19th December 06 - Blood on the Streets of Thailand

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand's government scrapped currency controls on international investors one day after the central bank imposed them and sent the stock market plunging by the most in 16 years.

The government is removing a requirement that banks lock up 30 percent of new foreign-currency deposits for a year, Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said in Bangkok.
"The stock market has fallen too much today,'' Pridiyathorn told reporters at a press conference.
"This is the side effect of the central bank's measure, but we have fixed it already.''

Thai stocks erased $23 billion of their market value today after the central bank said international investors must pay a 10 percent penalty unless they keep funds in the country for a year. The currency controls triggered declines in other emerging stock markets by highlighting the risks of investing in developing economies.

The rules would have limited international investors to using 70 percent of their funds to buy Thai stocks. The requirements stay in effect on other investments, including bonds and property, Pridiyathorn said

Thailand's SET Index tumbled 15 percent to its lowest since Oct. 29, 2004. The index sank 108.41 to 622.14. Morgan Stanley Capital International's Emerging Markets Index fell 1.6 percent to 881.31 as of 2:33 p.m. in London.

Restoring Confidence
``It's very untimely, it's unwarranted and it's badly thought-through,'' said Teng Ngiek Lian, who oversees $1.6 billion in Asian stocks at Singapore-based Target Asset Management in Singapore, before the measures were rolled back. ``If they don't quickly restore confidence, the damage can be quite bad.''

The currency measures came after the baht appreciated to the strongest in nine years, even though the central bank this month introduced steps to limit gains. The monetary authority on Dec. 4 asked companies and commercial lenders not to sell baht short-term debt securities to overseas investors.

The baht had the biggest two-day decline since April 2005 on yesterday's measures.
A military coup on Sept. 19 ousted prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and ended seven months of political turmoil. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, installed by the military junta after the coup, is planning record spending on roads, subways and other infrastructure projects.

International investors sold 25.1 billion baht ($699 million) more of Thai stocks than they bought today, the largest net sales since at least Jan. 4, 1999, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

17th December 06 - British Pound looks set to SELL

In my opinion, I believe that GBP/USD has an attractive SELL set-up. Pls do click on the chart for more details.

Based on my system, the breakout to the upside on 12th December has failed terribly. So, for those who are still holding longs in this market, I hope your stops are in.

The next widely-watched support for the daily charts is @ 1.9594.

15th December 2006 - Possible Strength in Hang Seng

Based on my observation of the price action on Thur (14th) and Fri (15th), I think there are high odds of Hang Seng buying up next week.

I have made some $$ on Fri by staying on the long side of HK and have positioned for the next week (as shown in the chart).
What I am suggesting over here is only a buy set-up , so please do apply your own system for the possible entry, exit and stop. Have a great trade ahead :)

5th December 06 - 3 Little Words to Great Trading

Though comical in some sense, the parting words in Larry Williams' Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading really sums it all up:

ALWAYS USE STOPS

1st December 06 - Retail Scalpers: WATCH OUT !!!

After talking to several professional scalpers, I realised that the retail scalpers are in a serious disadvantageous position compared to the professionals.

My reasons are as follows:

1) In scalping, time makes the difference a winning trade and a losing one. The professionals use platforms like Trading Technologies' MD Trader which buy/sell, place profit/stop using one click of the mouse. (http://www.tradingtechnologies.com/flash/tour/prop/mdtrader.html)

In addition, the execution speed is further enhanced due to the fact that the platform has direct lease-lines to the exchanges compared to the conventional internet-based connection which retailer platforms utilise.

2) The professionals also have alot lower costs (in terms of brokerage) as they are usually members of the exchanges they trade in. To highlight the dramatic difference, their breakeven could be only 0.1 tick compared to retailers' 1 tick.

To me, certainly the playing field doesn't look all that level to me :)

20th November 06 - S&P E-mini SELL 1402.00

A SELL call generated by the system on 20th November for S&P E-mini:
SELL Entry: 1,402.00
Target: 1,397.00
Stop: 1,407.00

Results of the trade is a 5pts loss, exited at 1,407.00.

19th November 06 - Finding the Right Mentor

It was said that in trading, or in fact all aspects of life, finding and learning from the RIGHT MENTOR is of utmost importance to one's success.

Do and Don't for finding the RIGHT MENTOR (quoted from fellow trader friend, Anna Wong)

DO: Seek out a mentor who can answer your questions and also give you advice other than just what market to trade. Also, seek a fellow trader with similar experience as you. Sharing ideas and discussing markets with a fellow trader is an enormous benefit.

DON'T: Shell out big bucks for someone who claims they will be your mentor and make you a big winner in futures trading in only a few short weeks or months. The old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" should be heeded in this challenging business.

16th November 06 - RS+1 on Oil

A trade which I waited for weeks. I think my patience paid off :)

Just like other RS+1 trades, the entries are usually beautiful. When you enter, 90% of the time, you're outright in good profits with little or no drawdown. Wanna find out more ?

Maximum intra-day profit from this trade is US$1,970 per contract. A pity I only took US$800 from the table. Anyway, let's move on and wait for the next good trade.

16th November 06 - KOSPI Trading Hours Adjusted

From effect from today, the South Korea KOSPI index futures with start 1hr later and end 1hr later, with respect to Singapore time.

Previous trading hours :: 08:00 - 14:15
New trading hours :: 09:00 - 15:15

If you do use regional analysis in your trading, I believe that the change will impact your trading to a certain extent.

More on that in the coming gathering with fellow traders :)

13th November 06 - RUSE System Gives Multiple BUY Signals

It has been a month or so since the RUSE system last gave an entry. Well, looking from the entries (see above charts) today, it seems like a wait worthwhile ...

For those who are new to this blog, RUSE is a highly accurate trading system to trade up to 5 Asian markets (Nikkei, Kospi, Hang Seng, SIMSCI, TW) at a single go, relying on synchronised momentum-based reversal techniques to catch the markets as it turns.

What I really like about RUSE is that the risk-reward ratio is extremely attractive (can be up to 1:4, meaning risk $1 to make $4)

I have shared this system during my Trading Mastermind Programme. Believed some of my graduates benefited from this move.

Finally, a run-down of the maximum intraday profit (per contract) for RUSE system today:
1) Nikkei - 120pts (S$792)
2) KOSPI - 1.3prs (S$1,084)
3) Hang Seng - 174pts (S$1,740)
4) SIMSCI - 0.8pts (S$160)
5) TW - 1.1pts (S$170)

Slurp slurp, looking forward to the next opportunity :)

8th November 06 - S&P E-mini SELL 1386.75

A SELL call generated by the system on 8th November for S&P E-mini:

SELL Entry: 1,386.75
Target: 1,381.75
Stop: 1,391.75

Result of the trade is a 5pts profit at 1,381.75.

1st November 06 - Specialist Trade in GBP

"Specialist Trap" is a pattern which I learnt from Larry Williams in his course last year. Proved to be one of most consistent momentum setup which I trade upon :)

I am delighted to trade this call 'live' with some of my Indonesian friends. Some quick $$ there.

27th October 06 - S&P E-mini SELL 1391.00

A SELL call generated by the system on 27th October for S&P E-mini:

SELL Entry: 1,391.00
Target: 1,386.00
Stop: 1,396.00

Result of the trade is a breakeven at 1,390.75.

26th October 06 - Good K2P Setups

For today (Thurs), I will be looking closely at the below K2P entries:

1) K2P Buy in Hang Seng futures
2) K2P Buy in Dollar Yen spot
3) K2P Sell in GBP futures
4) K2P Sell in EUR futures

So, for those who know K2P, it's time to draw the lines and get the respective entry levels. If the entries are triggered today, I will personally take more than preferred profit :)

23th October 06 - Stock Trader's Almanac 2007 is out !!!

Visited the Kinokuniya bookstore over the weekend and found a new hot book on the shelves.

To me, Stock Trader's Almanac is a must-have for all traders. Definitely assisted me in the decision making process in some of best trades in this year.

Hope it does the same for you too :)

17th October 06 - SIMSCI, so beautiful

Such a beautiful sell-off; coming down just like a waterfall, continuous and gentle ...

Opened at it's high and tickle down gradually to close at it's low ...

4th October 06 - S&P E-mini SELL 1342.50

A SELL call generated by the system on 4th October for S&P E-mini:
SELL Entry: 1,342.50
Target: 1,337.50
Stop: 1,347.50

Result of the trade is a 5pts loss, exited at 1,347.50.

2nd October 06 - S&P E-mini BUY 1345.50

A BUY call generated by the system on 2nd October for S&P E-mini:
BUY Entry: 1,345.50
Target: 1,351.50
Stop: 1,342.50

Result of the trade is a 3pts loss, exited at 1,342.50.

28th September 06 - Discover Your Strengths

Not long ago, through a friend's kind recommendation, I got to read "Now Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton. The book puts across a simple idea:Focus on building on your natural strengths rather than salvaging your weakness.

For trading, like other aspects of life, there are certain areas which we are naturally good in and it's often like a breeze when handling them. For myself, I realised that I am quite proficient in certain areas like:

1) Through trade planning before entry
2) Decisive in entry
3) Decisive in getting out of a trade when in 'hope mode'

It's important to know what your strengths are so as to focus your efforts in the correct areas. I am very interested to know your strengths too.

Hope to see your list of strengths in the comments page (see below).

26th September 06 - Interesting stuff of Hang Seng

Went Hongkong over the weekend for a family trip and also to visit my beloved girlfriend.

Although it's supposed to be a break for me off the markets, I still can't contain my ever-present curiousity of the financial markets. I was thinking, since I am in HK, turf of the Hang Seng futures which I trade everyday, how about I learn abit more about it.

And so, I bought a copy of the local business times. Compared to the Singapore papers, I think that HK newspapers are alot more 'vibrant', packed with tons of analysts pitching about their recommendations. What makes it really stands out is that even technical indicators (not only one but quite a few) are even thrown in to complete their analysis. Pretty interesting, ya?

As you can see above, sometimes they even reveal the support level. For this particular case, it's 17,171 for the Hang Seng futures. I wonder what will happen if that level is breached? 17,171 is quite a 'nice' number, don't you think so?

11th Sept 06 - S&P E-mini SELL 1307.25

Another SELL Call generated by the system on 11th Sept for S&P E-mini:
SELL Entry: 1,307.25
Target: 1,302.25
Stop: 1,312.25

Result of the trade is a breakeven at 1,307.00.

8th Sept 06 - S&P E-mini BUY 1309.75

Hasn't been updating for awhile due to work commitments.

On the top is a BUY Call generated by the system on 8th Sept for S&P E-mini:
BUY Entry: 1309.75
Target: 1314.75
Stop: 1304.75

Result of trade is a breakeven on 11th Sept at 1310.00.

6th Sept 06 - The S&P Trade Gives Again

Quite an eventful Wednesday for the S&P system with some pickings:
1) Shorted the S&P big contract @ 1313.40 (around noon time) and covered @ 1312.10 (around 4pm++)
2) A recommendation to short e-minis @ 1312.50 or better (released at 1840hrs) with profit @ 1307.50.

A pity I didn't get filled for the 2nd call as the market continues to sell-off strongly in the European session. However, some of my friends shorted near 1311.00 region and profited. Good job there man :) One of them even shorted the e-Russell and made quite a handsome amount ... slurp slurp

An interesting thing I noticed this time round is that the profit is given in the European session rather than the usual US session. One of the fastest trade thus far.

Let's look out for the next S&P trade ...

5th Sept 06 - A Picture Perfect Short

Today, I shorted the Hang Seng @ 17,428, which I believed should be a picture-perfect trade.

Profit target: 17,220 (208pts reward)
Stop-loss: 17,531 (103pts loss)
Risk/reward ratio: 1 to 2

Reasons for trade
1) K2P sell call enhanced by my RS+1 pattern
2) Created a new 52-week high but closed lower on 4th Sept
3) Today broke 4th Sept's day low with strong momentum
4) Lots of commited sellers detected across various levels in today's session
5) Well-balanced risk-reward ratio

I believe this trade should turn out well :)

PS: For Trading Mastermind Programme people, pls look out for potential KOSPI trade tomorrow

30th August 2006 - A Possible Market Turn ???

Based on my KOSPI system, there should be a turn to the downside for the next 2-3 days. I shorted KOSPI @ 174.75.
Although my system is over 90% accurate and only generate 1 stop loss in 5 years, I have to acknowledge the fact that Nikkei, Hang Seng and SIMSCI ended up strongly nearer to their highs. At the same time, this system is mechanical so taking every trade is necessary for consistent profitability.

Looking at the way the Asian mkts end and the chart patterns in US mkts, the road ahead definitely look bullish. At the same time, if you give it a 2nd thought, if the expected buying doesn't come tonight in US mkts, what will come?

Let's see if it happens?

29th August 2006 - Trading in the Markets

"We don't trade in the markets, we trade in our BELIEFS of the markets"
- Ray Barros

This quote basically summarises what trading really is. Everytime we place a trade, the market moves but do your beliefs of the markets move too?

Hope this spark some thinking for you as it did for myself. Cheers :)

22th August 06 - A Nice Sell-Off

Dear frens,
I haven't been updating the blog recently as I was busy preparing for my 1st Trading Mastermind Programme. It was held last Sat and Sun and I am very excited to have 11 participants this time. What I can say is that they are very commited traders and it was my honour to share my knowledge with them. Believe me, I also learnt a fair deal from them in those 2 days.

Right after the programme, today the market gave a Time-Frame Lag signal. Using that, I made some quick buck from shorting the Hang Seng (from 17,030 to 17,010) in the afternoon session. At the same time, the S&P system also gave a short signal. So, I shorted e-minis @ 1304.50 and just covered it @ 1301.50 and 1299.50.

As you might already realised, all of the Asian regional futures sold past their previous day lows and close below them. As such, I believe that the US markets might follow suit, possibly with DJIA cash closing below 11,317. Well let's see if it happens.

Personally, I have also shorted SIMSCI @ 281.7 today afternoon. Looking at the strong recovery towards the end, I reckon that it might not be a great idea to hold the shorts too long.

To be making $$ consistently in the markets, one have to respect the markets. Doesn't mean you shorted the markets and the markets have to go down for you. Remember, the markets have no obligations to hit your profit levels but have every right to go for your stops. Plan your trade and trade your plan; this is the only way to consistency :)

10th August 06 - The Show Starts in SIMSCI

Yesterday, I managed to close off the remaining E-mini longs at 1285.00 (US$350 profit per contract) before the selling came. Kinda surprised that market sold off that badly especially when Asia and Europe were rallying so strongly earlier. Well, that's the fact of the market. Sometimes, the market just behaves abit weird. Naughty Naughty ... ...

Today is the day for SIMSCI. One day after our National day I was busy shorting SIMSCI. Shorted in the morning @ 292.4 and covered @ 291.3 and 291.6 when regionals threatened to stage a rally. In the morning, my RUSE system signalled a sell and here I go again; shorted SIMSCI again @ 291.5 and later in the afternoon @ 290.5.

SIMSCI ended the day nearer to the low @ 289.4. Tommorrow seems like an interesting day :)

9th August 06 - The S&P Gives $$ Again

Dear friends,
I wasn't posting very actively last week as my girlfriend was in town and I have to spend time accompanying her. At the same time, it's encouraging to see that my blog has a sizable following checking for updates everyday. Thanks for all the nice feedback; definitely motivates me to share more ...

Back to the markets... ... Today, the S&P system gave another buy call. I bought at 1278.00 and cleared some at 1282.00, gaining US$200 per contract. Usually, the S&P system gave profit usually during US session but today the profit came even before the start of the US session. If the US sessions continues the buying momentum from Asian and European session, today we might have a good bull on Wall Street, possibly even testing the 1300 level for S&P. Don't be surprised when that happened, ya?

As of now, I have put in a breakeven trailing stop of 1278.25 for the remaining contracts while I continue to prepare for my Trading Mastermind Programme.

PS: To those upcoming participants, I promise you I will give you trades that can make back your course fee and more. This trade could possibly be enough :)

2nd August 06 - Watch Out for Tonight's Move !!!

Dear frens, did you check out the move in SIMSCI today? A beautiful one-way traffic! I have enough reasons that paints a picture perfect trade in SIMSCI:

1) Furious buying amidst US markets overnight drop (DJIA lost 59.95 pts yesterday night)
2) All Asian markets end either at day high or very near day high
3) SIMSCI hit a K2P buy call and enhanced by the RS+1 pattern (to be shared in Mastermind Programme)
4) There's a buy in the S&P in accordance to our S&P system

For all these reasons, I have bought SIMSCI @ 288.7 and e-minis @ 1277.75. Am looking forward to buying more e-minis later. For those who has learnt K2P, there's an upcoming buy call in the e-minis @ 1285.25 (also fulfilling the RS+1 pattern, slurp slurp).

If the markets does turn against me tonight, I can still put up a KOSPI repair trade (to be covered in Mastermind Programme) tommorow. Cheers :)

1st August 06 - Two Important Dates, Two Trades

Dear friends, there might be two god-given trade opportunities showing up based on two important dates. They are FOMC meeting (on 8th Aug) and National day (on 9th Aug) respectively.

For the FOMC, it appears that the regionals are buying up in anticipation of a possible pause in rate hike this time round. As for Singapore National day, it's evident that there are strong bids absorbing any retracement and rampant bargain hunting.

We've made good $$ when the market sold off after our elections and this time round, I believe there's $$ lazying on the ground. The question is, do you want to pick it up?

How to trade this move ?

Trade 1: I am looking at any buying opportunities in the regionals leading up to 8th August. Potential markets to buy and hold are the stronger candidates namely Hang Seng and SIMSCI.

Trade 2: After 9th August, "buying on the rumour and selling on the fact" should set in and I am looking for shorting opportunities in Taiwan and SIMSCI only if they break previous day low. Remember, don't short when the markets are rising, that's suicidal. Only short on weakness, that's why previous day low must be broken.

Please remember that nothing is certain in the markets so when things doesn't look right, get out of the trade first. Cheers :)

28th July 06 - My Trading Strategy

After waiting 1.5 months, our (mine and Eric's) S&P System finally gave a buy signal for entry yesterday evening. The recommended signal was to go long @ 1277.00, with a target of 1282.00 and stop of 1272.00.

A pity, the market only went to a high of 1281.75 (for the e-minis), one tick shy of profit. As the market came off, I advised my fellow traders to shift the stop to breakeven 1277.25 which was shortly triggered. Rule of thumb: never let a winning trade become a losing trade. For yesterday, if we had not shifted up the stop to breakeven, the stop would have been triggered @ 1272.00 later in the session.

So far, I am quite pleased with the performance of the system. Not only there's no losing trades so far, 50% of the entries actually gave 20pts within 2 days of entry with little or no drawdown. A profit of 20pts equates to US$5,000 per big S&P and US$1,000 per e-minis. Interesting, ya? Let's see if S&P visits 1295.00 by next Monday, hehe... ...

Some of you may ask, "What has the S&P system got to do with his trading strategy?" In fact, the S&P system is the pivot of my trading strategy. Although the system only generates 1 -2 entries per month, it still accounts for the majority of my trading fund's profits. In April 2006, I devised a trading strategy which would greatly enhanced my odds of making $$ consistently month in month out.

The strategy is as follows: Everyday, I trade my other intra-day systems (which will all be shared in the Trading Mastermind Programme) with the target of making around US$200 - US$300 per contract which is not a difficult task :) With these trades alone, my fund should be able to grow at least 10% per month. In the meantime, I would wait for the signals of the S&P system. When the signals come, I would go in for the kill and that possibly add another 5% to the fund. If things don't turn out well, I am still buffered by the daily profits. As such, consistently making $$ month in month out should be easier to achieve, isn't it?

As a trader, it's very important to come out with a trading strategy that works for you. As the saying goes, "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail". If one is just recklessly trading the markets everyday, sooner or later, he or she will burst the account and be forced to the gates.

I hope my 2 cents sharings here does allow you to learn something here. I am so happy that my daily page views smashed past the 100 barrier and registered 155 impressions yesterday. Once again, thanks for your time :)

27th July 06 - Stand Up for Singapore

Today, our home-grown SIMSCI did an amazing run, one-way traffic to the north pole from start till end. With Taiwan, Nikkei and Kospi ending near their highs, it's 2nd nature for me to buy August SIMSCI after lunch @ 286.0. I was not surprised that subsequently Hang Seng and SIMSCI also ended at their highs. Repeated patterns after all. I look forward to a strong move in US markets tonight. Once again, let's stand up for Singapore :)

24th July 06 - The Footprint of the Big Funds

Today is probably one of the easiest trading day of the month. Traded alongside the funds and trade aggressively today, buying 3 regionals markets at one time, namely Hang Seng, Taiwan and SIMSCI.

Basically, today all my entries are generated by this system called RUSE. The beauty of this system is that it can detect smart money movement and give almost perfect entries with little or no drawdown. Interesting, ya?

Below are the entries which I traded today. Personally, I was awed by the beauty of the entries , especially the Hang Seng one. Caught it right where the trend explodes. Enjoy ...



Can't wait to share the system to the Trading Mastermind Program people. My goal is to see all of them succeed. Cheers :)

19th July 06 - A Sweet KOSPI Trade

After waiting for 1 month, my KOSPI trading system finally generate an entry. Kudos to my partner in my trading fund for initiating the position. Eric, thanks for the belief in my system :)

Have to admit, this KOSPI trading system does not generate alot of entries. In fact, it only generate a measly 24 entries in 5 years. But out of this 24 entries, only 1 got stopped out, the rest are all outright winners. The unbelievable part is, 20% of the entries are market turning points. When I look at the potential profits, my jaw dropped to the floor.

Some of you might be shouting, "but there's so little entries...!" Well, my answer would be: I am more interested in the quality of the entries rather than the frequency of occurence. I am totally fine with trading lesser and spending more time with my loved ones, knowing that at the end of the day I am DEFINITELY PROFITABLE.

18th July 06 - 10 Winning Tips to Your Trading Success

Whilst researching for my Trading Mastermind Program (only 5 spaces left), I happened to chance upon an article (by Brian Lee) in which the stuff he generously shares coincide with my trading philosophy. So here goes:

1) Trading is simple, but it isn't easy. If you yearn to have a future in this industry, forget about "hope" and stick to your trading plan.

2) Get out a trade immediately when the reasons that supported your entry no longer exist.

3) Don't open a trade just because it is cheap. Only initiate a position is when it looks set up to make a decent move.

4) Good trading should be boring, like doing the same thing over and over again. If there's one thing I guarantee in trading, it's that "thrill seekers" or adrenaline junkies get their accounts grounded into tiny bits and pieces. It's just a matter of time.

5) The turning point of when amateur traders turn into professional traders is when they stop searching and hoping for the "holy grail in trading" and start managing their risk on each trade.

6) You are buying and trading on the emotions of other traders, not the actual stock. At any moment, you must be aware of the human psychology and emotions present in the markets.

7) Always acknowledge and be in control of your emotions. Failure to do so will bring you to the exit sooner than you think. If you are screaming at your computer screen, begging your position to move in your favor, you have to stop and ask yourself, "Is this rational?" Take a deep breath. No point screaming as it will not 'scare' the market away from your stops.

8) Always remember, trading is supposed to be a business. Don't get too personal when faced with losing trades. Like business, winning and losing are all part of the game.

9) Beware of your number one enemy, yourself! If you start to get too excited, beware! As excitement clouds your judgment, it starts to increases your risk.

10) If you come into trading with the idea of making "big money overnight," you're better wake up and smell the coffee. Most accounts have been blown because of this "account killer" mindset.

16th July 06 - Trading Mastermind Program (14th Aug 06 - 25th Aug 06)

It has been over a week since my last post. Was busy moving to my new home and setting up the internet connection there, hence the hiatus ...

I was surprised at the overwelming response when I wrote about my Trading Mastermind Program couple of weeks ago. Thanks for all the kind support. After weeks of preparation, the details of the program is finalised. It will be held from 14th Aug 06 - 25th Aug 06, Mondays to Fridays, 0900hrs to 1230hrs at the premises of Zone Financial Pte Ltd.

In this 10 days, I will share with 10 individuals all my trading techniques that allows me to grow my portfolio by 5-10% consistently every month. More importantly, I will also share 10 important concepts of trading (1 concept daily) that are paramount to any trader's success. They are as follow:
1) Trading Psychology: Managing Fear & Greed
2) Building Your Trading Business
3) Positioning Sizing
4) Importance of Risk
5) Systematic Thought Process (STP)
6) Planning Your Life
7) System Design, Testing & Optimization
8) Accelerated Learning Process
9) Traders Builder Groups
10) Trading Discipline

All the knowledge covered in the above topics are gathered from interviews of fellow traders, modelling of mindset of trading legends and also my trading experience. The program will be conducted in a proactive manner whereby all the participants will be encouraged to share their insights or trading experience, resulting in a synergy of learning. I can't help but to feel excited learning from 10 other participants too. Imagine how that can shorten your learning curve and prevent you from commiting unnecessary trading mistakes.

The 10-day Trading Mastermind Program will cost S$1,500. I am so confident of the program that I am throwing in a full money back guarantee. If you at the end of the program feel that the program does not benefit you at all, I will unconditionally return you the fee. Fair deal, ya?

For those who are interested, pls email me @ petechia@gmail.com . Likewise, if you still have any questions, pls email me @ petechia@gmail.com too. Remember, 1st come 1st serve, as there are only 10 spaces :)

PS: As of NOW, 4 spaces are taken, so 6 more left

Last Day in MSCI TW Pit

Interesting video of the Pit in my pet market, MSCI TW. Enjoy :)

6th July 06 - Futures Vs Stocks

Just happened to chance upon the website of Robbins World Cup Trading Championships.

Isn't that interesting that futures yield a better returns when compared to stocks? I know right in some of your minds, this phrase "futures high risk high return" maybe yelling at you. Yes, futures if not managed correctly can result in a trader losing the capital very quickly. However, stories of people losing their hard-earned savings in the stock market are commonplace too, isn't it? It's amazing how the stock players feel so much better losing their money slowly.


The fact remains that 90% of traders/investors lose $$ in the markets be it you stick your foot in stocks, futures, bonds or mutual funds. To me, I think the good thing about futures is that if one don't manage futures well, his/her account will suffer a hemorrhage and he/she will be out of the game and gets on with his/her life. On the other hand, stocks players' accounts usually suffer a slow death, depleting bit by bit until there's nothing left.

Enough of the doom and gloom... The most compelling reason why I stick to futures is that if I am capable to be the 10% that consistently make $$ in the markets, I will make alot more from futures than stocks. Cool, ya?

PS: I nearly fell off my chair when I got the response for my 1st Trading Mastermind Program. 40% of the seats are snatched up within 2 days of the sneak preview. Thanks for all the support :)

3rd July 06 - Sneak Preview into the Trading Mastermind Program

Yes, some of you have heard about it ... the buzz is definitely in the air :)

After much preparation, I will launching my Trading Mastermind Program soon. A mastermind group (derived from "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill) is a gathering of like-minded individuals who are commited to pushing one another towards their goals, very much like having a few performance coaches constantly on your side guiding and supporting you. The group also share new knowledge, thereby accelerating the learning curve for everyone in the group.

For my program, it will span over 2 weeks or 10 trading days. Only 10 members will be invited to join this trading inner circle. Each day, I will share 1 key concept about trading, be it position sizing, managing emotions, building a trading business. All the information gathered are painstakingly gathered through months and months of interaction with at least a hundred fellow traders. I will also share my thought process and almost all my trading knowledge and systems. Learning will take place at an accelerated pace as members contribute willingly their experience in the markets.

In this program, results are guaranteed if you have a thirst for trading success. More details out soon. Do email me @ petechia@gmail.com if you are interested to massively improve your trading skills in the shortest time.

30th June 06 - The Enemy Within

"We have met the enemy, and it is us" - Walt Kelly as Pogo

As you might already realise, my blog never talks about indicators or techniques, but focus more on psychological aspects like discipline, patience and mental attitude. The message is clear: The key to success in the markets is internal, not external.

29th June 06 - The Art of Doing Nothing

Everytime I re-read my Market Wizards book, I got something new out of it. Here an excerpt which is especially meaningful to me this time round:

"One of the best rules anybody can learn about investing is to do nothing, absolutely nothing, unless there is something to do. Most people always have to be playing; they always have to be doing something. They make a big play and say, "Boy, am I smart, I just tripled my money." Then they rush out and have to do something else with that money. They can't just sit there and wait for something new to develop" (from Jack Schwager's interview with Jim Rogers)

So well said, isn't it?

26th June 06 - The Folks Whom I Work So Hard For ...

A brief look at all my posts so far, one can only see words, words and more words ...

They say a picture speaks more than a thousand words. I shall dedicate this post to the folks whom meant so much to me.

They are my dad, my mum and my nephew. Thanks for everything !!! You are the reason why everything is worth fighting for :)

25th June 06 - What Do You Foresee of Yourself 1 Year Down the Road?

One fine day, I was chatting with my friends over coffee. One of them popped this question "What do you foresee yourself to be 1 year down the road?" Typical answers like “I really don’t know”, “it depends on what my boss thinks of me” sprung up one after another.

To me, I know exactly what I want to achieve by June 2007 – to earn S$20,000 per month and to manage an S$5 million trading fund. A quantum leap from where I am now but I believe it’s possible, in fact very possible.

On that fine day, the question made me think deeper into the path I am going to take for the coming year. I realize that not only I want a decent income, I want more time to spend with my loved ones and also to do the things which I love – which is to nurture and mentor fellow traders.

In trading, time leverage can be achieved by position trading whereby trades are placed to maximize profits in the direction of the trend, sometimes lasting days to weeks or even months. Trends do take time to build up and blossom and one must be patient enough to hold on to a favorable position longer to reap more profits. At the end of the day, I want to spend less time looking at the markets and yet make more $$. Who doesn’t?

Currently, 99% of my trades are intra-day trades and I only remembered a handful of position trades throughout my one and half year of trading. Moving from a intra-day scalper to that of a position trader might seemed to be a quantum leap however if the switch is done in steps, it should be manageable. One of my immediate milestones is to convert 30% of my trades to position trades by end Sept 06.

On Friday, I decided to take a small step towards achieving my goal. After hours of looking at the market, I decided to initiate a position trade. Interestingly, at times, the ‘chicken little’ side of me would pop up and say things like “maybe it’s not a good idea, let’s do it some other time”. However, after gauging that I have 84% chance of profiting from this trade with limited downside risk, I decided to go ahead.

For that, I bought Taiwan @ 269.6.

I am so happy that I made the 1st step towards my goal and I hope you would do the same too :)


PS: I am now at the final stages of back-testing two position trading systems. They are armed with an amazing 90% accuracy and up to 25% of the entries are market turning points. I traded them and made $$. Exciting stuff, ya? Watch this space...

21st June 06 - Trading on News (Part 1)

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. Really appreciate it :) Let me illustrate my simple way of trading on news with an example so that you can understand better ...

Let's talk about interest rates hikes since it seemed to be the buzz of the town. Everyone (no, I'm not exaggerating) I know is talking about it, regardless whether they really know it or not. The next news we can trade on (and possibly make $$) is the hiking of interest rates by Bank of Japan (BOJ). There's speculation that it might come as early as July... slurp slurp ... The fact remains thet interest rate hikes hurt equities and may cause major sell-off in the Japanese Nikkei market.

For my system, there's two trades you can look out for: "follow-thru" and "reverse swing".

For "follow thru", you may trade alongside the crowd. For this example, on the day BOJ announce the rate hike, you might consider to short Nikkei as the 'propaganda' of interest rate hikes hurting equities will sink in and everyone from japanese rice farmers to sophiscated fund managers will start dumping their Japanese stocks. Another example of "follow-thru" can be seen in 17th Sept 2001, the 1st day the market re-opened after Sept 11 terroist attacks. On that day, Dow Jones shed 684.4 pts and the sell-off continues for days.

Dear friends, pls take note that "follow-thru" does not work for stock analysts recommendations. It might not be a good idea to buy alongside the crowd when the analysts call for a buy in a certain stock. Do think about it, if the stock that they are recommending is so good, why are they not buying for themselves?

Remember, you only trade alongside the crowd when even the smart money joins the crowd. Such situations happen when there are mass fear (Sept 11, London bombings) or pivotal events (interest rate hikes or cuts).

I hope everyone gain something today :) Before I bring fro "reverse swing" in my next post, do feel free to post any comments/questions/feedback about "follow-thru". (Click on COMMENTS below)

Let's learn from one another, ya?

Disclaimer: The above information are for educational purposes only. I shall not held responsible for the profits or losses for any trades participated.

18th June 06 - Facts, Do They Matter ???

"The trouble with facts is that there are so many of them."
- Samuel McChord Crothers

This quote is so true. In trading, we are bombarded by tons of facts and news, possibly explaining every movement of the market. One moment, when the market soars, the headlines boast of a booming economy. The next moment, when the market comes off, the usual suspects would be 'interest rates concerns', 'bird flu', 'profit taking' and yada yada ... A irony which me and my friends usually joke about during coffee is: If there's so much profit to take, then how come 90% of the traders are still losing ??? Clueless, ya?

The interesting fact of facts and news is that they are always late. The 'stories' only comes out after it has happened and impacted the markets. However, I do have a way to make $$ outta facts and news although they are late ... Got your attention, ya?

Dear readers, I will reveal my "trading on news" system in my next post. Well, before I do that, can I borrow 1 min of your time to write down some comments (click on the COMMENT below) about my sharings so far? :)

15th June 06 - The Day I Made S$6 From Trading

As you read the headline of this post, I know some of you may think "What's so great about making 6 bucks from trading ?" On monetary sense, well it's really insignificant but it's the reasons behind all the trades that made this day meaningful to me :)

Let me share with all my trades:

Trade 1
Bought HangSeng @ 15,400
Sold HangSeng @ 15,369 (loss of S$330)

Trade 2
Shorted Taiwan @ 266.6
Covered Taiwan @ 266.3 (profit of S$38.60)

Trade 3
Bought Taiwan @ 265.1
Sold Taiwan @ 265.2 (profit of S$6.80)

Trade 4
Shorted Taiwan @ 265.3 and 265.1
Covered Taiwan @ 265.0 and 264.1 (profit of $156.70)

Trade 5
Bought Taiwan @ 265.0
Sold Taiwan @ 265.9 (profit of $134)

As you can see, I begin the day with a loss in Hang Seng. After the loss, it sets me thinking: should I just stop for the day or should I repair this trade as much as possible? Soon after, I chose to repair the trade but only to the extent the MARKET ALLOWS ME TO. Please remember that the market doesn't owe any of us a living. It doesn't pat you on the back and say "Don't feel sad over 1st losing trade, let me give you a chance to make back you $$, ya?"

The subsequent trades (Trade 2 to 5) are all recovery trades. If you look at it closely, Trade 2 and 3 gave rather insignifant gains. The reason being, the market was starting to go against my position and if I had got it out at breakeven or small profit, they would have turned to losing trades. Imagine if I lost again after the 1st trade, it would be uphill task for me to repair. Conversely, when the market runs for me, I will maximise my gains, as seen in the last 2 trades. That's my take on "minimize the losses and maximize the gains".

Trading is all about planning, akin to running a business. After I completed each recovery trade, I would punch in my calculator to tabulate the running profit & loss so that I know exactly how much to achieve before breakeven. So now, you begin to realise that the $6 profit isn't a coincidence, ya?

The recovery trades also helped me to gain back my 'feel' of the market and re-established my winning momentum. As such, I look forward to great trading days ahead :)


PS: Recently I have received very good reviews from my readers. Thank you very much. I will continue to share.

PPS: Please do refer your friends to my blog if you find that they can benefit. Remember, what goes around comes around. It's always good to share :)

14th June 06 - Day 1 of Recovery

As mentioned in my post yesterday, I would focus mainly on getting back my 'form'. Took a small bite off the market. Long Hang Seng @ 15,305 and cleared @ 15,325. S$200 in 3mins and that's it for the day. The temptation to trade more is definitely there but I stick to my guns and trade my plan ...

Spent rest of the day mentoring fellow traders. It's always in me to share as I firmly believe that "What goes around comes around". Overall an profitable day for all who came to trade with me with each bagging in around S$200 to S$500. Cheers :)

13th June 06 - Managing Losing Streaks

These 2 days hasn't been easy, with 2 losing days back to back and taking out most of the gains for June.

A valuable lesson learnt is learning to RESPECT THE MARKET AT ALL TIMES...

Well, the 1st week of June has been smooth sailing. 90% of the trades I went in made $$ for me. It seemed that everything I touched, it will turn to gold. I even have friends asking "How do he do it man? Almost buying at the lows and selling at the highs". I guess with this, subconsciously I have begun to take the market for granted. In fact, by end of last week, I have detected that my 'form' has dipped a fair bit but I have chose not to pay much attention to it.

To me, trading is like soccer. A trader, similarly a soccer team, doesn't win all the time. There will definitely come a time where the losing streak sets in. This is the TEST where how you perceive the situation matters. Do you see as yourself as a failure or do you see it as a perfect opportunity to learn valuable lessons from your mistakes? I don't about you, but I will definitely go for the latter! I always stand by "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger"

So you may ask, how am I gonna deal with my present losing streak?

The plan is simple. As my trading 'form' is currently on a downtrend, definitely it is not wise to trade alot. Usually I trade up to 3 times a day but for the next 3 days, I will at most trade once a day. And, everytime I go in now, I am targeting to go for minimal profit. The objective is to regain the winning form. Sometimes, when you are stuck in a losing streak, it's amazing that even make 1pt from the market can be very difficult.

That's my plan for now; stay tuned for updates :)

12th June 06 - Believing

"You can't believe in a dream until you can believe in yourself"

Dear friends, unleash your passion in trading and bring forth your belief, and you know what, your dream might be alot closer than what you have expected. I see you at the top, ya?

11th June 06 - The Tipping Point of Trading

Months ago, I speed read through this book named "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell. The focus of the book is on social 'epidemics' - any epidemic by definition must have reached a 'tipping point', a moment where the trend transits from being small-scale and contained to become a major explosive force.

An example of tipping point is the resurgence of the popularity of Hush Puppies, which had long been out of fashion, and were only sold in small shoe stores. Suddenly, a group of teenage boys in East Village, New York, found the cool to wear. Word-of-mouth advertising that these trend-setters were wearing the once-popular suede shoes set off an epidemic of fashion change, and boys all over America had to have the "cool" shoes. (taken from Amazon.com review of the book)

Being a trading coach, I am exposed to hundreds of aspiring traders who wants to make big bucks from trading. I know you are one too, isn't it? After months of observation, interestingly, some of the traders whom I know after much perserverance have reached Tipping Point and has switched from CONSISTENTLY UNPROFITABLE to now, CONSISTENTLY PROFITABLE month after month ... ...

To rise from tininess to greatness in trading, I believe there's 3 important ingredients, namely TIME, ATTITUDE and FOCUS.

In trading, we need time to develop and fine-tune our trading style. Everyone trades with a different style due to differing perceptions of fear and greed. The system advocated by the trading course you've just attended might not be suitable for you if it doesn't suit your risk appetite. I have known of traders who disregard that fact and in the quest of earning back their course fee lost all of their trading capital. Talking about time, we also need time to make mistakes so that we can learn from them and better ourselves. In trading, mistakes cost money and regardless of our account size, we can't afford to repeat the mistakes.

Attitude refers to our mindset in this game. Honestly speaking, how many of you have a "trade to win" mindset before entering any trade or is it more of "Let's hope the market goes my way"? Research has shown that 90% of traders who lose $$ succumb to the latter. To consistently profit from trading, we must have a winning mindset. A winner behaves like a sniper. He/she spends most of his/her time planning for the trade, the contingencies and weighing the risk-reward ratio. After deciding on the plan, the wait for the entry trigger begins. When the market trades to the entry level, no time is wasted. No hesistation on whether to enter or not as the game plan has been thought out and even rehearsed a few times before this moment. The trigger is pulled. BLAM ! One shot one kill! Believe me, this is one of the traits all the great traders have in common.

You can have the best technique and mindset but if you don't know exactly what you want to achieve out of trading, you will not go far in this game. Therein lies the importance of FOCUS. To start off, you must have a goal or outcome to focus on. For example, my goal is to make US$10 million from futures trading by end of 2008 and US$10 million per annum thereafter. Well, some of you may think this is a ridiculous amount but to my knowledge, some traders has done that before, meaning I can do it too :) With a quantum goal in place, next is to come out with the ways to achieve it. For example, I might want to make the US$10 million by making 10% off a US$100 million fund. Next step would to plan how to gather the fund within these 2
years ... As such, you can continue to break down the goal into smaller milestones and that immediate milestone to achieve 10% profit for June 2006 and say 12% for July 2006 and so on and so forth. With this, the mind has something to focus on and the you can look forward to every trading day as it would bring you closer to your dream.

Dear friends, I hope you like what I have shared. If you have any feedback, pls do drop me a comment if possible :)

8th June 06 - Seasonality: What Season Is It Now?

The Asian markets bleed once again today! I shorted twice on Taiwan and made US$330 per contract. Some of my fellow trader friends followed my lead and made some money too, isn't that nice? I thank them again for believing in and trusting me :)

Once again, the typical headlines that follows this kinda sell-off are "Share prices tumbled across board ... nervous trade ... with investors fearing further US interest rate hikes would fuel inflation and stunt economic growth".

In my opinion, news/headlines are always late and thus I cannot rely on them to help me fatten my trading account. The news are probably good for a hindsight coffee talk after the money is made :)

Tell you a secret - I based 30% of my trading decision on this interesting phenomenon called SEASONALITY and it does help to bring in the buck IF AND ONLY IF YOU BELIEVE IT !!!

The formal definition of seasonality is "A characteristic of a time series in which the data experiences regular and predictable changes which recur every calendar year". For example, as mentioned in Investopedia, there's a January effect where "at the beginning of January, investors return to equity markets with a vengeance, pushing up prices of mostly small cap and value stocks".

Talking about seasonality as the World Cup nears, can't help but to share with you my version of "World Cup Effect". As I compare the charts of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) this year and that of the previous World Cup (2002), there's an uncanny similarity. Both charts registered a sell-off in the market which started on mid May (20th May for 2002 and 11th May f0r 2006) with similar selling momentum. Based on chart patterns in June - July 2002, the current sell-off could continue gradually till mid July, with DJIA possibly reaching 9,000 points.

DJIA going back to 9,000 ??? I bet most of you think I am crazy ... Whether it comes true or not, I am not really interested. Even if I am RIGHT but I didn't trade on this move and make $$$, what's the point right?

As you are thinking right now, you begin to make sense of why 70% of my initiated positions since May were on the short side. Cool, ya ?

6th June 06 - The Story Behind Opening Price

Everyday, when the OPENING PRICE is flashed, somebody made a fortune while somebody leaves the game. Trading is a zero-sum game: when one wins, somebody else must lose.

Overnight gaps can be one's best friend or one's worst enemy! If one recklessly leave an overnight position, HOPING the gap will act in his/her favor on the following day, most of the time, it seems to act against him/her, isn't it? Especially when HOPE is in the picture ... ...

The killer comes when one have an excessive overnight position and the whole position turns against him/her at the OPENING PRICE. When the painful decision to cut loss came into realisation, he/she leaves the game ... ...

My friends, as long as we are in the game of trading, there always exist the possibility that one day we might be invited or forced to the EXIT. The next mistake which is too dear to pay for might just be IT.

Respect the market and it will pay you dividends. Mess with it and it will show you to the door.

2nd June 06 - What you perceive will be your reality !

"If you think you can, or if you think you cannot, you are right"
Henry Ford


SAY OUT LOUD the statement below
--> "Don't think of a pink elephant, don't think of a pink elephant"

How many of you, whilst saying that statement has a pink elephant popping out in your mind? I believe most of you do. Research has shown that the unconscious mind does a bad job in "picking up" negation, as such words like DON"T will be dropped. To the unconscious mind, the statement will be "Think of a pink elephant, think of a pink elephant".

How is this relevant to trading?

Friends, you will now think twice when you say "I DON'T want to lose in this trade". Remember the above quote from Henry Ford ... ...

30th May 06 - Dow Jones to sell off tonight ??? Let's see ...

Dear friends,
I am touched and happy that there are readers who missed me during my absence for the past week and have been urging me to share more. For the past week, I have busy researching on more profitable patterns in the market and will soon reveal to all :)

Ok, here's my take on the Dow Jones tonight. After a memorial day break, I am looking it to open at least 30pts down, around the region of 11,240. There's a 75% chance that it would continue to sell off from there and end much lower. Seeya 5 hours later at the Dow Jones opening .... Cheers

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After Market Analysis

Seems like I am wrong about the opening price of Dow Jones. It opened @ 11,277.25 instead of the predicted 11,240 :) However, do you check out the sell-off that came after the opening? It's fast and furious, with Dow Jones down 184.18pts at the end of the session....

To me, it's all part of the game and can be anticipated. Question is, do you want to make use of this information to make $$ and improve the quality of your life and that of your family? If the answer is YES, do stay tuned for my posts :)

17th May 06 - What makes a Great Trader ???

Let's me share with you a story....

John, an aspiring trader learnt a wonderful trading theory. The theory itself is wonderful, scoring a remarkable 87% over 20yrs of back-testing. For 2 weeks, John did some intensive mock trading and make sure he knows the theory at the tip of his fingers. The mock trading turned out well for John and he made his virtual account grew 10% in a week. Marvelous, isn't it?

The day came when John decided to trade with real $$. First trade came, though very nervous, he followed the system and made $100. Second trade came, he repeated the feat and made $200. He began to feel that all his efforts are paying dividends and imagine that possibly in 5 yrs time, he can retire financially free through trading.

Well, as you know it, that's only PART 1 of the story ... pls read on ...

Third trade came and John got stopped out for the trade, losing $300. To John, he thinks that it's okay as he understands that there's no holy grail in trading. So, naturally, there will be losing trades. John was still feeling fine although he has lost his gains from the 1st two trades, at least his capital was still untouched.

The fourth and fifth trades turned out to be losing trades too, wiping $1,000 off his account. John was devastated as he can't believe that a supposedly 87% system can generate 3 losing trades from 5 trades. He started to doubt whether the system still can help him to achieve financial freedom or will he crash his whole account before even coming close to the dream. He really don't know what to do and decided to take a break off trading.

During his break, the system generated a string of 8 successive trades. Should he have traded all of them, he could have made back everything he lost and even bagged a profit of $1,500. He decided to give the system one last chance.

On the D-day, the trade came. John followed the entry signal and went in. Things looked well and the market was going to his profit level. It was just a few ticks to his profit when the market suddenly reversed. Within seconds, all his paper profits were gone and the market was sprinting towards his stop loss level. Suddenly, in John's mind, images of the last 2 losing trades flashed by... John decided that he cannot take another steep loss if the market was to trigger his stops. Using his own discretion, he decided to end the misery and cut the loss early. After he got out of his trade, the market reversed again and went ahead to hit the profit level. Looking at the screen, John was totally destroyed mentally. After this trade, John went ahead with a spat of revenge trading and soon his trading account was wiped out.

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Dear friends, how many of you have experienced what John has gone through however different or similar your story might be?

I too have gone through what John has experienced, in fact more than 1 time.

What really makes a Great Trader??

What happens when you suffered a big loss? Do you cry over spilt milk or do you seek to repair the trade? A great trader sees trading as a business and seeks to finish each day as a positive day. Shall he suffer a big loss, he becomes more sharp and hunts for opportunities to make back bit by bit. He don't believe in making back in "1 big trade". As you can see, there's a fine line between revenge trading and repairing/damage control.
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16th May 06 - Let's talk about Taiwan Futures

Today is an meaningful day, full of learning experiences. Earlier in the morning, KOSPI and Nikkei continued to weaken, especially with KOSPI pretty much one-way traffic to the south pole. I sold Taiwan @ 2981 it is likely to be dragged down by it's neighbouring markets, namely KOSPI and Nikkei.

Through my months of observing Taiwan, it's often the market that seemed to be "out of sync" with the other regional markets, meaning the other markets might be selling hard but Taiwan can stand still or even go up. As such, it is often considered one of the weirdest and thus challenging market to trade in. You need to be patient and have firm belief in your position as it takes alot more time for the intraday trend to develop. Once the trend forms and in your favour, hold on to the position and often it's possible to ride the position till MOC (market on close) for maximum profit. For today, I held on the short for 40 ticks before covering @ 2941, a profit of 400 usd. Took more than 3hrs but my patience grew through this trade :)

In the midst of my Taiwan short position, I initiated a long position in Hang Seng @ 16,320. Right in your mind, I know you must be thinking: Isn't it kinda weird to be long in 1 mkt and short in another AT THE SAME TIME ???

Yes, it might be strange but I have my reasons....

Firstly, Hang Seng sold off for more than 500pts on the previous session. I bought as I expect some recovery from that sell-off. Bought @ 16,320 and looking to clear for 50pts profit with a risk of 30pts.

Secondly, as what I said earlier, weirdo Taiwan is often moving in different direction as the other markets. So I can be on opposite sides for these 2 different markets.

Lastly, the expected time frame for the 2 trades are different. As such, I am expecting the Hang Seng long to be done within 30min while Taiwan is to be held till market close which is 4hrs away.

A pity, my Hang Seng long got stopped out @ a loss of 30pts. However at the end of the day, I am still positive due to the bigger profit in Taiwan. I shorted Hang Seng later in the afternoon @ 16,180 to keep overnight as I expect the US market to sell off later in the evening.

15th May 06 - The Great Sell Off in Asia

Today is a Monday to remember for long time to come. Never have I seen SIMSCI shed 11pts and Hang Seng tanking more than 500pts in a day. Well, it came as a surprise though as I anticipated a recovery.
In total, there are 3 trades for today. I went SHORT on Taiwan @ 299.9 early in the morning due to general weakness in the Asian regionals. The original plan was to position this trade till the end of the session, targetting a 3-4pts profit. Only managed to see 299.0 low as bids swarmed in to support the market. I got out @ 299.8, slightly above breakeven as regionals gradually recovered and I don't want to bang too much on HOPE mode. Whenever I am in HOPE mode, I get out of a trade. Anyway, there's always a good trade lying around :)

Next up, seeing the recovery, I went LONG on Hang Seng @ 16,528, supported by recovery in Nikkei & KOSPI. The market showed much reluctance to go up and every down move is fast and furious. At that instance, you can really 'feel' the lack of willingness to buy up ...If it's supposed to go up, then why is it not even showing that on the charts? The charts don't lie .... The sell-off will come in a matter of time, thus I got out @ 16,530, making sure I don't lose. And you know what, after getting out, the market only managed to inch up to 16,538 before closing for lunch. After lunch, you saw it for yourself, the great sell off came. Can this move be predicted? You bet ....

Finally, the last trade that made a decent sum. Shorted Nikkei @ 16,415. Machinery reports came out and disappoint the traders. Wham, Nikkei lost 70pts of ground in that minute. Covered my contract @ 16,360. Fast and dirty ....

A pity I got nothing from the afternoon sell-off as I was in a meeting. Well, the market has no short of profitable opportunities. To summarise, 3 trades, 2 breakevens and 1 winner, a reasonable 240USD paycheck from the market :)