Trading Summary Week Ended 22nd March 2019

19 Trades:

1 AAL + 293 BPS.
1 BHP + 430 BPS.
1 FRES + 43 BPS.
2 GLEN + 369 BPS.
14 UK100 + 688 BPS.

18 long trades + 1780 BPS.
1 short trades + 43 BPS.
8 intra-day trades + 111 BPS.
11 multi-day trades + 1712 BPS.
Total trades net + 1823 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 6.41 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 130 days.
Shortest trade duration:  11 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A busy week.

Again BREXIT was in the news, with the British government going on its knees to Brussels to beg for an extension, despite having had over two and a half years to sort this out. 
You couldn't make this stuff up.

Equity markets were very volatile, with the FTSE making a new high for 2019 on Thursday, before dropping over 2% on Friday.

Difficult trading conditions, and I made some poor trade exits. Well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark though.

Looking forward to better trading opportunities next week.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 15th March 2019

15 Trades:

4 BP + 67 BPS.
1 GLEN + 90 BPS.
1 MTRO + 908 BPS.
12 UK100 + 165 BPS.

7 long trades + 263 BPS.
8 short trades + 967 BPS.
8 intra-day trades + 37 BPS.
7 multi-day trades + 1193 BPS.
Total trades net + 1230 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.64 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 29 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another difficult week.

Markets were volatile with BREXIT developments moving Sterling.

Well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better trading opportunities next week.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 8th March 2019

14 Trades:

4 AAL + 731 BPS.
1 BHP - 1612 BPS.
2 FRES + 69 BPS.
1 GLEN + 34 BPS.
6 UK100 + 127 BPS.

8 long trades + 862 BPS.
6 short trades - 1513 BPS.
5 intra-day trades + 107 BPS.
9 multi-day trades - 758 BPS.
Total trades net - 651 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 0.48 % net.
P:L ratio 1.3:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 100 days.
Shortest trade duration:  23 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

First full week back in Europe.

Markets were weaker, and weak Chinese trade data didn't help the bulls.

Well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Poor trading, took a loss on a BHP short which was not clever (although a positive overall return since the BHP trade was smallish.)

Looking forward to better trading opportunities next week.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 1st March 2019

9 Trades:

1 AAL + 341 BPS.
2 MTRO + 1706 BPS.
6 UK100 + 69 BPS.

4 long trades + 387 BPS.
5 short trades + 1729 BPS.
7 intra-day trades + 453 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 1663 BPS.
Total trades net + 2116 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.19 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 3.
Longest trade duration: 29 days.
Shortest trade duration:  4 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Again I was away for most of the week, arriving back in Europe on Thursday evening.

Just under my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

During February I made 52 trades and a net profit of 7.75% on my account, which was the poorest return for several months.

Looking forward to decent trading opportunities in March.


Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 22nd February 2019

2 Trades:

1 AAL + 415 BPS.
1 BHP + 221 BPS.

2 long trades + 636 BPS.
0 short trades.
0 intra-day trades.
2 multi-day trades + 636 BPS.
Total trades net + 636 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 0.80 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 1.
Longest trade duration: 22 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 day.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Just a couple of trades this week, as I arrived in China on Tuesday morning.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 15th February 2019

27 Trades:

1 BHP + 17 BPS.
1 FRES + 33 BPS.
3 GLEN + 180 BPS.
4 MCRO + 297 BPS.
2 MTRO + 118 BPS.
1 SLA + 31 BPS.
15 UK100 + 253 BPS.

19 long trades + 501 BPS.
8 short trades + 428 BPS.
20 intra-day trades + 640 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 289 BPS.
Total trades net + 929 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.63 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 9 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another difficult week. I was away from my desk on Tuesday, hence the four day week.

Markets were more range bound this week, although MCRO saw a huge move after decent results and a continuation of the buy back. SLA also made a big move to the downside on Friday after it was announced that Mitsubishi sold its entire holding.

The rally since the 28th Jan lows on the FTSE has been impressive, nearly 8%, and even more so from the late December lows, over 11%. Not sure how much further this has to go, we shall see.

Just above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

I will be out of the country for the next two weeks, so will probably not be trading.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 8th February 2019

17 Trades:

1 BHP + 128 BPS.
1 BP - 596 BPS.
2 GLEN + 137 BPS.
13 UK100 + 135 BPS.

15 long trades + 815 BPS.
2 short trades - 1011 BPS.
8 intra-day trades + 123 BPS.
9 multi-day trades - 319 BPS.
Total trades net - 196 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.44 % net.
P:L ratio 2.2:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 14 days.
Shortest trade duration:  17 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A difficult week. The equity markets made a strong recovery from last week's lows.


I took a loss on a short position on BP, after it rallied strongly post results.
(The disparity between the negative net BPS and the positive return is due to the UK100 trades being larger than the BP trade, which was a partial position closed).

Below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 1st February 2019

16 Trades:

3 AAL + 1142 BPS.
1 BP + 95 BPS.
2 FRES + 800 BPS.
2 MTRO + 1998 BPS.
7 UK100 + 137 BPS.

10 long trades + 2062 BPS.
6 short trades + 2110 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 68 BPS.
10 multi-day trades + 4104 BPS.
Total trades net + 4172 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.37 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 238 days.
Shortest trade duration:  5 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A short week as I had business away from my desk on Monday. Commodity stocks were strong with the FTSE mining index making its seventh higher high on Friday.

FTSE rallied back above 7000, after selling off to 6734 on Monday, a rebound of over 4%. The index was driven by the likes of BP and Shell, as well as the miners, but the financials didn't join the rally.

Well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

In the month of January I closed 102 trades for a net return of 12.8%.  Stocks accounted for 59% of profits (higher than December).

Looking forward to decent opportunities in February.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 25th January 2019

17 Trades:

2 AAL + 187 BPS.
3 BHP + 103 BPS.
2 BP + 46 BPS.

3 GLEN + 89 BPS.
1 MTRO + 108 BPS.
6 UK100 + 49 BPS.

13 long trades + 454 BPS.
4 short trades + 128 BPS.
12 intra-day trades + 339 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 243 BPS.
Total trades net + 582 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.13 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 10 days.
Shortest trade duration:  4 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A quieter week. The FTSE was weaker, and tested the 6800 level on Thursday after last Friday's strong rally.

Not a great week for trading opportunities.

Well short of my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better trading next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 18th January 2019

21 Trades:

1 AAL + 49 BPS.
1 BHP + 96 BPS.
2 BP + 20 BPS.
1 FRES + 49 BPS.
1 GLEN + 15 BPS.
15 UK100 + 160 BPS.

9 long trades + 270 BPS.
12 short trades + 119 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 164 BPS.
7 multi-day trades + 225 BPS.
Total trades net + 389 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.71 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 9 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another difficult week. The FTSE sold off midweek but rallied strongly on Friday to just under 7000.

BREXIT filled the headlines this week, as the Commons voted against the PM's deal, and then the government managed to scrape through a vote of no confidence. Cable was very volatile, and this moved the commodity stocks around a fair bit.

Well short of my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better trading next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 11th January 2019

26 Trades:

5 AAL + 587 BPS.
4 BHP + 435 BPS.
1 BP - 629 BPS.
4 FRES + 263 BPS.
3 GLEN - 658 BPS.
9 UK100 + 138 BPS.

20 long trades + 1483 BPS.
6 short trades - 1347 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 759 BPS.
12 multi-day trades - 623 BPS.
Total trades net + 136 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.81 % net.
P:L ratio 2.5:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 37 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

First full week after the New Year holiday.

Very difficult trading conditions, markets rallied strongly off the lows of the Christmas week, with the FTSE hitting 7000 again on Friday morning, before selling off later.

Took a few losses on BP and GLEN shorts (very poorly timed entries on both), offset by gains on BHP, AAL and UK100.

Well short of my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better trading next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 4th January 2019

25 Trades:

3 AAL + 272 BPS.
1 BHP + 41 BPS.
1 BP + 107 BPS.
2 FRES + 134 BPS.
3 GLEN + 152 BPS.
1 RDSB + 8 BPS.
13 UK100 + 198 BPS.

7 long trades + 462 BPS.
18 short trades + 576 BPS.
16 intra-day trades + 241 BPS.
9 multi-day trades + 797 BPS.
Total trades net + 1038 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.79 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 3.5.
Longest trade duration: 27 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another short week due to the New Year holiday.

Not many decent trades. The FTSE found some strength after dipping under 6600 on New Year's eve. We saw a powerful rally on Friday after US payrolls were better than the market expected.
Over my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

For the month of December I made 157 trades and made a return of just under 24%, which was my best month of the year.

Looking forward to more opportunities in the year ahead.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 28th December 2018

23 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 141 BPS.
2 BHP + 145 BPS.
4 FRES + 319 BPS.
2 GLEN + 79 BPS.
3 MCRO + 85 BPS.
10 UK100 + 506 BPS.

12 long trades + 726 BPS.
11 short trades + 549 BPS.
12 intra-day trades + 430 BPS.
11 multi-day trades + 845 BPS.
Stocks net + 1275 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.23 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 2.5.
Longest trade duration: 8 days.
Shortest trade duration:  5 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A short week due to the Christmas holiday.
The FTSE made another new low for 2018 on Thursday, following a hugely volatile day on Wall Street, when the Dow rallied over a thousand points.
We have another half day on Monday, before New Year's Day.

Just over double my 2.5% weekly benchmark, some really fast moves on the FTSE this week, had to be agile. I have no idea if we have made a bottom yet.

This chart shows the volatility on the FTSE cash:

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 21st December 2018

40 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 332 BPS.
2 BP + 89 BPS.
2 BHP + 120 BPS.
5 FRES + 198 BPS.
6 GLEN + 249 BPS.
1 MCRO + 20 BPS.
18 UK100 + 464 BPS.

21 long trades + 931 BPS.
19 short trades + 541 BPS.
29 intra-day trades + 903 BPS.
11 multi-day trades + 569 BPS.
Stocks net + 1472 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.67 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 27 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.
The FTSE made a new low for 2018 (so far) on Thursday, following a sell off on Wall Street after the Fed raised rates on Wednesday night. We saw some big moves on the indices.

A couple of very poor exits, especially on shorts.
Still, well above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

Next week we have Christmas, and the LSE is closed for two and a half days, so I expect markets to be quieter, but you never know.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ending 14th December 2018

34 Stock Trades:

4 BP + 169 BPS.
3 MRCO + 37 BPS.
1 STAN + 14 BPS.
1 RR + 25 BPS.
1 RDSB + 8 BPS.
24 UK100 + 254 BPS.

6 long trades + 46 BPS.
28 short trades + 461 BPS.
28 intra-day trades + 312 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 195 BPS.
Stocks net + 507 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.75 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 3 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.
Difficult trading conditions, I found it challenging to find good opportunities, and took a few pretty marginal trades.
A couple of very poor exits, especially on UK100 shorts.
Just above my 2.5% benchmark.

I still think we are due a rally, as were are now in the most bullish period of the year historically.

Hoping for some more decent trading opportunities next week which is really the last week of the year, although the market will be open for three days the following week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 7th December 2018

59 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 45 BPS.
1 ANTO + 11 BPS.
2 BARC + 97 BPS.
5 BHP + 120 BPS.
4 BP + 213 BPS.
4 FRES + 75 BPS.
8 GLEN + 773 BPS.
2 STAN + 44 BPS.
31 UK100 + 666 BPS.

14 long trades + 218 BPS.
45 short trades + 1825 BPS.
47 intra-day trades + 982 BPS.
12 multi-day trades + 1062 BPS.
Stocks net + 2044 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 7.61 % net.
P:L ratio 18.8:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 41 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another very busy week on the equity markets. The FTSE made a new low for the year on Thursday, dipping below 6700 for a while.
We are due a rally I think, as were are now entering the most bullish period of the year historically.

Triple my 2.5% benchmark. Shorts were the order of the day, all rallies were being sold into.

I made some poor exits, especially one short where I forgot I had a limit buy order in and it got triggered overnight, so that I caught just 44 points on a move that would have resulted in two or three times that if I had just trailed a stop. I should have been at my desk at one in the morning when the market opened for that one...


Hoping for some more decent trading opportunities as we had for the year's end.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

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Trading Summary Week Ended 30th November 2018

41 Stock Trades:

6 AAL + 274 BPS.
1 BARC + 12 BPS.
4 BHP + 553 BPS.
3 BP + 58 BPS.
6 FRES + 300 BPS.
9 GLEN + 455 BPS.
1 MCRO + 14 BPS.
11 UK100 + 68 BPS.

4 long trades + 30 BPS.
37 short trades + 1704 BPS.
35 intra-day trades + 1351 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 383 BPS.
Stocks net + 1734 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.91 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 75 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another busy week to close the month of November. Equity markets were volatile again.

Some decent trading opportunities, and above my 2.5% benchmark anyway. In BPS terms my best week of 2018 so far, beating last week's record by roughly 130 BPS.
The lower percentage return than last week reflects the fact that my trade size as a percentage of cash was lower.

During November I made 192 trades, 68 of which were FTSE 100 trades, the remainder being stocks.
It was my best month of 2018 in cash PNL terms, the net return was 14.44 %.


Hoping for some more decent trading opportunities as we enter December.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 23rd November 2018

36 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 56 BPS.
6 BLT + 170 BPS.
1 BP + 179 BPS.
3 FRES + 492 BPS.
5 GLEN + 181 BPS.
9 MCRO + 368 BPS.
11 UK100 + 160 BPS.

10 long trades + 297 BPS.
26 short trades + 1309 BPS.
28 intra-day trades + 815 BPS.
8 multi-day trades + 791 BPS.
Stocks net + 1606 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.84 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 3.
Longest trade duration: 10 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A shortened week for me, was away in Porto, Portugal from Thursday morning, although I did take my laptop and did manage a couple of trades on Thursday and Friday.

Above my 2.5% benchmark anyway, despite the short week. In fact in BPS terms my best week of 2018 so far.
Equity markets sold off on thursday and Friday.

Hoping for some more decent trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 16th November 2018

46 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 68 BPS.
7 BLT + 395 BPS.
7 BP + 299 BPS.
6 FRES + 409 BPS.
6 GLEN + 164 BPS.
4 MCRO + 72 BPS.
1 RBS + 40 BPS.
13 UK100 + 145 BPS.

14 long trades + 554 BPS.
32 short trades + 1038 BPS.
29 intra-day trades + 838 BPS.
16 multi-day trades + 762 BPS.
Stocks net + 1592 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.73 % net.
P:L ratio 35.5:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 210 days.
Shortest trade duration:  4 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A volatile week on the equity markets. We had some decent moves on the FTSE and the commodity shares.

Above my 2.5% benchmark anyway, despite some poor entries and exits. In terms of basis points, it was my best week of the year to date (not in ££ though).

Hoping for some more decent trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 9th November 2018

44 Stock Trades:

3 AAL + 50 BPS.
5 BLT + 85 BPS.
2 BP + 50 BPS.
1 BTA + 29 BPS.
2 GLEN + 48 BPS.
3 MCRO + 18 BPS.
1 STAN + 21 BPS.
27 UK100 + 95 BPS.

19 long trades + 215 BPS.
25 short trades + 181 BPS.
35 intra-day trades + 304 BPS.
9 multi-day trades + 92 BPS.
Stocks net + 396 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.45 % net.
P:L ratio 11.5:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 7 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A tricky week on the equity markets.
Markets were generally weak, with the FTSE fining it difficult to stay above the 7100 level.
Stocks moved in narrow ranges, and I found few decent trades. Some very poor trades exits.

Well below my 2.5% benchmark.

Hoping for better trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 2nd November 2018

44 Stock Trades:

3 AAL + 249 BPS.
9 BLT + 268 BPS.
3 BP + 181 BPS.
5 BTA + 81 BPS.
1 FRES + 56 BPS.
4 GLEN + 88 BPS.
3 STAN + 139 BPS.
11 UK100 + 102 BPS.

14 long trades + 569 BPS.
30 short trades + 682 BPS.
39 intra-day trades + 752 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 499 BPS.
Stocks net + 1251 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.92 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 28 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

This week we saw a strong rally on the equity markets. The FTSE came close to testing the 7200 level on Friday morning before dropping back later in the day.
Stocks were volatile again, including BP and RD Shell after both reported Q3 results.
A difficult week's trading. North of my 2.5% benchmark anyway.

October proved to be a decent month for my trading, I made 190 trades (71 long, 119 short), for a net return of a smidgen over 17%. The P:L ratio was 10.9:1.
I made 75 trades on the FTSE for a total profit of  953 points.
This was my best month of 2018 so far.

Hoping for some decent trading opportunities going into November.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 26th October 2018

53 Stock Trades:

4 AAL - 332 BPS.
7 BLT + 331 BPS.
7 BP - 169 BPS.
8 FRES + 630 BPS.
2 GLEN + 275 BPS.
1 MCRO + 11 BPS.
1 RR + 77 BPS.
3 STAN + 185 BPS.
20 UK100 + 496 BPS.

14 long trades - 8 BPS.
39 short trades + 1512 BPS.
34 intra-day trades + 1121 BPS.
19 multi-day trades + 383 BPS.
Stocks net + 1504 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.23 % net.
P:L ratio 5.5:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 190 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another sell off on the equity markets. The FTSE made a new low for the last few months at 6885 on Thursday,  just above the March 2018 low, before rallying back to 7000. Then the market sold off again on Friday afternoon to make a new low for the year.

Both BP and RD Shell fell over 7% on the week, that's a big chunk of the FTSE. The big banks HSBA, BARC, RBS, LLOY and STAN were very weak too.

A very difficult week's trading. Fifty - three trades is a record for 2018 for me, a very busy week.

I left a lot of money on the table closing shorts early though.  The negative net result for long trades says a lot about the state of the market at the moment - shorts were the way to go this week, any rally is being sold very quickly. I do think we could have a strong rally soon though.

Twice my weekly 2.5% benchmark, even though I made some poor trade entries and exits.

Hoping for some decent trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 19th October 2018

40 Stock Trades:

6 AAL + 256 BPS.
4 BLT + 101 BPS.
5 BP + 169 BPS.
7 FRES + 290 BPS.
1 GLEN + 31 BPS.
1 RR - 221 BPS.
16 UK100 + 285 BPS.

13 long trades + 261 BPS.
27 short trades + 650 BPS.
31 intra-day trades + 984 BPS.
9 multi-day trades - 73 BPS.
Stocks net + 911 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.11 % net.
P:L ratio 18.7:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 5 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. The FTSE made a new low for the last few months at 6961 on Monday, still a hundred points above the March 2018 low though.

I'm wondering if we are due a rally soon, the fourth quarter has been by far the strongest since January 2000, with an average gain of 3.47% for the index. In fact it's the only quarter that has been positive on average (the first quarter has been the worst, with an average loss of 1.2%).

Just north  of my weekly 2.5% benchmark. Made some poor trade entries and exits.

Hoping for some decent trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 12th October 2018

41 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 172 BPS.
2 BLT + 205 BPS.
5 BP + 111 BPS.
1 FRES + 41 BPS.
4 GLEN + 147 BPS.
3 MCRO + 58 BPS.
3 RR - 225 BPS.
2 STAN + 25 BPS.
16 UK100 + 432 BPS.

15 long trades + 100 BPS.
26 short trades + 866 BPS.
29 intra-day trades + 681 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 285 BPS.
Stocks net + 966 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 4.56 % net.
P:L ratio 22.4:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 190 days.
Shortest trade duration:  5 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Quite a week ! The markets took a big swing lower during the week, the FTSE traded below 7000 for a short time. In fact the FTSE closed the week at 6995.91, down 4.41% on last Friday's close. Certainly a lot of volatility for the active trader.

Over my weekly 2.5% benchmark return for a change, first time since September.

Made a few poor entries and exits, it was one of those weeks when you really couldn't leave the screens for long at all.

Hoping for some decent trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 5th October 2018

37 Stock Trades:

8 AAL + 197 BPS.
3 BLT + 57 BPS.
1 BP + 86 BPS.
1 FRES + 11 BPS.
2 GLEN + 46 BPS.
2 STAN + 185 BPS.
2 TSCO + 45 BPS.
18 UK100 + 108 BPS.

23 long trades + 475 BPS.
14 short trades + 260 BPS.
31 intra-day trades + 236 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 299 BPS.
Stocks net + 735 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.93 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 14 days.
Shortest trade duration:  1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A busy week on the equity markets. The FTSE broke below 7350 again on Friday. Commodity stocks were all weaker.

Another difficult week's trading, I made some very poor trade exits, especially on the short side.
Well short of my weekly 2.5% benchmark return.


Hoping for some decent trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 28th September 2018

26 Stock Trades:

7 AAL + 151 BPS.
2 BLT + 40 BPS.
2 BP + 138 BPS.
2 MCRO + 30 BPS.
1 STAN + 8 BPS.
12 UK100 + 75 BPS.

13 long trades + 339 BPS.
13 short trades + 103 BPS.
22 intra-day trades + 288 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 154 BPS.
Stocks net + 442 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.68 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 78 days.
Shortest trade duration:  5 mins.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A quieter week on the equity markets. Commodity stocks were strong this week, with BP and  Shell making new 30 day highs on Tuesday.

Another difficult week's trading, finding scalp trades mainly, well short of my weekly 2.5% benchmark return.

September was a fairly active month for me, I made 108 trades, and the net return was 9.12 %, slightly lower than in August (although I made fewer trades in August).

Hoping for some decent trading opportunities next month.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 21st September 2018

26 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 23 BPS.
1 GLEN + 27 BPS.
2 MCRO + 29 BPS.
2 SSE + 38 BPS.
2 STAN + 137 BPS.
17 UK100 + 191 BPS.

1 long trades + 22 BPS.
25 short trades + 423 BPS.
24 intra-day trades + 397 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 48 BPS.
Stocks net + 445 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.01 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 4 days.
Shortest trade duration:  4 mins.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another volatile week on the equity markets.
Mining stocks found some buyers this week, and the FTSE mining index was up over 10 % over the week.
A difficult week, well short of my weekly 2.5% benchmark return.

Hoping for better trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 14th September 2018

24 Stock Trades:

1 AAL + 100 BPS.
1 BP + 10 BPS.
2 GLEN + 248 BPS.
1 MCRO + 9 BPS.
1 SSE + 13 BPS.
1 STAN + 12 BPS.
17 UK100 + 178 BPS.

2 long trades + 23 BPS.
22 short trades + 547 BPS.
20 intra-day trades + 324 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 246 BPS.
Stocks net + 570 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.95 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 146 days.
Shortest trade duration:  4 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another volatile week on the equity markets, the FTSE broke last week's low on Tuesday morning after more developments in the ongoing trade war between the US and China. Then we had a rally on Wednesday which continued to the end of the week.

A very difficult week, mainly scalping points on the FTSE, I closed a couple of short trades very early, well short of my weekly 2.5% benchmark return.

Hopefully I can find more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 7th September 2018

30 Stock Trades:

5 AAL + 553 BPS.
1 BLT - 370 BPS.
7 GLEN + 636 BPS.
2 MCRO + 23 BPS.
1 RDSB + 12 BPS.
3 STAN - 396 BPS.
13 UK100 + 199 BPS.

7 long trades - 775 BPS.
23 short trades + 1432 BPS.
16 intra-day trades + 401 BPS.
16 multi-day trades + 256 BPS.
Stocks net + 657 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.67 % net.
P:L ratio 2.2:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 142 days.
Shortest trade duration:  3 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Bit of a crazy week, equity markets started the month of September in bullish mode on Monday, but then sold off on Tuesday and Wednesday, breaking below 7400, and then breaking 7300 on Friday.
By Friday morning, the FTSE had come off over 540 points (7 %) from the 8th of August high of 7790. The index closed just over 2 % down for the week.

Commodity stocks were hit by strength in sterling yet again.

A busy week, difficult trading conditions overall, just north of my weekly 2.5% benchmark return.

Hopefully I can find more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 31st August 2018

17 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 55 BPS.
4 MCRO + 115 BPS.
2 RDSB + 9 BPS.
1 SGE + 27 BPS.
2 STAN + 65 BPS.
6 UK100 + 56 BPS.

8 long trades + 126 BPS.
9 short trades + 201 BPS.
16 intra-day trades + 308 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 19 BPS.
Stocks net + 327 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 1.34 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 1 day.
Shortest trade duration:  8 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A four day week after the August bank holiday on Monday.
Equity markets started the week in bullish mode after the US market made new all time highs.

UK equities sold off on Thursday, partly as a result of the rise in sterling against the USD. This was despite the SPX making a new all time high again on Wednesday night. The FTSE dipped back below the 7500 level again on Friday, to close below the 200 DMA for the first time since April.

MCRO was very volatile on Tuesday after announcing a buy back programme, I made a couple of poor trade exits on it, should have netted a couple of hundred BPS or more.

Poor trading overall, and well below my weekly 2.5% benchmark.

August has been a difficult month to trade, I made 94 trades and a net return of almost exactly 10%.
The FTSE 100 lost just over 4% in August, whilst the SPX was up over 3%

Hopefully I can find better trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 24th August 2018

22 Stock Trades:

2 AAL + 66 BPS.
1 BLT + 19 BPS.
4 GLEN + 147 BPS.
1 SGE + 22 BPS.
13 UK100 + 66 BPS.

6 long trades + 73 BPS.
16 short trades + 247 BPS.
16 intra-day trades + 183 BPS.
6 multi-day trades + 137 BPS.
Stocks net + 320 BPS.
Return on account for the week + 1.17 % net.
P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration:  2 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A difficult week on the equity markets. Markets were range - bound for most of the week. I scalped a few points off the FTSE, as well as stocks, but it was very tricky going all week.


Well below my weekly 2.5% benchmark.

We have a long weekend since the LSE is closed on Monday for the bank holiday.
And the start of the Vuelta on Saturday.

Hopefully we'll see better trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.

Stay focussed.

Stay humble.

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.