Sunday, January 13, 2008
A Look at Online Forex Brokers
An online forex broker is a firm that facilitates retail trading using Internet technologies. Global Forex Trading (GFT), one of the popular online forex brokers. It provides retail traders with a free demo trading account, allows users to open a live account, gives live help, provides software called DealBook FX 2, and allows viewing of account documents. (DealBook FX 2 can be downloaded for the demo trading account).Gain Capital Group's Online Forex offers 200:1 leverage. In some cases, the total return on investment is higher due to leverage. For example, with $1000 cash in a margin account, the investor can control up to $200,000 in notional value. Of course, trading on leverage magnifies both the investor's profits and losses. GCI Financial Ltd. offers commission-free online trading in forex. GCI offers Internet trading software, fast and efficient execution, and 0.5% margin requirements. This broker offers USD or Euro denominated trading accounts. The spreads are 3 pips in EUR/USD and USD/JPY, and are 4 to 5 pips for other major commissions. Clients can hedge by opening positions in the same currency in opposite directions. Risk to the investor is limited to the deposited funds. Market analysis and research, real-time charts, and forex trading signals are available at no charge.ACM, part of the REFCO group, offers 3 pip spreads on all major currencies, which works out to between 0.02% and 0.03% on the dollar value. They also offer commission-free trading, and forex trading with a 1% margin, which means that a trader can control $1,000,000 with $10,000 in his account.There are many online forex brokers that offer free demo accounts for potential forex traders to practice trading. It is only a matter of registering and starting demo trading to get a feel for forex trading. In addition, at most sites, traders can find free forex news to assist them with their trade strategies.
Why Trade the Forex Market
Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Technology advances like the internet have spawned this new trading craze, where anyone with a secure internet connection prepared to undertake a small amount of training can engage in trading foreign exchange on the forex market. Before the Internet, only corporations and wealthy individuals could trade currencies in the Forex market through the use of proprietary trading systems of banks, often through private banking. The foreign exchange market is one of the largest in the world if not the largest. It is more than 3 times larger than the stock/equities market and more than 5 times bigger than futures, give Forex traders nearly unlimited liquidity and flexibility. It has been estimated that approximately $2 trillion USD of currency exchanges hands each and every day. The foreign currency markets are very liquid because worldwide, the most powerful international banks provide a market around the clock. The Global foreign exchange market daily averages of the Bank for International Settlements in 1998 were $660 billion and now have increased to $2.3 trillion (2006). There is really no insider information in the forex markets. Since exchange rates are calculated by actual money flow as well as by the outlook of financial flowage, which takes into consideration such things as inflation, GDP changes, trade and budget deficits and surpluses, as well as interest rates, it would be difficult to come across so-called 'insider information'. All of these factors are self-evident, though different projected outlooks may prove more accurate than others. There is less room for market manipulation is there may be for thinly traded stocks. A equally important property of forex market is the fact that trends in forex market last longer and are more clearly defined than in any other trading instrument. Analysis of forex market charts also often displays identifiable chart patterns of price movement and once a pattern is established, the trend or pattern becomes the most probable course of future price action until the market changes. Because the FOREX market is so huge, there is no possibility of someone controlling the market price for a long time. When there are a lot of buyers and a lot of sellers, you can expect to buy or sell at a price that is very close to the last market price. The market maker in the forex market is usually a bank or brokerage company that provides during the trading day a bid and ask price. Example of forex market makers include CMS Forex, GFS, Forex, Forex Capital Markets (FXCM), and Global Forex Trading, all of which are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the USA. Brokers offer clients access to online FX trading system, platform or software that can make it easy and fun to trade the market and usually there are usually no commission charges. With these trading systems and platforms you can trade the forex markets for free using the same state-of-the-art software packages that professional Forex traders use to help them make real-time, live currency trades. So individuals with a few hundreds of their own currency hope to buy and sell something for a smiling profit. Speculators trade to make a profit by purchasing one currency and simultaneously selling another. In conclusion I think the FOREX market is one of the best investment opportunities around today. There are great opportunities in the FOREX market because of the constant movements of the exchange rates. There is no surprise that more and more traders are turning to the foreign currency market to take advantage of the fluctuation in exchange currency rates as a way to speculate and trade to increase their capital and wealth.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Origins of foreign exchange
In order to gain a complete understanding of what foreign exchange market is, it is useful to examine the reasons that lead to its existence in the first place. Exhaustively detailing the historical events that shaped the foreign exchange market into what it is today is of no great importance to the fx trader and therefore we happily will omit lengthy explanations of historical events such as the Bretton Woods accord in favor of a more specific insight into the reasoning behind foreign exchange as a medium of exchange of goods and services.Originally our ancestors conducted trading of goods against other goods this system of bartering was of course quite inefficient and required lengthy negotiation and searching to be able to strike a deal. Eventually forms of metal like bronze, silver and gold came to be used in standardized sizes and later grades (purity) to facilitate the exchange of merchandise. The basis for these mediums of exchange was acceptance by the general public and practical variables like durability and storage. Eventually during the late middle ages, a variety of paper IOU started gaining popularity as an exchange medium.The obvious advantage of carrying around 'precious' paper versus carrying around bags of precious metal was slowly recognized through the ages. Eventually stable governments adopted paper currency and backed the value of the paper with gold reserves. This came to be known as the gold standard. The Bretton Woods accord in July 1944 fixed the dollar to 35 USD per ounce and other currencies to the dollar. In 1971, president Nixon suspended the convertibility to gold and let the US dollar 'float' against other currencies.Since then the foreign exchange market has developed into the largest market in the world with a total daily turnover of about 1.5 trillion USD. Traditionally an institutional (inter-bank) market, the popularity of online currency trading offered to the private individual is democratising foreign exchange and widening the retail market.
Forex Trading Systems
The foreign exchange currency market is the largest market in the world because it trades up to $1.9 trillion daily. There is an enormous scope of trade in Forex because it is global, and is open twenty-four hours a day, making the presence of buyers and sellers constant, and the fluidity of the market, grand. The market is ever present because it does not have a central venue like Wall Street or Tokyo. It is a series of internet and telephone communications between buyers and sellers and it is not overseen by any one main authority like the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Forex is made available to traders through platforms.Traders of Forex commonly favor Forex trading systems. Forex trading systems are methods of trading currency based on ideas that have rules associated with them. Forex trading systems are a merging of theory and practice that have been tried and tested over and over, and the results of the tests have been documented.Some Forex trading systems are based on the idea of going against trends. Other Forex trading systems are based on the idea of going with trends. Some Forex trading systems are based on the idea of tracking breakouts of a particular currency and these Forex trading systems rely heavily on the averages of a currency s highs and lows, and utilize Bollinger bands that track the average highs, the average lows and the moving average of the two.Traders utilize Forex trading systems in order to work against human characteristics that can hamper trading, like greed, addiction, impulsivity, compulsivity and fear.
Forex vs. Futures
The origins of today's futures market lies in the agriculture markets of the 19th century. At that time, farmers began selling contracts to deliver agricultural products at a later date. This was done to anticipate market needs and stabilize supply and demand during off seasons.The current futures market includes much more than agricultural products. It is a worldwide market for all sorts of commodities including manufactured goods, agricultural products, and financial instruments such as currencies and treasury bonds. A futures contract states what price will be paid for a product at a specified delivery date.When the futures market is played by speculators, the actual goods are not important and there is no expectation of delivery. Rather, it is the futures contract itself that is traded as the value of that contract changes daily according the market value of the commodity.In every futures contract there is a buyer and a seller. The seller takes the short position and the buyer takes the long position. The futures contract specifies a buying price, a quantity and a delivery date. For example: A farmer agrees to deliver 1000 bushels of wheat to a baker at a price of $5.00 a bushel. If the daily price of wheat futures falls to $4.00 a bushel, the farmer's account is credited with $1000 ($5.00 - $4.00 X 1000 bushels) and the baker's account is debited by the same amount. Futures accounts are settled every day.At the end of the contract period, the contract is settled. If the price of wheat futures is still at $4.00 the farmer will have made $1000 on the futures contract and the baker will have lost the same amount. However, the baker now buys wheat on the open market at $4.00 a bushel - $1000 less than the original contract, so the amount he lost on the futures contract is made up by the cheaper cost of wheat. Similarly, the farmer must sell his wheat on the open market for $4.00 a bushel, less than what he anticipated when entering the futures contract, but the profit generated by the futures contract makes up the difference.The baker, however, is still in effect buying the wheat at $5.00 a bushel, and if he hadn't entered into a futures contract he would have been able to buy wheat at $4.00 a bushel. He protected himself against rising prices but he loses if the market price drops.Speculators hope to profit by the daily fluctuations in the futures market by buying long (from the buyer) if they expect prices to rise or by buying short (from the seller) if they expect prices to fall.FOREXThe foreign exchange market (FOREX) has several advantages over the futures market. FOREX is a more liquid market – as the largest financial market in the world it dwarfs the futures market in daily exchanges. This means that stop orders can be executed more easily and with less slippage in the FOREX.The FOREX is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Most futures exchanges are open 7 hours a day. This makes FOREX more liquid and allows FOREX traders to take advantage of trading opportunities as they arise rather than waiting for the market to open.FOREX transactions are commission-free. Brokers earn money by setting a spread – the difference between what a currency can be bought at and what it can be sold at. In contrast, traders must pay a commission or brokerage fee for each futures transaction they enter into.Because of the high volume of trading FOREX transactions are almost instantly executed. This minimizes slippage and increases price certainty. Brokers in the futures market often quote prices reflecting the last trade – not necessarily the price of your transaction.The FOREX is less risky than the futures market because of built-in safeguards in the trading system. Debits in futures are always a possiblility because of market gap and slippage.
The Difference Between Forex & Shares
advantage and favorable currency dealings first, is the continuation of dealing 24 hours a day. This leaves room for each dealer to devote part of his time, as circumstances allow for that. While some believe to do the job, while others see career professionally proficient in additional income lactation. They can spend a few hours in the afternoon or evening, regardless of the country or region where they live. The shares Treating the doomed Greenwich country belonging to him. In America, for example believe that the deal begins at 9:30 am and ends at 4:00 pm New York time.
2-in the currency market available at every moment trading conditions, regardless of the state of the economy generally. This situation imposes on the stock market retreat has long-lasting impossible to work. In currencies, a dealer can sell in the market and buy passiveness in the market is high. This provides the possibility of a profit in the case.
3-easily traded currencies due to the small number, Valeraesseh of not more than six pairs, and this offers the possibility of focus and analysis. It also raises the incidence in defining the goal and reduce the error rate, while the shares that are dealing with more than hundreds of thousands, confounding dealer sometimes opted to different ways unsafe side to identify and hand work.
4-in the currency market, you can obtain the free illusory deal, which trained on the progress of work, while not in the stock market. You can also obtain market news periodically and continuous, and the graph too. 5-in the currency market, you can start with the "Arab Online Brokers" deal in a mini-account gives you the danger of trains because Khsartk limited to one point in this account equal to the loss in the extreme case one dollar. This is impossible in other markets.
2-in the currency market available at every moment trading conditions, regardless of the state of the economy generally. This situation imposes on the stock market retreat has long-lasting impossible to work. In currencies, a dealer can sell in the market and buy passiveness in the market is high. This provides the possibility of a profit in the case.
3-easily traded currencies due to the small number, Valeraesseh of not more than six pairs, and this offers the possibility of focus and analysis. It also raises the incidence in defining the goal and reduce the error rate, while the shares that are dealing with more than hundreds of thousands, confounding dealer sometimes opted to different ways unsafe side to identify and hand work.
4-in the currency market, you can obtain the free illusory deal, which trained on the progress of work, while not in the stock market. You can also obtain market news periodically and continuous, and the graph too. 5-in the currency market, you can start with the "Arab Online Brokers" deal in a mini-account gives you the danger of trains because Khsartk limited to one point in this account equal to the loss in the extreme case one dollar. This is impossible in other markets.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
The Laws of Charts
Great Ebook, explains in details al types of charts used in technical analysis, from the ebook: A typical 1-2-3 high is formed at the end of an up-trending market. Typically, prices will make a final high (1), proceed downward to point (2) where an upward correction begins; then proceed upward to a point where they resume a downward movement, thereby creating the pivot (3).
There can be more than one bar in the movement from point 1 to point 2, and again from point 2 to point 3. There must be a full correction before points 2 or 3 can be defined.
The number 2 point of a 1-2-3 high is created when a full correction takes place. Full correction means that as prices move up from the potential number 2 point, there must be a single bar that makes both a higher high and a higher low than the preceding bar or a combination of up to three bars creating both the higher high and the higher low. The higher high and the higher low may occur in any order. Subsequent to three bars we have congestion. Congestion will be explained in depth later on in the course. It is possible for both the number 1 and number 2 points to occur on the same bar.
To see the graphics and for more details, Download the ebook from the link below
There can be more than one bar in the movement from point 1 to point 2, and again from point 2 to point 3. There must be a full correction before points 2 or 3 can be defined.
The number 2 point of a 1-2-3 high is created when a full correction takes place. Full correction means that as prices move up from the potential number 2 point, there must be a single bar that makes both a higher high and a higher low than the preceding bar or a combination of up to three bars creating both the higher high and the higher low. The higher high and the higher low may occur in any order. Subsequent to three bars we have congestion. Congestion will be explained in depth later on in the course. It is possible for both the number 1 and number 2 points to occur on the same bar.
To see the graphics and for more details, Download the ebook from the link below
Technical Analysis - Chart Formations
It is important to note that the Technical Analysis Overview provided does not attempt to be a comprehensive treatment of Charting or Technical Analysis methods. There are numerous, well-written books on Chart Interpretation and Technical Analysis. A brief and simplistic review of some basic charting concepts are provided for reference or to stimulate further study. Please contact your broker for a recommended reading list on Charting and Technical Analysis.
Technical Analysis makes the assumption that history repeats itself. Any trading method or system that works well on a broad sample of historical data, may have validity when applied to future trading environments. One should keep in mind that the markets are dynamic. The forces that motivate price movement are dynamic, and the participants are dynamic. Therefore any system which has performed well on past historic data may decline in value as the evolving dynamics of the markets change over time.
The assumption is made that trading results can be improved when trading skills are improved. This requires practice! Surely any time spent learning to trade on past historical data, will not b
The assumption is made that trading results can be improved when trading skills are improved. This requires practice! Surely any time spent learning to trade on past historical data, will not be wasted when it comes to preparing to trade for the future.
Technical Analysis makes the assumption that history repeats itself. Any trading method or system that works well on a broad sample of historical data, may have validity when applied to future trading environments. One should keep in mind that the markets are dynamic. The forces that motivate price movement are dynamic, and the participants are dynamic. Therefore any system which has performed well on past historic data may decline in value as the evolving dynamics of the markets change over time.
The assumption is made that trading results can be improved when trading skills are improved. This requires practice! Surely any time spent learning to trade on past historical data, will not b
The assumption is made that trading results can be improved when trading skills are improved. This requires practice! Surely any time spent learning to trade on past historical data, will not be wasted when it comes to preparing to trade for the future.
Money Management
There are some common mistakes I’ve seen traders make in the area of money management. First, let’s understand what money management is all about.
Money management overlaps with risk, trade, business, and personal management, yet it has many aspects that make it unique, distinctly different from all of the other areas of management. In this chapter we want to examine some areas of money management that seem to involve mental quirks leading to costly mistakes.
Listening to Opinion
Kim has entered a short position in crude oil after carefully studying as many factors as she could reasonably include while making her decision to trade. She has entered the trade because her study of the underlying fundamentals has her convinced that crude oil prices must soon begin to fall. Then Kim turns on her television set and begins to watch one of the financial news stations. An “expert” in crude oil is being interviewed. He begins to talk about how crude oil inventories are almost certain to drop this year because oil companies are not doing as much exploration as they have in previous years. Kim listens intently to what he has to say and then begins to doubt her decision about the trade she has entered.
The more she thinks about it, the more panicky she becomes. She considers abandoning her position even though she will end up with a loss. The fact that an “expert” has decided something else completely shakes her confidence. She exits the trade intraday and takes a $400 loss. Prices have not come near her protective stop, which was $700 away from her entry. The market never moves sufficiently far to have taken out her stop. By the end of the day, her crude oil futures have made a new high, and in the following days explodes into a genuine bull market. Instead of a magnificent win, Kim has a loss. The loss is more than money, she has lost confidence in herself.
Money management overlaps with risk, trade, business, and personal management, yet it has many aspects that make it unique, distinctly different from all of the other areas of management. In this chapter we want to examine some areas of money management that seem to involve mental quirks leading to costly mistakes.
Listening to Opinion
Kim has entered a short position in crude oil after carefully studying as many factors as she could reasonably include while making her decision to trade. She has entered the trade because her study of the underlying fundamentals has her convinced that crude oil prices must soon begin to fall. Then Kim turns on her television set and begins to watch one of the financial news stations. An “expert” in crude oil is being interviewed. He begins to talk about how crude oil inventories are almost certain to drop this year because oil companies are not doing as much exploration as they have in previous years. Kim listens intently to what he has to say and then begins to doubt her decision about the trade she has entered.
The more she thinks about it, the more panicky she becomes. She considers abandoning her position even though she will end up with a loss. The fact that an “expert” has decided something else completely shakes her confidence. She exits the trade intraday and takes a $400 loss. Prices have not come near her protective stop, which was $700 away from her entry. The market never moves sufficiently far to have taken out her stop. By the end of the day, her crude oil futures have made a new high, and in the following days explodes into a genuine bull market. Instead of a magnificent win, Kim has a loss. The loss is more than money, she has lost confidence in herself.
Learning to Trade: The Psychology of Expertise
Written by Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.
When people hear that I am an active trader and a professional psychologist, they naturally want to hear about techniques for mastering emotions in trading. That is an important topic to be sure, and later in this article I will even have a few things to say about it. But there is much more to psychology and trading than “trading psychology”, and that is the ground I hope to cover here. Specifically, I would like to address a surprisingly neglected question: How does one gain expertise as a trader?
It turns out that there are two broad answers to this question, focusing upon quantitative and qualitative insights into the markets. We can dub these research expertise and pattern-recognition expertise, respectively. These perspectives are much more than academic, theoretical issues. How we view knowledge and learning in the markets will shape the strategies we employ and—quite likely—the results we will obtain. In this article, I will summarize these two positions and then offer a third, unique perspective that draws upon recent research in the psychology of learning. I believe this third perspective, based on implicit learning, has important, practical implications for our development as traders.
Developing Expertise Through Research
The research answer to our question says that we gain trading expertise by performing superior research. We collect a database of market behavior and then we research variables (or combinations of variables) that are significantly associated with future price trends. This is the way of mechanical trading systems, as in the trading strategies developed with Trade Station. We become expert, the mechanical system trader would argue, by building a better mousetrap: finding the system with the lowest drawdown, least risk, greatest profit, etc.
When people hear that I am an active trader and a professional psychologist, they naturally want to hear about techniques for mastering emotions in trading. That is an important topic to be sure, and later in this article I will even have a few things to say about it. But there is much more to psychology and trading than “trading psychology”, and that is the ground I hope to cover here. Specifically, I would like to address a surprisingly neglected question: How does one gain expertise as a trader?
It turns out that there are two broad answers to this question, focusing upon quantitative and qualitative insights into the markets. We can dub these research expertise and pattern-recognition expertise, respectively. These perspectives are much more than academic, theoretical issues. How we view knowledge and learning in the markets will shape the strategies we employ and—quite likely—the results we will obtain. In this article, I will summarize these two positions and then offer a third, unique perspective that draws upon recent research in the psychology of learning. I believe this third perspective, based on implicit learning, has important, practical implications for our development as traders.
Developing Expertise Through Research
The research answer to our question says that we gain trading expertise by performing superior research. We collect a database of market behavior and then we research variables (or combinations of variables) that are significantly associated with future price trends. This is the way of mechanical trading systems, as in the trading strategies developed with Trade Station. We become expert, the mechanical system trader would argue, by building a better mousetrap: finding the system with the lowest drawdown, least risk, greatest profit, etc.
Forex Money Management
Money management is a critical point that shows difference between winners and losers. It was proved that if 100 traders start trading using a system with 60% winning odds, only 5 traders will be in profit at the end of the year. In spite of the 60% winning odds 95% of traders will lose because of their poor money management. Money management is the most significant part of any trading system. Most of traders don't understand how important it is.
It's important to understand the concept of money management and understand the difference between it and trading decisions. Money management represents the amount of money you are going to put on one trade and the risk your going to accept for this trade.
There are different money management strategies. They all aim at preserving your balance from high risk exposure.
First of all, you should understand the following term Core equity
Core equity = Starting balance - Amount in open positions.
If you have a balance of 10,000$ and you enter a trade with 1,000$ then your core equity is 9,000$. If you enter another 1,000$ trade, your core equity will be 8,000$
It's important to understand what's meant by core equity since your money management will depend on this equity.
We will explain here one model of money management that has proved high annual return and limited risk. The standard account that we will be discussing is 100,000$ account with 20:1 leverage . Anyway, you can adapt this strategy to fit smaller or bigger trading accounts.
It's important to understand the concept of money management and understand the difference between it and trading decisions. Money management represents the amount of money you are going to put on one trade and the risk your going to accept for this trade.
There are different money management strategies. They all aim at preserving your balance from high risk exposure.
First of all, you should understand the following term Core equity
Core equity = Starting balance - Amount in open positions.
If you have a balance of 10,000$ and you enter a trade with 1,000$ then your core equity is 9,000$. If you enter another 1,000$ trade, your core equity will be 8,000$
It's important to understand what's meant by core equity since your money management will depend on this equity.
We will explain here one model of money management that has proved high annual return and limited risk. The standard account that we will be discussing is 100,000$ account with 20:1 leverage . Anyway, you can adapt this strategy to fit smaller or bigger trading accounts.
Expose Yourself! A Powerful Technique for Breaking Emotional Patterns in Trading
Traders love patterns. We trade chart patterns, oscillator patterns, historical patterns, cyclical patterns—you name the pattern, chances are there’s someone trading it. Much of trading boils down to pattern recognition and the ability to quickly identify and act upon profitable patterns as they occur. This is particularly challenging for active futures and options traders, who must read the patterns, make their decisions, and place their orders within a matter of seconds.
Processing market patterns in the midst of our own emotional patterns—our tendencies toward impulsivity, hesitation, frustration, and regret—is one of the greatest challenges of active trading.
It is always sobering for traders to realize that they are every bit as patterned as the markets they’re trading—and sometimes far more so. In this article, I will draw upon two decades of experience as a clinical psychologist to illustrate a powerful technique for interrupting and changing repetitive emotional and behavioral patterns that disrupt trading. The technique is a cognitive-behavioral method known as exposure, and—in the Ranger tradition described by Brace Barber, Linda Rashcke, and me in September’s issue—it is a powerful tool for challenging oneself for exemplary performance...
Processing market patterns in the midst of our own emotional patterns—our tendencies toward impulsivity, hesitation, frustration, and regret—is one of the greatest challenges of active trading.
It is always sobering for traders to realize that they are every bit as patterned as the markets they’re trading—and sometimes far more so. In this article, I will draw upon two decades of experience as a clinical psychologist to illustrate a powerful technique for interrupting and changing repetitive emotional and behavioral patterns that disrupt trading. The technique is a cognitive-behavioral method known as exposure, and—in the Ranger tradition described by Brace Barber, Linda Rashcke, and me in September’s issue—it is a powerful tool for challenging oneself for exemplary performance...
Candlestick Charting Explained
There are two types of ways to analysis the price of a stock, fundamental analysis, and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis is used to gauge the price of a stock based on the fundamental attributes of the stock, such as price/earnings ratio, Return on invest, and associated economic statistics.
Technical analysis deals more with the psychological component of trading a stock, and is influenced for the most part on emotionalism.
The technical analyst is seeking to answer the question "how are other traders viewing this stock, and how will that effect the price in the immediate future".
As you will see, the candlestick chart is the most effective way to gauge the sentiments of other traders.
The History of Candlestick Charts
The Japanese were the first to use technical analysis to trade one of the world's first rice futures markets in the 1600s. A Japanese man by the name of Homma who traded the futures markets in the 1700s discovered that although there was link between supply and demand of the rice, the markets were also strongly influenced by the emotions of the traders.
Homma realized that he could benefit from understanding the emotions to help predict the future prices. He understood that there could be a vast difference between value and price of rice.
This difference between value and price is as valid today with stocks, as it was with rice in Japan centuries ago.
The principles established by Homma in measuring market emotions in a stock are the basis for the Candlestick Chart analysis, which we will present in this seminar.
Technical analysis deals more with the psychological component of trading a stock, and is influenced for the most part on emotionalism.
The technical analyst is seeking to answer the question "how are other traders viewing this stock, and how will that effect the price in the immediate future".
As you will see, the candlestick chart is the most effective way to gauge the sentiments of other traders.
The History of Candlestick Charts
The Japanese were the first to use technical analysis to trade one of the world's first rice futures markets in the 1600s. A Japanese man by the name of Homma who traded the futures markets in the 1700s discovered that although there was link between supply and demand of the rice, the markets were also strongly influenced by the emotions of the traders.
Homma realized that he could benefit from understanding the emotions to help predict the future prices. He understood that there could be a vast difference between value and price of rice.
This difference between value and price is as valid today with stocks, as it was with rice in Japan centuries ago.
The principles established by Homma in measuring market emotions in a stock are the basis for the Candlestick Chart analysis, which we will present in this seminar.
Basics of Candlesticks
Where do Candlesticks Come From?
In the 1600s, the Japanese developed a method of technical analysis to analyze the price of rice contracts. This technique is called candlestick charting. Candlestick charts are simply a new way of looking at price; they don't involve any calculations.
What do Candlesticks Look Like?
Candlestick charts are much more visually appealing than a standard two-dimensional bar chart. As in a standard bar chart, there are four elements necessary to construct a candlestick chart, the OPEN, HIGH, LOW and CLOSING price for a given time period.
The body of the candlestick is called the real body, and represents the range between the open and closing prices.
A black or filled-in body represents that the close during that time period was lower than the open, (normally considered bearish) and when the body is open or white, that means the close was higher than the open (normally bullish).
The thin vertical line above and/or below the real body is called the upper/lower shadow, representing the high/low price extremes for the period (one period of time measures the duration of selling or buying within the market). As a trader, you can use any time period you want, time intervals may be a tick chart, 1 min, 5min, 10 min, 1 hour, 4 hour, 1 day,…
In the 1600s, the Japanese developed a method of technical analysis to analyze the price of rice contracts. This technique is called candlestick charting. Candlestick charts are simply a new way of looking at price; they don't involve any calculations.
What do Candlesticks Look Like?
Candlestick charts are much more visually appealing than a standard two-dimensional bar chart. As in a standard bar chart, there are four elements necessary to construct a candlestick chart, the OPEN, HIGH, LOW and CLOSING price for a given time period.
The body of the candlestick is called the real body, and represents the range between the open and closing prices.
A black or filled-in body represents that the close during that time period was lower than the open, (normally considered bearish) and when the body is open or white, that means the close was higher than the open (normally bullish).
The thin vertical line above and/or below the real body is called the upper/lower shadow, representing the high/low price extremes for the period (one period of time measures the duration of selling or buying within the market). As a trader, you can use any time period you want, time intervals may be a tick chart, 1 min, 5min, 10 min, 1 hour, 4 hour, 1 day,…
An Introduction to Japanese Candlestick Charting
A New Way to Look at Prices
Would you like to learn about a type of commodity futures price chart that is more effective than the type you are probably using now? If so, keep reading. If you are brand new to the art/science of chart reading, don't worry, this stuff is really quite simple to learn.
Technical Analysis - a Brief Background
Technical analysis is simply the study of prices as reflected on price charts. Technical analysis assumes that current prices should represent all known information about the markets. Prices not only reflect intrinsic facts, they also represent human emotion and the pervasive mass psychology and mood of the moment. Prices are, in the end, a function of supply and demand. However, on a moment to moment basis, human emotions. fear, greed, panic, hysteria, elation, etc. also dramatically effect prices. Markets may move based upon people's expectations, not necessarily facts. A market "technician" attempts to disregard the emotional component of trading by making his decisions based upon chart formations, assuming that prices reflect both facts and emotion.
Standard bar charts are commonly used to convey price activity into an easily readable chart. Usually four elements make up a bar chart, the Open, High, Low, and Close for the trading session/time period. A price bar can represent any time frame the user wishes, from 1 minute to 1 month. The total vertical length/height of the bar represents the entire trading range for the period. The top of the bar represents the highest price of the period, and the bottom of the bar represents the lowest price of the period. The Open is represented by a small dash to the left of the bar, and the Close for the session is a small dash to the right of the bar. Below is a standard bar chart example.
Would you like to learn about a type of commodity futures price chart that is more effective than the type you are probably using now? If so, keep reading. If you are brand new to the art/science of chart reading, don't worry, this stuff is really quite simple to learn.
Technical Analysis - a Brief Background
Technical analysis is simply the study of prices as reflected on price charts. Technical analysis assumes that current prices should represent all known information about the markets. Prices not only reflect intrinsic facts, they also represent human emotion and the pervasive mass psychology and mood of the moment. Prices are, in the end, a function of supply and demand. However, on a moment to moment basis, human emotions. fear, greed, panic, hysteria, elation, etc. also dramatically effect prices. Markets may move based upon people's expectations, not necessarily facts. A market "technician" attempts to disregard the emotional component of trading by making his decisions based upon chart formations, assuming that prices reflect both facts and emotion.
Standard bar charts are commonly used to convey price activity into an easily readable chart. Usually four elements make up a bar chart, the Open, High, Low, and Close for the trading session/time period. A price bar can represent any time frame the user wishes, from 1 minute to 1 month. The total vertical length/height of the bar represents the entire trading range for the period. The top of the bar represents the highest price of the period, and the bottom of the bar represents the lowest price of the period. The Open is represented by a small dash to the left of the bar, and the Close for the session is a small dash to the right of the bar. Below is a standard bar chart example.
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The momentum of your dollar as it accelerates through various currencies can be largely influenced by Forex secrets. These secrets pertain to the vast contingencies of the rates of currency, and the directions these rates take. You can utilize Forex secrets to improve the potential of you dollar.
As an investor, there are many factors that alter the course of the market. Your job is to discover where the market is going and why. Forex secrets can help you.Forex secrets come from highly studied professionals, watching patterns and using history to ascertain the future motions of the market. Drawing on economics, politics, government and bank influences and the psyche of the mass of investors as they make similar moves in given directions, the studies that lead to knowing Forex secrets are an involved and developed arena.You can find out about the secrets that could make your foreign currency exchange experience the most profitable yet. Through sites that are organized to give you just that information, you can discover the clues and insights gained over the course of time in order to help investors like yourself succeed. Find out more about this online education, and see where it could take your dollar. The next level beckons. Forex secrets await.
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