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.

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.