shortest trade duration:  3 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another week, and markets were active again.
Crude oil was weaker on Monday. The FTSE however made another 30 day high.
SBRY gapped open nearly 20% on Monday after merger (with ASDA) news emerged over the weekend. I think the shorts took a big hit on that. I took a short on it but closed way too early.

Miners were volatile again, especially GLEN after it emerged that Glencore won a temporary injunction against mining magnate Dan Gertler over $2.28 billion worth of royalties the Israeli businessman says he is owed by the Anglo-Swiss commodities trader.

Mining stocks remained strong, as did the oil majors (stronger than their counterparts in the US). This is probably due to the continued weakness of GBP/USD. Both BP and RD Shell made new 52 week highs on Friday.

So all in all, a pretty busy week.
Well north of my 2.5% weekly benchmark anyway.

Of course, the Giro starts on Friday... three weeks of cycling on the TV... going to be difficult to concentrate on work...

Looking forward to further opportunities and some quality cycle racing next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 27th April 2018

22 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 138 BPS.
7 BLT + 265 BPS.
2 BP + 55 BPS.
1 GLEN + 143 BPS.
10 UK100 + 165 BPS.

16 long trades + 605 BPS.
6 short trades + 161 BPS.
16 intra-day trades + 523 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 243 BPS.

Stocks net + 766 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 8.73 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 8 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another busy week for me.
The crude oil rally continued in the first part of the week, boosting the price of BP and RD Shell.
Crude then fell back on Wednesday. Miners were also weaker, and Wednesday saw the mining stocks sell off sharply. On Thursday we rallied again, the FTSE was pretty strong, making another 30 day high on Friday. Overall the FTSE was up 134 points on the week.

Made some poor exits (taking profits too early).
Above my 2.5% weekly benchmark anyway.

Looking forward to further opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 20th April 2018

17 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 38 BPS.
6 BLT + 167 BPS.
2 GLEN + 33 BPS.
1 MCRO + 30 BPS.
6 UK100 + 69 BPS.

14 long trades + 283 BPS.
3 short trades + 54 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 261 BPS.
3 multi-day trades + 76 BPS.

Stocks net + 337 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.96 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 1 day.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another challenging week.
Stocks were in bull mode on Wednesday, the FTSE made new 30 day highs, then again on Thursday and Friday, mainly driven by the rally in commodity prices, with the likes of RD Shell and BP very strong. Cable was also very weak after some inflation data came out, helping the dollar earning companies like BP, BLT, RIO etc.
On Friday we had expiry, which I thought might mark the end of the recent rally, but it appears I was wrong about that. The US markets look like they want to test the recent lows, but we will have to see.
North of my 2.5% weekly benchmark anyway.
Looking forward to further opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 13th April 2018

23 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 147 BPS.
4 BLT + 64 BPS.
1 BP + 2 BPS.
4 GLEN + 72 BPS.
7 UK100 + 70 BPS.


8 long trades + 186 BPS.
15 short trades + 169 BPS.
18 intra-day trades + 277 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 78 BPS.

Stocks net + 355 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 4.07 % net.
P:L ratio 134:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 20 days.
Shortest trade duration:  5 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Back to five day weeks. More volatility on stocks and stock indices.

A really challenging week. We had a very strong rally on Tuesday after the Chinese president made a speech which was well received by the markets. The commodity stocks were very strong. Then we sold off on Wednesday. Thursday was pretty quiet.

The FTSE was strong, seems like every little dip is being bought at the moment. Of course the rally in crude helped the FTSE, given the weightings of BP and RD Shell.
However, I would not be surprised if we test the lows on the FTSE and SPX from last month before too long, but who knows...
I suppose an escalation of the hostilities between the US and Russia might really spook these markets.

I made a few very poor trade entries this week, shorting the rally too early.

Still, just north of my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to further volatility next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 6th April 2018

15 Stock Trades:

4 AAL + 264 BPS.
4 BLT + 280 BPS.
2 GLEN + 166 BPS.
5 UK100 + 96 BPS.


5 long trades + 450 BPS.
10 short trades + 354 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 156 BPS.
9 multi-day trades + 648 BPS.

Stocks net + 804 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 9.70 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration:  6 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A shortened week due to the Easter Monday holiday.

Another very volatile four days on stocks.

Chinese trade tariffs announced on Wednesday sparked a sell off, however US stocks rebounded later in the session, with the Dow rallying 600 points off the lows.

The UK market followed Wall St on Thursday, with a powerful rally.
Then on Thursday night the US announced more tariffs, and triggered a modest sell off on Friday.
Some pretty poor trade entries and exits this week.
Also experienced some software problems with my main trading PC, which made things more difficult than they already were, given the volatility.

Still, well north of my 2.5% weekly benchmark.
Looking forward to further volatility next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 30th March 2018

15 Stock Trades:

3 AAL + 63 BPS.
3 BLT + 159 BPS.
1 BP + 15 BPS.
4 GLEN + 183 BPS.
4 UK 100 + 48 BPS.

8 long trades + 170 BPS.
7 short trades + 298 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 170 BPS.
9 multi-day trades + 298 BPS.

Stocks net + 468 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.64 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration: 6 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another pretty active week.
Equity markets were again volatile, with the FTSE making new 52 week lows on Monday. Tuesday saw a strong rally, and then Wednesday saw the markets sell off again. Then on Thursday we saw a rally on stocks. Of course, volatility is what the trader needs.

Some of my trade entries and exits were pretty poor this week.

A shortened week due to the Easter holiday, next week likewise.
Above my 2.5% weekly benchmark anyway, although should have been better.



Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 23rd March 2018

22 Stock Trades:

6 AAL + 134 BPS.
2 BLT + 16 BPS.
2 BP + 15 BPS.
5 GLEN + 113 BPS.
3 MCRO + 569 BPS.
4 UK 100 + 47 BPS.

13 long trades + 761 BPS.
9 short trades + 133 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 762 BPS.
8 multi-day trades + 132 BPS.

Stocks net + 894 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 8.21 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 6 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very active week.
Equity markets were volatile.
Trade tariffs spooked equities on Thursday and Friday, with the FTSE making new 52 week lows on both days.The mining sector stocks were hit especially hard.

The best trades were on MCRO after it issued a trading update and fell over 50%, which for a FTSE 100 stock is pretty unusual. As usual I left lots on the table.
But well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.
(The lower return in percent compared to the BPS value is due to the trades in MCRO being half the normal size, due to the volatility.)


Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 16th March 2018

15 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 75 BPS.
8 BLT + 99 BPS.
2 GLEN + 12 BPS.



5 long trades +80 BPS.
10 short trades + 106 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 172 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 14 BPS.

Stocks net + 186 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.18 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 3 days.
Shortest trade duration: 4 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another active week.

Not a great return given the number of trades, and below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.


Looking forward to better opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 9th March 2018

13 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 231 BPS.
1 BLT + 12 BPS.
1 GLEN + 325 BPS.
1 UK100 + 3 BPS.


4 long trades +70 BPS.
9 short trades + 501 BPS.
9 intra-day trades + 142 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 429 BPS.

Stocks net + 571 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 6.50 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 10 days.
Shortest trade duration: 315 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another busy week's trading.


Well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 2nd March 2018

9 Stock Trades:

3 AAL + 76 BPS.
2 BLT + 31 BPS.
1 FRES + 40 BPS.
2 GLEN + 36 BPS.
1 STAN + 28 BPS.


7 long trades + 175 BPS.
2 short trades + 36 BPS.
7 intra-day trades + 175 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 36 BPS.

Stocks net + 211 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.53 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 18 days.
Shortest trade duration: 6 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A busier week's trading, although I left a lot on the table.


Well north of my 2.5% weekly benchmark anyway..

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 23rd February 2018

 6 Stock Trades:

3 BLT + 70 BPS.
3 GLEN + 63 BPS.


4 long trades + 88 BPS
2 short trades + 45 BPS.
5 intra-day trades + 108 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 25 BPS.

Stocks net + 133 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.47 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 2 days.
Shortest trade duration: 13 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very challenging week's trading.


Just above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 16th February 2018

4 Stock Trades:

4 GLEN + 188 BPS.


No long trades.
4 short trades + 188 BPS.
3 intra-day trades + 129 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 58 BPS.

Stocks net + 188 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.85 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 1 days.
Shortest trade duration: 8 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A quiet week's trading.


Just above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading summary Week Ended 9th February 2018

9 Stock Trades:

1 BLT + 32 BPS.
8 GLEN + 934 BPS.


2 long trades +60 BPS
7 short trades + 907 BPS.
5 intra-day trades + 123 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 843 BPS.

Stocks net + 967 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 18.26 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 40 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A much better week's trading. Shorts on GLEN in the main.


Well north of my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 2nd February 2018

3 Stock Trades:

3 GLEN + 78 BPS.


2 long trades +36 BPS
1 short trades + 41 BPS.
1 intra-day trades + 23 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 55 BPS.

Stocks net + 78 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.99 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 10 days.
Shortest trade duration: 315 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very challenging week's trading.


Well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 26th January 2018

2 Stock Trades:

2 GLEN + 37 BPS.


2 long trades + 37 BPS.
No short trades.
1 intra-day trades + 31 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 6 BPS.

Stocks net + 37 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.05 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 2 days.
Shortest trade duration: 159 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A quiet week's trading.

Well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities, and to trade them better, next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 19th January 2018

6 Stock Trades:

6 GLEN + 298 BPS.


6 long trades + 298 BPS.
No short trades.
2 intra-day trades + 46 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 252 BPS.

Stocks net + 298 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 9.31 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 4 days.
Shortest trade duration: 71 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another decent challenging week's trading.

Well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ending 12th January 2018

3 Stock Trades:

3 GLEN + 294 BPS.


3 long trades + 294 BPS.
No short trades.
1 intra-day trade + 5 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 289 BPS.

Stocks net + 294 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 9.76 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 3 days.
Shortest trade duration: 8 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Back to trading after some time off.
A difficult week's trading.

Well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 15th September 2017

No trades this week.

Trading Summary Week Ended 8th September 2017

No trades this week.

Trading Summary Week Ended 1st September 2017

No trades this week.

Trading Summary Week Ended 18th August 2017

1 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 1428 BPS.


1 long trade + 1428 BPS.
No short trades.
No intra-day trades.
1 multi-day trades + 1428 BPS.

Stocks net + 1428 BPS.

Return on account for the week +6.82 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 1.
Longest trade duration: 34 days.
Shortest trade duration: 34 days.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A quiet week.

Looking forward to a better week next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 11th August 2017

4 Stock Trades:

4 AAL - 2639 BPS.


2 long trades + 1980 BPS
2 short trades - 4619 BPS.
No intra-day trades.
4 multi-day trades - 2639 BPS.

Stocks net - 2639 BPS.

Return on account for the week - 18.53 % net.
P:L ratio 0.39:1.
Days traded: 1.
Longest trade duration: 119 days.
Shortest trade duration: 15 days.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another poor week.

Took a hit on a couple of short positions.

Looking forward to a better week next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 4th August 2017

No trades this week.

Trading Summary Week Ended 28th July 2017

1 Stock Trade:

1 AAL + 523 BPS.


1 long trade + 523 BPS
No short trades.
No intra-day trades.
1 multi-day trads + 523 BPS.

Stocks net + 523 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.7 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 1.
Longest trade duration: 64 days.
Shortest trade duration: 64 days.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A quiet week.

Didn't trade for most of the week.

Looking forward to a better week next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 21st July 2017

4 Stock Trades:

2 BLT - 1512 BPS.
2 RIO - 1243 BPS.

2 long trades + 171 BPS
2 short trades - 2927 BPS.
No intra-day trades.
4 multi-day trades - 2755 BPS.

Stocks net - 2755 BPS.

Return on account for the week - 12.78 % net.
P:L ratio 0.05:1.
Days traded: 1.
Longest trade duration: 96 days.
Shortest trade duration: 13 days.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another poor week.

Took a hit on a couple of short positions that I held too long.

Looking forward to a better week next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 14th July 2017

25 Stock Trades:

7 AAL - 599 BPS.
13 BLT - 380 BPS.
5 GLEN + 300 BPS.

23 long trades + 731 BPS
2 short trades - 1410 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 216 BPS.
19 multi-day trades - 895 BPS.

Stocks net - 679 BPS.

Return on account for the week - 1.03 % net.
P:L ratio 0.85:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 90 days.
Shortest trade duration: 4 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Not a good week.

Took a hit on a couple of short positions that I held too long.
Well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Some poor entries and exits.

Looking forward to a better week next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 7th July 2017

21 Stock Trades:

3 AAL - 145 BPS.
9 BLT + 160 BPS.
3 GLEN + 281 BPS.
6 RIO + 507 BPS.

18 long trades + 948 BPS
3 short trades - 145 BPS.
8 intra-day trades + 93 BPS.
13 multi-day trades + 710 BPS.

Stocks net + 803 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 4.87 % net.
P:L ratio 2.52:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 84 days.
Shortest trade duration: 34 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another volatile week.

Above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Some poor entries and exits.

Looking forward to more opportunities and some quality cycle racing next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 30th June 2017

14 Stock Trades:

3 AAL + 154 BPS.
6 GLEN + 241 BPS.
5 RIO + 440 BPS.

8 long trades + 559 BPS
6 short trades + 276 BPS.
9 intra-day trades + 422 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 413 BPS.

Stocks net + 835 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 6.16 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 16 days.
Shortest trade duration: 37 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another volatile and challenging week's trading.

We saw a rally on the miners towards the end of the week, not sure what drove that (I have learned that it's pointless to try and find reasons for these moves, as a wise trader once said, 'the market moves because it has to').

Anyway, I traded the volatility. A moderately busy week by my standards at just under three trades per day.

Above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Of course, the greatest sporting event on the planet starts on Saturday (tomorrow), so I'll be trying to trade whilst keeping an eye on the likes of Alberto Contador, Richie Porte, Mark Cavandish, Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana etc...

Looking forward to more opportunities and some quality racing next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 23rd June 2017

11 Stock Trades:

6 AAL + 523 BPS.
4 GLEN - 337 BPS.
1 RIO + 12 BPS.

1 long trades - 554 BPS
10 short trades + 752 BPS.
1 intra-day trades + 53 BPS.
10 multi-day trades + 145 BPS.

Stocks net + 198 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.67 % net.
P:L ratio 1.45:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 17 days.
Shortest trade duration: 111 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very challenging week's trading. Miners sold off again this week, crude and other commodities were also weak.

Some very difficult trading conditions, and I made a couple of very poor trade exits.
I managed to end the week positive, but not sure if it was worth the stress.
Well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities, and to trade them better, next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 16th June 2017

12 Stock Trades:

8 AAL + 318 BPS.
1 GLEN + 30 BPS.
3 RIO + 126 BPS.

2 long trades + 62 BPS
10 short trades + 412 BPS.
8 intra-day trades + 226 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 248 BPS.

Stocks net + 474 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.05 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 41 days.
Shortest trade duration: 6 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A very challenging week's trading.

The early part of the week was pretty quiet. then we saw a big sell off in mining and resource stocks on Wednesday afternoon, which continued into Thursday. Friday saw a weak rally.

AAL, RIO, BLT all made new 10 day lows on Thursday. AAL broke lower on Friday.

Made some very poor trade exists, closing a couple of short positions way too early. This is something I need to address.

North of my 2.5% weekly benchmark, but I could have more than doubled that return with better trade exits.

Looking forward to more opportunities, and to trade them better, next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 9th June 2017

14 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 241 BPS.
2 GLEN + 34 BPS.
5 RIO + 86 BPS.

4 long trades + 84 BPS
10 short trades + 277 BPS.
9 intra-day trades + 277 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 84 BPS.

Stocks  net + 361 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.72 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 28 days.
Shortest trade duration: 5 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A better week after last week's lacklustre performance.

We saw some volatility during the British election, when the Conservatives lost their majority. I bet Theresa May regrets calling that election now.

Made a couple of very poor trade exits, basically because I didn't want to take the risk of the markets making a big down move after the election. In the end, the mining sector was up on Friday morning, the weakness of sterling may have been a factor in that rise.

North of my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 2nd June 2017

6 Stock Trades:

1 GLEN + 11 BPS.
5 RIO + 73 BPS.

5 long trades + 75 BPS
1 short trade + 9 BPS.
4 intra-day trades + 67 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 17 BPS.

Stocks  net + 84 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 0.90 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 3.
Longest trade duration: 2 days.
Shortest trade duration: 9 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A four day week after the bank holiday in the UK.

Well below my 2.5% benchmark. I struggled to find many opportunities.

Hoping for more opportunities next week, when we have the general election in Great Britain. Should produce some volatility.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 26th May 2017

14 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 16 BPS.
4 BLT + 199 BPS.
3 GLEN + 49 BPS.
6 RIO + 350 BPS.

12 long trades + 583 BPS.
2 short trades + 31 BPS.
10 intra-day trades + 257 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 357 BPS.

Stocks  net + 614 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 6.03 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 6 days.
Shortest trade duration: 12 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another tough week's trading.

Well above my 2.5% benchmark. Stocks on my regular list traded in tight ranges for most of the week. I caught a few decent moves early in the week.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 19th May 2017

15 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 89 BPS.
1 BLT + 2 BPS.
6 GLEN + 101 BPS.
6 RIO - 5 BPS.

5  long trades + 132 BPS.
9 short trades + 56 BPS.
11 intra-day trades + 160 BPS.
3 multi-day trades + 27 BPS.

Stocks  net + 187 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.91 % net.
P:L ratio 4.2:1.
Days traded: 3.
Longest trade duration: 14 days.
Shortest trade duration: 3 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A tough week, miners saw some strength in the early part of the week.

I made some very poor entries and exits, all in all a very difficult week.

I was away from Thursday after noon visiting the UK.

Well below my 2.5% benchmark.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 12th May 2017

13 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 14 BPS.
4 BLT + 70 BPS.
4 GLEN + 51 BPS.
4 RIO + 48 BPS.

4 long trades + 70 BPS.
9 short trades + 113 BPS.
9 intra-day trades + 114 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 69 BPS

Stocks  net + 183 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.86 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 6 days.
Shortest trade duration: 9 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A tough week, shares on my watch list were rangebound during the early part of the week.

Well below my 2.5% benchmark.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 5th May 2017

17 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 399 BPS.
4 BLT + 65 BPS.
4 GLEN + 163 BPS.
2 RIO + 50 BPS.

4 long trades + 52 BPS.
13 short trades + 625 BPS.
13 intra-day trades + 585 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 92 BPS

Stocks  net + 677 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 7.48 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration: 7 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another shortened  due to the May day bank holiday

We had a sell off in the mining sector on Thursday, then a rebound on Friday.
This weekend we have the results of the 2nd round of the French election (a very French way to organise things I reckon).

Macron is forecast to win it, but there is an outside chance that Marine may become president of the republic, and that would spook the markets, especially the Euro.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 28th April 2017

29 Stock Trades:

8 AAL + 493 BPS.
2 BARC + 54 BPS.
3 BLT + 45 BPS.
5 GLEN + 202 BPS.
8 RIO + 206 BPS.
3 STAN + 42 BPS.


7 long trades + 238 BPS.
22 short trades + 804 BPS.
19 intra-day trades + 393 BPS.
10 multi-day trades + 649 BPS

Stocks  net + 1042 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 15.11 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 6 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A five day week after a couple of short weeks due to Easter.

Monday saw a strong open, after Macron won the first round of the French elections.

Miners rallied on Monday but sold off on Tuesday, a downgrade of BLT, RIO and AAL from Goldmans didn't help.

Wednesday was very volatile with earnings out for STAN and GSK, also a production update from BLT.
We had another sell off in the mining sector on Thursday afternoon, then a rebound on Friday.
And then BARC announced disappointing results on Friday morning, after which the shares sank more than 5%.
In other words, ideal trading conditions.

Well  above my 2.5% benchmark, and the best week of the year so far.
Just under six trades per day average.

Hoping for more weeks like this. Next week is another four day week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 21st April 2017

28 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 152 BPS.
2 BARC + 25 BPS.
5 BLT + 122 BPS.
14 RIO + 252 BPS.

6 long trades + 92 BPS.
22 short trades + 459 BPS.
21 intra-day trades + 335 BPS.
7 multi-day trade + 216 BPS.

Stocks net + 551 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 8.12 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 22 days.
Shortest trade duration: 3 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A four day week due to the Easter Monday bank holiday in the UK. 

A very volatile week, miners sold off heavily on Tuesday after the long weekend. They rallied on Friday after RIO issued a production update, only to sell off again later in the day.
Pretty busy by my standards with an average of seven trades per day.
Made some poor entries and a couple of very poor exits (including a short on RIO closed  3152, after which RIO broke down to 3080).

Well above my 2.5% benchmark, which is good.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 14th April 2017

13 Stock Trades:

6 AAL + 90 BPS.
4 BLT + 68 BPS.
1 GLEN + 14 BPS.
2 RIO + 20 BPS.

7 long trades + 101 BPS.
6 short trades + 91 BPS.
12 intra-day trades + 187 BPS.
1 multi-day trade + 5 BPS.

Stocks net + 192 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.04 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 1 day.
Shortest trade duration: 2 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A four day week due to the Good Friday bank holiday in the UK. 

Struggled to find decent trading opportunities this week. Miners sold off on Wednesday and Thursday as metal prices weakened.

Hoping for more opportunities next week (also a four day week).



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 7th April 2017

17 Stock Trades:

10 AAL + 188 BPS.
1 BARC + 16 BPS.
3 BLT + 33 BPS.
3 GLEN + 129 BPS.

9 long trades + 151 BPS.
8 short trades + 215 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 196 BPS.
3 multi-day trades  + 170 BPS.

Stocks net + 366 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.21 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 15 days.
Shortest trade duration: 2 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A decent week's trading.

Well north of my 2.5% benchmark, in fact my best week of 2017.
A good start to the month.

Struggled to find decent trading opportunities early in the week, but Thursday and Friday saw more volatility. I made a couple of very poor trade exits.
Miners were strong midweek but sold off towards the weekend.

Hoping for more opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 31st Mar 2017

15 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 148 BPS.
8 GLEN + 194 BPS.
2 RIO + 12 BPS.


4 long trades + 74 BPS.
11 short trades + 280 BPS.
10 intra-day trades + 274 BPS.
5 multi-day trade  + 80 BPS.

Stocks net + 354 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.3 % net.
P:L ratio 181:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 6 days.
Shortest trade duration: 3 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A busy week's trading.

We saw plenty of volatility on the mining sector, and crude oil was weak early on, although it rallied into the weekend.

Well north of my 2.5% benchmark.

Hoping for some opportunities in April.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 24th Mar 2017

9 Stock Trades:

6 AAL + 77 BPS.
2 BARC + 23 BPS.
1 BLT + 19 BPS.

5 long trades + 72 BPS.
4 short trades + 47 BPS.
9 intra-day trades + 119 BPS.
No multi-day trades .

Stocks net + 119 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.84 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 360 min.
Shortest trade duration: 4 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another difficult week's trading.

Equities on my watch list traded in pretty narrow ranges. Hard to spot opportunities.

And I had other non trading stuff to attend to.

Well short of my 2.5% benchmark. I'm up a decent percentage for the month and I don't want to give any of that away, so I'll be vary selective in my trades during the last week of March.


Hoping for some opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 17th Mar 2017

11 Stock Trades:

4 AAL + 223 BPS.
6 BLT + 77 BPS.
1 GLEN +  45 BPS.

3 long trades + 138 BPS.
8 short trades + 207 BPS.
7 intra-day trades + 158 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 187 BPS.

Stocks net + 345 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 4.84 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 4 days.
Shortest trade duration: 2 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A difficult week's trading.

Equities on my watch list traded in pretty narrow ranges. Hard to spot opportunities.
BP declined after last weeks bid speculation - I guess I could have held my short over the weekend but that seemed a bit risky given that the bid could have been announced and the shares could have gapped up 10%.

Miners were very active on Thursday after AAL jumped up over 10% on bid news, the other miners were also very volatile. I shorted AAL but closed too early. Ditto BLT - I practically shorted the high of the week. BLT was very challenging to trade this week, felt like the algos were playing games with it (which they probably were).

Well north of my 2.5% benchmark. I'm up over 13% for the month and I don't want to give any of that away, so I'll be vary selective in my trades during the next two weeks.

I have plotted a breakdown of my trades by hour of entry over the last two months:

The first hour is by far the most profitable.

Hoping for some opportunities next week.



Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 10th Mar 2017

15 Stock Trades:

3 AAL + 35 BPS.
2 BARC + 16 BPS.
2 BLT + 34 BPS.
2 BP + 77 BPS.
2 GLEN + 105 BPS.
2 RDSB + 51 BPS.
2 SL + 28 BPS.

9 long trades + 228 BPS.
6 short trades + 118 BPS.
12 intra-day trades + 248 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 98 BPS.

Stocks net + 346 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 4.90 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 1 day.
Shortest trade duration: 2 min.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A decent week's trading.

Well north of my 2.5% weekly target.

Miners saw a big sell - off on Thursday, as did crude and oil stocks. Oils bounced back on Friday as the price of crude found some strength. BP spiked up on Friday after bid rumours naming Exxon as a possible bidder.

Friday we had US payrolls. So a volatile end to the week.

Some very poor entries and exits (including shorting AAL at over 1233 and closing for a couple of points, a couple of days later it dropped to the 1140s).
That's trading I suppose.

Hoping for some opportunities next week.




Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 3rd Mar 2017

10 Stock Trades:

3 AAL + 110 BPS.
3 BLT + 105 BPS.
4 GLEN + 65 BPS.

4 long trades + 48 BPS.
6 short trades + 232 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 163 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 117 BPS.

Stocks net + 280 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.98 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 4 days.
Shortest trade duration: 3 minutes.
No Index trades.

(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A really difficult week, some pretty poor trade entries and exits.

Still, managed to exceed my 2.5% weekly target.

Markets saw a huge rally after president Trump's speech on Tuesday night.
Lots of volatility on the mining stocks, in the US Alcoa was up nearly 10% on Wednesday.
Of course this didn't last, and the sector saw a sell off  at the end of the week.
Overall pretty pleased with my net result after a challenging week.

It's a lovely sunny Friday morning here, and I fancy an afternoon off cycling along the coast.

Hoping for some opportunities next week.




Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 24th Feb 2017

13 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 135 BPS.
1 BARC + 16  BPS.
2 BLT + 26 BPS.
1 GLEN + 52 BPS.
1 HSBA + 3 BPS.
2 RBS + 36 BPS.
1 STAN + 16 BPS.

9 long trades + 180 BPS.
4 short trades + 104 BPS.

12 intra-day trades + 272 BPS.
1 overnight trade  + 12 BPS.

Stocks net + 284 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.63 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: overnight.
Shortest trade duration: 2 minutes.
No Index trades.

(All P & L expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A very difficult week, struggled to make decent trades.
A couple of very poor entries and exists (shorted AAL at more or less the early high of the day and moved my stop down way too soon). Also managed to lock myself out on Thursday morning so managing an overnight position I had was somewhat tricky (!).

Stocks saw a very sharp sell-off on Thursday afternoon. Not sure what sparked that move. Friday was very volatile as well. The miners were very volatile.

Over my 2.5% weekly target.

I have been trying out a new charting package this week - Tradingview.com. The charts are pretty good, although I'm still not fully up to speed with the site. I was using MT4 but I can't find a decent feed for all the markets I watch. 

Hoping for some opportunities, (and fewer domestic issues) next week.




Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 17th Feb 2017

5 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 191 BPS.
1 BARC + 18 BPS.
2 BLT + 97 BPS.

2 long trades + 45 BPS.
3 short trades + 262 BPS.

4 intra-day trades + 140 BPS.
1 overnight trade + 167 BPS.

Stocks net + 306 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.17 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 1 day.
Shortest trade duration: 3 minutes.
No Index trades.

(All P/L expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Not a bad week, although not many trade opportunities.
The miners and banks saw some decent volatility.
A couple of poor entries and exists.
Equities were strong early in the week, as the US indices made new all time highs. Not sure how long this bull run can continue, but it's not wise to fight it...

Bullish metals prices driving the miners too.

I exceeded my 2.5% weekly target.

Next week is a biggie for earnings:

21st Feb: AAL, BLT, HSBA.
22nd Feb : LLOY.
23rd Feb: BARC, GLEN.
24th Feb: RBS; STAN.

Should be some volatility.

Hoping for some opportunities next week.




Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 10th Feb 2017

7 Stock Trades:

2 BARC + 65 BPS.
1 BLT + 70 BPS.
2 BP + 34 BPS.
2 GLEN + 27 BPS.

5 long trades + 175 BPS.
2 short trades + 21 BPS.

6 intra-day trades + 126 BPS.
1 overnight trade + 70 BPS.

Stocks net + 196 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.68 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 2 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 minute.
No Index trades.

Thoughts

A better week, the miners, oils & banks all saw some decent volatility.
Exceeded my 2.5% weekly target.

I made a couple of very poor (premature) exits, the net BPS figure could have been double, but that's trading. Miners had a pop on Friday after stronger then expected trade data from China.

Hoping for some opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 3rd Feb 2017

4 Stock Trades:

2 BARC + 42 BPS.
1 BT.A + 16 BPS.
1 GLEN + 29 BPS.

2 long trades + 51 BPS.
2 short trades + 35 BPS.

All intraday trades.
No overnight trades.

Stocks net + 87 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.19 % net.
P:L ratio N/A (no losing trades).
I traded 4 days this week.
No Index trades.

Thoughts

A tricky week, couldn't find many decent opportunities. Below my 2.5% weekly target.

Hoping for better results next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.