Trading Summary Week Ended 30th July 2021

24 Trades:

2 AAL + 799 BPS.

11 US500 + 44 BPS.

11 UK100 + 206 BPS.

17 long trades  + 972 BPS.
7 short trades + 77 BPS.
19 intra-day trades + 71 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 978 BPS.

Total trades net  + 1,049 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 3.42 % net.

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

Thoughts

Another week of volatility on the equity markets.

The FTSE broke below 6930 on Tuesday, rallied to a high of 7093.93 on Thursday.

In the US, the SPX made new all time highs again this week.

A tricky week, and some good trades missed.

For the month of July, I made 207 trades and a net profit of 23.97 %.

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next month.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 23rd July 2021

47 Trades:

1 AAL + 28 BPS.

2 US500 + 8 BPS.

44 UK100 + 861 BPS.

7 long trades  + 13 BPS.
40 short trades + 884 BPS.
40 intra-day trades + 502 BPS.
7 multi-day trades + 395 BPS.

Total trades net  + 897 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 7.23 % 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

A pretty volatile week on the equity markets.

The FTSE broke below 6900, trading down to 6813 before staging a very powerful rally back over 7000, following a midweek reversal on the SPX, which broke above 4400 on Friday for the first time ever.

Here is a 15 minute chart of the SPX, taken near the close of the London market on Friday:

The FTSE is still looking less bullish, with the index closing below the 50 DMA and the 21 EMA, although still above the 200 DMA. A mid - summer shake out would not surprise me at this point. 

Both BP and RD Shell seem to be running out of momentum, if the banks and the miners also weaken, that would be enough for the FTSE to break below the recent lows.

We shall see.

Another good week by my standards, over double my 2.5 % benchmark. 

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 16th July 2021

41 Trades:

2 AAL + 35 BPS.

39 UK100 + 419 BPS.

9 long trades  + 35 BPS.
32 short trades + 419 BPS.
32 intra-day trades + 343 BPS.
9 multi-day trades + 111 BPS.

Total trades net  + 454 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 5.28 % net.

P:L ratio 142.6:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 29 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another volatile week on the equity markets.

Markets reacted bearishly to more signs of inflation in the US and the UK.

Over the pond, the SPX made yet another new all time high on Wednesday, while the DJIA made a new all time closing high earlier in the week. 

The FTSE broke below 7010, trading as low as 7005 on Thursday. We then had a rebound on Friday morning, which was also expiry on the FTSE futures and options, before breaking back below 7000 later in the day, finally closing at 7008.10.

The medium term chart is looking less bullish, with the index closing below the 50 DMA and the 21 EMA, although still above the 200 DMA.

A decent week by my standards, over double my 2.5 % benchmark. I left plenty of money on the table though.

The Tour de France enters the end game this weekend, with Tadej Pogacar looking pretty invincible in the maillot jaune. Can Cavendish take another stage I wonder ? 

A win on the Champs on Sunday would be a dream for him.

Looking forward to more trading opportunities next week, and TDF action this weekend.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 9th July 2021

56 Trades:

1 AAL + 28 BPS.

55 UK100 + 264 BPS.

11 long trades  + 112 BPS.
45 short trades + 180 BPS.
45 intra-day trades + 375 BPS.
11 multi-day trades - 83 BPS.

Total trades net  + 292 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.77 % net.

P:L ratio 1.89:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 8 days.
Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A very volatile week on the equity markets.

On Thursday we broke below 7,000 on the FTSE, and the commodity stocks got hammered. The market then bounced on Friday.

Quite a busy week by my standards, heavily skewed to the short side. 

Above my 2.5 % benchmark, although I made a few poor trade exits.

The Tour de France continues, with Tadej Pogacar looking pretty invincible in the maillot jaune at the moment. Mark Cavendish has now won four stages, and there still a couple more sprint finishes left in the tour. Maybe he can win another stage, he seems to be on top form at the moment, and several big names have left the race due to injuries.

Looking forward to profitable trading, and TDF action next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 2nd July 2021

27 Trades:

4 AAL + 190 BPS.

23 UK100 + 119 BPS.

20 long trades  + 148 BPS.
7 short trades + 161 BPS.
23 intra-day trades + 179 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 130 BPS.

Total trades net  + 309 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.27 % net.

P:L ratio 197:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A tricky week, on Wednesday the FTSE test the 7,010 level, before rallying above 7,160 on Friday.

Over the pond, the indices continue to make new all time highs.

Short of my 2.5 % weekly benchmark again.

Over the month of June, I made 88 trades for a net profit of 4.58 %.

The Tour de France is proving to be exciting, with Mattieu Van der Poel taking the yellow jersey that his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor never wore, a lovely and moving moment.

And what can you say about Mark Cavendish ? Two fantastic stage wins in six days. 

Obviously he's on great form, and happy to be back with his old Deceuninck-Quickstep team.

Looking forward to better trading, and more bike racing next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 25th June 2021

22 Trades:

3 AAL + 166 BPS.

19 UK100 + 213 BPS.

13 long trades  + 212 BPS.
9 short trades + 167 BPS.
18 intra-day trades + 147 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 232 BPS.

Total trades net  + 379 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.09 % net.

P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 25 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A volatile week, equities began the week breaking below 6,950 on the FTSE, before rebounding to over 7,130.

Miners and oil stocks were bullish after last week's sell off.

The FTSE keeps testing the 21 EMA, but closing above it. So overall the picture remains bullish, being above the 50 and 200 DMAs too. We are entering the summer holiday period though, when trading volumes tend to be lower.

Short of my 2.5 % weekly benchmark, I made a few poor exits.

Away from the markets, we have the greatest sporting competition of the year starting this weekend, yes the Tour de France starts in Bretagne this year, and so I'll be paying close attention to the action for the next three weeks. Mark Cavendish is back at the Tour this year after a couple of years absence, and he seems to be on good form now he's back with his old Deceuninck-Quickstep team.

Looking forward to trading, and bike racing next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 18th June 2021

22 Trades:

22 UK100 + 380 BPS.

21 long trades  + 320 BPS.
2 short trades + 60 BPS.
17 intra-day trades + 37 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 343 BPS.

Total trades net  + 380 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.81 % net.

P:L ratio 983:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 40 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another difficult week, markets were bullish midweek with FTSE making a new 52 week high above 7200. It then retreated below 7,050 on Friday after expiry.

Commodity stocks were very weak, which weighed on the index, gold and silver also sold off.

Above my 2.5 % weekly benchmark, even though I should have pushed the shorts more aggressively.

Looking forward to better performance next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 11th June 2021

11 Trades:

11 UK100 + 78 BPS.

10 long trades  + 70 BPS.
1 short trades + 8 BPS.
6 intra-day trades + 50 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 28 BPS.

Total trades net  + 78 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 0.55 % net.

P:L ratio 3.8:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 5 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A pretty difficult week, markets were generally bullish, after some weakness on Monday, when the FTSE dipped to the low 7040s. All dips were bought.

Over the pond, the SPX made new all time highs again.

Well short of my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better performance next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 4th June 2021

18 Trades:

18 UK100 - 450 BPS.

10 long trades  + 89 BPS.
8 short trades - 539 BPS.
14 intra-day trades + 45 BPS.
1 multi-day trades - 495 BPS.

Total trades net  - 450 BPS.

Return on account for the week - 1.80 % net.

P:L ratio 0.4:1.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 70 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A poor week, took a hit on a short position that I should have cut earlier.

The markets were weaker, although in the US the SPX finished the week above 4,200.

Well below my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better numbers next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 28th May 2021

12 Trades:

12 UK100 + 63 BPS.

5 long trades  + 17 BPS.
7 short trades + 46 BPS.
11 intra-day trades + 48 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 15 BPS.

Total trades net  + 63 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 0.72 % net.

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

Thoughts

A difficult week, fewer trades as there were fewer good opportunities.

Well below my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

For the month of May, I made 102 trades and a net return of 11.26 %.

Monday is a holiday in the UK, and the equity markets will be closed.

Away from the markets, the action in the Giro d'Italia continues, looks like Egan Bernal will take the title, barring disaster in the time trial on Sunday (tomorrow).

Looking forward to more opportunities in June.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 21st May 2021

21 Trades:

21 UK100 + 82 BPS.

20 long trades  + 77 BPS.
1 short trades + 5 BPS.
20 intra-day trades + 72 BPS.
1 multi-day trades + 10 BPS.

Total trades net  + 82 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 1.88 % net.

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

Thoughts

A volatile week on the equity markets.

On Wednesday the FTSE sold off, amid a general red day, breaking below 6900 before bouncing to 6950.

The crypto markets saw a huge sell - off, with Bitcoin dropping from above $ 50,000 to $ 30,000, and then rallying to over $ 42,000, a crazy move.

I did buy a small amount of crypto during the drop.

Here is the one hour chart on Ethereum:

I made a couple of very poor trade exits (for example in the run up to expiry on Friday morning, when I thought the big money would probably push the index up into expiry), and left a lot of money on the table.

Well below my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Meanwhile, the action in the Giro d'Italia continues, with a big mountain stage on the Zoncolan this weekend, looking forward to that.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 14th May 2021

43 Trades:

43 UK100 - 318 BPS.

18 long trades  + 100 BPS.
25 short trades - 418 BPS.
36 intra-day trades + 308 BPS.
7 multi-day trades - 626 BPS.

Total trades net  - 318 BPS.

Return on account for the week - 0.27 % net.

P:L ratio 0.95:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 49 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A really tough week.

Markets were bullish on Monday, with the FTSE making new 2021 highs at just over 7164.

We then fell back to 6912, which was support from the 4th of May, then on Thursday we broke below 6900, bottoming around 6823, before rallying back above 7000 on Friday, to close at 7043.6.

Here is a 3 minute chart of Thursday's move, the low corresponded to a high around the 16th of March:

Here is the four hour chart:

I made some very poor trades, well below my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Hopefully I can get back to profitability next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 7th May 2021

26 Trades:

26 UK100 + 281 BPS.

18 long trades  + 264 BPS.
8 short trades + 17 BPS.
24 intra-day trades + 139 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 142 BPS.

Total trades net  + 281 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 8.25 % net.

P:L ratio N/A.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 19 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A four day week due to the bank holiday in Britain on Monday.

Markets were bullish again, with the FTSE making new 2021 highs, breaking above 7,100 on Friday.

Commodity stocks were very strong, the likes of AAL, GLEN, BHP & RIO all near or at 52 week highs.

Not a bad week, although I made a couple of very poor trade exits after going long near Tuesday's lows around 6920, I really should have been more patient.

Still well above my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Hopefully I can continue this throughout May.

Away from the markets, we have the Giro d'Italia starting on Saturday in Turin, so I'll be following the action over the next three weeks. The Giro is always a great spectacle, and the scenery is usually beautiful, in fact I think Italy is one of my favourite countries, at least of those I have visited, and I've been to Italy many, many times.

So looking forward to some great cycling action. 

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 30th April 2021

28 Trades:

1 BARC + 58 BPS.

27 UK100 + 122 BPS.

25 long trades  + 174 BPS.
3 short trades + 6 BPS.
26 intra-day trades + 134 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 46 BPS.

Total trades net  + 180 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 2.69 % net.

P:L ratio 24.4:1.
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 better week's trading.

Markets were bullish, with the SPX making yet more new all time highs, breaking above 4,200 for the first time.

On Thursday we saw quite a bit of volatility, when the FTSE tested the 7,020

level early in the day, then just after 12:30 GMT, it dropped very rapidly to the 6950s... and then retested 7,000.

Here is a 3 minute chart showing the move, notice the selling reverses right at the 1st 30 minute low line, marked in red:

I made a couple of very poor trade exits, net return was just above my 2.5 % benchmark.

For the month of April, I made 116 trades for a net return of 18.03 %. It would be nice to get that above 20 %.

Hoping for further decent returns next month.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 23rd April 2021

28 Trades:

28 UK100 - 272 BPS.

23 long trades  + 61 BPS.
2 short trades - 333 BPS.
26 intra-day trades + 86 BPS.
2 multi-day trades - 358 BPS.

Total trades net  - 272 BPS.

Return on account for the week - 1.22 % net.

P:L ratio 0.5:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 26 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another difficult week on the equity markets.

The FTSE made a new high for the year on Monday, before selling off very sharply on Tuesday, falling by 2.6% from Monday's high. 

Crude was weaker, as were the commodity stocks, and that's a big chunk of the FTSE.

The market then bounced and by the close on Friday, the FTSE was down just over one point for the week.

US stocks were also weaker, maybe the market is waking to to the tax policies of the Biden administration, but by Friday the SPX has made yet another all time high at 4194.2

Not a great week, a smallish loss but still not nice.

Hopefully better figures next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 16th April 2021

24 Trades:

24 UK100 + 248 BPS.

23 long trades  + 248 BPS.
No short trades.
19 intra-day trades + 65 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 183 BPS.

Total trades net  + 248 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 4.58 % net.

P:L ratio 885.7:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 8 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A volatile week on the equity market.

Again over the pond, US indices made new all time highs, every dip was bought.

I saw this posted on Twitter by @NorthmanTrader on Friday, sums up the equity markets over the pond:

'96.39 % of $SPX components are above the 2000 MA a new all time record'

On the FTSE, we made consecutive new highs for 2021 on Thursday and Friday, after crude oil was bid higher.

I made some poor exits, mostly closing longs too soon. I was 100 percent on the long side, as the market was so bullish.

Here's another chart showing the first 30 minute levels on the FTSE...

This was Thursday morning, again the green line formed support.

I had PC problems over a couple of days this week, which got in the way of trading.

Well ahead of my 2.5 % weekly benchmark.

Looking forward to better trading next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 9th April 2021

32 Trades:

32 UK100 + 342 BPS.

30 long trades  + 336 BPS.
2 short trades + 6 BPS.
28 intra-day trades + 336 BPS.
4 multi-day trades + 200 BPS.

Total trades net  + 342.

Return on account for the week + 10.01 % net.

P:L ratio 162:1.
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

A better week on the equity market.

Markets were bullish, with the US indices making yet more new all time highs, the FTSE made a new high for 2021, but is still well off the all time highs.

Fairly busy by my standards, given that it was another four day week, after the Easter long weekend.

Made a few very poor exits, leaving plenty of profit on the table, but still well ahead of my 2.5 % benchmark.

 

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 2nd April 2021

22 Trades:

22 UK100 - 149 BPS.

16 long trades  + 118 BPS.
5 short trades - 267 BPS.
18 intra-day trades + 52 BPS.
4 multi-day trades - 201 BPS.

Total trades net  - 149 BPS.

Return on account for the week - 1.98 % net.

P:L ratio 0.6:1.
Days traded: 4.
Longest trade duration: 28 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A poor week overall on the equity market.

I closed a poor short early in the week, then made back some of the loss. A short week due to the easter holidays.

The FTSE sold off sharply on Wednesday afternoon, before bouncing on Friday.

Meanwhile over the pond, US indices made new all time highs, it seems nothing can dampen the euphoria.

For the month of March, I made 197 trades and a net return of 21.7 %.

Here's another chart showing the first 30 minute levels on the FTSE...

This was Friday morning, quite a nice chart I think...

Looking forward to better trading next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 26th March 2021

49 Trades:

1 AAL + 35 BPS.

48 UK100 + 234 BPS.

34 long trades  + 237 BPS.
15 short trades + 32 BPS.
47 intra-day trades + 192 BPS.
2 multi-day trades + 77 BPS.

Total trades net  + 269 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 6.51 % net.

P:L ratio 25:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 1 Day min.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

Another volatile week on the equity market.

The markets were weaker early in the week, with the FTSE testing 6650 on Monday and then again on Wednesday, before dropping to 6618 on Thursday and then rallying on Friday. Crude oil was very weak on Thursday, which clobbered the commodity stock which are a large chunk of the FTSE.

Difficult trading conditions, so mostly very short term trades, but generally, the sharp dips were bought. I missed a few great trade entries, and sold closed the AAL position way too early.

 

Well over my 2.5 % benchmark.

 

I thought I'd post a chart here...

This is a five minute chart of the FTSE (Forex.com, not the cash) on Tradingview.com.

The red and green horizontal lines mark the high and low of the 30 minutes from 07:30 London time.

You can see how the FTSE dropped back after 10am, but found support at the early high marked by the green line.

I have noticed that these levels frequently form support or resistance later in the trading session.

A few years ago I wrote an indicator for MT4 which draws the levels, and recently I did the same in the Tradingview.com language, Pine, as shown on the top chart. 

On strong trend days, the index will often test these levels before decisively break one of them, the trick is to catch the break and run with it.

I used to use 8 am as the start time, but I have found 7 to be better, if you watch the FTSE futures chart, the volume really kicks in at 7 am, I also have the same indicator set for 8 am as well (8 am is the cash open in London).

This is the same five minute chart in MT4, if the price is above the green line, the text changes to 'Upside break' and shows the distance of the break in basis points, same with the red line:

I would put the same text on the Tradingview indicator, but I haven't worked out how to do that at the moment.

The concept of the thirty minute levels is not mine, I got it from a book written by Jake Bernstein, several years ago now. I think there are a few videos on Youtube describing the strategy. It's very simple, but then some good ideas are simple.

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.

Trading Summary Week Ended 19th March 2021

      

56 Trades:

56 UK100 + 186 BPS.

36 long trades  + 176 BPS.
20 short trades + 10 BPS.
51 intra-day trades + 126 BPS.
5 multi-day trades + 60 BPS.

Total trades net  + 186 BPS.

Return on account for the week + 4.53 % net.

P:L ratio 6.99:1.
Days traded: 5.
Longest trade duration: 8 days.
Shortest trade duration:  < 1 min.
(All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

Thoughts

A pretty volatile week on the equity market.

Again, over the pond both the S&P 500 and the Dow made new all time highs.

The FTSE was weak on Friday, after crude plunged on Thursday evening. The FTSE broke below 6700 very briefly in the opening minutes, and later expiry was pretty volatile. A hard day, all in all.

Over the week, the FTSE lost 53 points, or 0.78 %.

Made a few very poor exits, leaving plenty of profit on the table, but still ahead of my 2.5 % benchmark.

 

Looking forward to more opportunities next week.

Stay disciplined.
Stay focussed.
Stay humble.