Saturday, February 13, 2010

Fibonacci Numbers & retracements for Trading easy.

Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci, was an Italian mathematician born in Pisa in the 12th century. He is known to have discovered the Fibonacci numbers, said to be based upon observations of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh in Egypt. Fibonacci Numbers are a sequence of numbers where each successive number is the sum of the two previous numbers.
e.g. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc.
When used in technical analysis, the golden ratio is most often translated into three percentages: – 38.2%, 50%, and 61.8%. However, other multiples can be used, such as 23.6%, 161.8%, 423%, and so on. The Fibonacci sequence is applied to stock analysis in several ways:
Fibonacci Retracements: are displayed by locating two extreme points, a trough and opposing peak. Five lines are drawn: 100% (the high on the chart), the second at 61.8%, the third at 50%, the fourth at 38.2%, and the last one at 0% (the low on the chart). These price levels often correspond to areas of support and resistance.

Fibonacci Extensions are used to forecast future levels of support and resistance and are drawn beyond the typically used 100% level. 161.8%, 261.8% and 423.6% are the most commonly used fibonacci extension levels.
Fibonacci Extensions: are used to forecast future levels of support and resistance as well as Targets and are drawn beyond the typically used 100% level. 161.8%, 261.8% and 423.6% are the most commonly used fibonacci extension levels.
Fibonacci Arcs: are created on a chart by first drawing a trendline between two extreme points, a trough and opposing peak. Three arcs are generated that are centered on the second extreme point and intersect the trendline at Fibonacci Levels, usually of 38.2%, 50% and 61.8% of the distance between a price maximum and minimum. The interpretation of Fibonacci Arcs involves looking for support and resistance as prices approach the arcs. Fibonacci Arcs and Fibonacci Fan Lines are sometimes used together to anticipate support and resistance at the points where the Fibonacci studies intersect.

Fibonacci Fan : are displayed by first drawing a trendline between two extreme points, a high and low. An invisible vertical line is drawn through the second extreme point. Three lines are then drawn from the first extreme point (the leftmost point) passing through the invisible vertical line with their slopes at the Fibonacci levels, usually 38.2%, 50.0% and 61.8%. These lines indicate areas of support and resistance.

Working Method: One can do the retracements, Arc & Fan lines once a Pivot high & lows are established as shown in the above charts and a confluence of these with price supports & resistances will add value to these studies.
My critic is fond of the "Golden ratio" 61.82% retracement and he does not use charts for the same but his small book with prices with pivot highs and lows circled and he promptly keys in the retracement level for initiating a trade and he generally leaves the trade if the desired rate does not get triggered.
One may always go into a trading session armed with various retracement levels of different time cycles which may converge to support & resistances, trendline points, critical averages such as various emas which will increase his chances of "winning big". However boring your work may get, however monotonous it may be, a well prepared trade plan is as good as half the battle won and the remaining half is everything to do with your temperament and money management. There is no substitute to getting rich slowly.

You can find more on this at Trader Log.

Friday, February 12, 2010

The follower becoming "The following"...

I reproduce here the two mails sent to Mr.RajaGopal who feels this has helped him a lot and I sense a tremendous rise in his confidence level. The follower becoming "The following" is happening here. This post is for those who are quietly following this space and I am hoping this will benefit them in sincere humility.
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Hi..Rajagopal,

Happy Pongal to you & your family members.

Your success in stock market speaks volumes of your capability. As Lord Hanuman Himself had doubts and had to be reminded of his strength regularly, we mortals need to follow a "affirmation routine" on a regular basis and pep ourselves up.

The secret lies in keeping our emotions under wraps and acting professionally by increasing our consciousness levels. This is possible only if we do not allow ourselves to get carried away by news and sundries. "Water on a lotus leaf"(Non-attachment) - the one major thing I learnt in "Vivekananda Vidyalaya".

Now to some nuts & bolts:

Whenever you initiate a trade, write down the key parameters that compelled you to do so. Also write down an approximate time to achieve this..(Like an expiry date).
As long as the parameters are intact, and progressing as you expected, you hold your position for the target you outlined to your self in your trade plan. Your trade plan also should have provisions for corrective scenario during this progression. Raise your stop loss(Trailing stop loss) as the price unfolds in your favour. This is called "Managing your position". Most take a position and forget about it but it requires constant participation.

What is the system/ method you use to identify a trade set up?. As your trade is in progress, can you convince another trader about the merit of that trade based on the current position in the system/ method?. If you can convince another and also feel confident yourself, then the trade should be working well. The moment you are not convinced yourself fully, act promptly based on this new found evidence.

Finally, Post election results and the black swan day, our markets have been choppy and unpredictable. Even then also, if one follows a method consistently, the profits would be good with few small losses because of SL.

If you are trading, leave the news out. That is for the "fundamentals-following guys". For a trader, prices alone matters and your actions should be based on that alone. As a true trader, keep your losses to a minimum by acting at the right moment.

Take a small break to step back and look at the market afresh. The moment a trader takes a position in the market, his views of the market changes. He/she starts to look at the market based on his/her positions. If it is long, your mind zooms in on only those bullish news and vice versa. The moment "bias" comes into your mind, you have lost your ability to comprehend the market in its true form. This is where "Water on a lotus leaf" approach finds its immense utility.

I talk to my critics at crucial junctures and I need to convince them of my convictions and at the end of that discussion, if they have convinced me/ am not confident, then a change is underway in the market and I am failing to feel it. So I take a step back and look at the market from the other angle.

You should look at the market at all times like a BULL and like a BEAR and this will keep you vigilant and allows you to book profits and reverse your trades or simply stay off the markets. Sometimes "Doing nothing" is the best thing. I am seriously considering to include that doing nothing in the trade reco. Infact, we have had many "No Conservative trade" days.

So affirm to yourself, often, that you are a good trader..confident one.
Look at both bull & bear angle.
Read the expiry date on your trades(Hour trade should not become day and day should not become week, etc)
Price , being supreme, should be your guide all the time.
And keep your trade notes(plan) handy at all times.

Wishing you, again, happy Pongal and more prosperous and satisfying times ahead.

Best regards.

ilango

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2nd Mail.

Hi..Rajagopal,

You must feel wonderful for those achievements. Thats it. Now to the next job in hand.

Your TCS short of Feb will be profitable. Hold it. I will update the charts.

Position sizing: My view on position sizing is different from the usual one that is posted if you search for. I feel holding positions should be like driving a vehicle in a lane or highway or in dense traffic.

In a lane, I mean in a "Sideways market", it should be 25% of total and for 50 to 100 points as per the trading range expected or already established and you should initiate trades based on the levels with discipline and never in the middle of the range. Above all "trade" during this period.

In Highway, I mean in a "Trending market"
(Either up or down), it should be 75% of total as positional and for maximum gains till the market shows overbought or oversold with negative or positive divergence upon which 50% of the holding may be booked out and remaining till a target is reached or a "reverse signal" is generated.

In dense Traffic, I mean in a "Narrow choppy market"
when volatility is at its lowest, trade for 25 to 35 points and at times you may be holding positional during such periods and it will be a testing time but you must sit through this.

Our ability to discriminate these three different periods and the courage to act on such a knowledge will make the difference from an average trader to an outstanding one.

Aggressive trades are always an intraday one and very rarely a "overnight holding". Most often in downtrends, a day trader gets to trade longs only due to gap downs and intra rally to correct the "oversold' nature of the market and holding "overnight longs" is against the daily downtrend. Inspite of many asking for overnight long, I resisted. However, I did say OK if it was created @ 4790. Even that view is not acceptable. The positive divergence developed when nifty fell from 4930 to 4766 in the "Hourly time cycle" and the same has nearly been corrected on Friday to 4893 and the immediate upsides seem limited. Will update on Monday morning based on Asian Cues.

Whatever I say or do both at work & in personal life is intense, sincere and truthful and it limits my sphere of activity and when ever I take on more than my time permits me, the overall quality of works suffers and hence I abandoned aggressive calls. I hope you understand this. This way the pace is normal and navigating the markets becomes fun. As you know, as long as there is fun in doing whatever you do, you succeed.

Appreciate your contributions in the comments section with an array of subjects and keeping the atmosphere a lively one.

Warm regards to you and your family.

ilango

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Nifty closes above week's low ema..a pause......!

Weekly trend down but close to an "Oversold" situation. A pause has happened. It throws up two possibilities.

"Rising macd" assures of a "buy the dips" till now. Being in the negative zone keeps you on your toes for surprises.

"Rising macd" has now entered the positive zone today and accordingly some positive intraday moves..

By managing to close above 4805(Weekly low ema), a neutral status is established for the coming week. Holding above 4782(Week's pivot), could give it strength for 4889(R1)

Nifty Intraday Update-III

A close above "4831" would boost the confidence.
A close above 4818(Hour ema) also would do for the earlier Longs.


Nifty Intraday Update-II

At 1.00PM: Closed above "Hour High ema".
At 12.00:Closed below "Hour High ema"..weakness in the immediate term.

If breaks 4810. then to 4790-4795.

Nifty Intraday Update-I

The charts are analysed based on my "very limited" knowledge of Elliott wave. Elliott wave following is like "religion"., it is personal to everyone. Do not question it. No one should be compelled to follow one kind of religion.
Who created so many..? Man himself for his convenience.
We follow what we believe in. The day your beliefs are diminishing in value, abandon it.
I post 2 views or even 3 or more too. But there is always a decider level for a particular view to be in force or discarding. And there is also a preferred view.
I can never tell what the market will do but what it is "likely" to do. You have to develop your belief system..your own home work. And that is your guideline to trade.
Do not follow me blindly as I can be unpredictable as the market is.

Please..remember this. I am simply sharing my thoughts here.Taking action based on it is your "decision".

Nifty PreMarket View

A long weekend ahead with Friday being a holiday.
Day's Pivot @ 4777; Week's Pivot @ 4787 - Trading above these, Nifty may attempt to move into the gap area and the previous supports once again @ 4825 - 4850.
Larger trend(Week) being firmly down, one can hedge any longs with some PUTS of 4700 when Nifty trades in the resistance zone.
A close below 4780 will warrant closing out of Longs and initiating "Shorts", confirmed by a break of 4745.
Conservative Longs may exit longs (of 4670)@ 4825-4850 OR trail with a sl and if closes at the high point around 4825+, hold the same.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Nifty manages to stay above 5 sma @ 4757..!!

Today's fall could be taken as part of this corrective upmove provided 4710-4730 is not breached decisively.
By managing to close above 5 sma(4757), it keeps the bull's "hopes" alive.


Nifty Intraday Update-II

Entering the resistance zone again.
"Hour High Ema" on close basis is not crossed yet.


Nifty Intra Day Update-I

Keep an eye on the "Day Low Ema" @ 4750 which should not be closed below.
Presently, taken supports around "Hour Low ema".
If "a" is done 4675 to 4826; "b" is on.
"b" waves are the toughest kind". So trade this range of 4745/4760 to 4810/4825.
It is possible for Nifty to reach 4745-4735(6th lows) & then reverse.
Keep those "PUTS" for hedge .

Nifty PreMarket View

Nifty on its way down from 5309, after breaking 5170, fell to 4766 and bounced up to 4950. During the last stages of its downtrend, it tried to find support @ 4825 - 4850 on many hours before finally gapping down to reach 4675.
The earlier supports of 4825 - 4850 would offer a resistance here - a profit booking or a pause.Only a firm trade above this level would set it for the next 4950+.
The most recent intraday resistances of 4760 - 4775 should give it supports.
Weekly Trend Down below 4942; Day Trend Up above 4791 on Closing basis.

As stated earlier, Trade your positions by Booking out at higher(Resistance) levels and re-entering at lower(Support) levels using "Yahoo Intraday Charts"..

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Nifty ,out of downtrending channel, must stay above 4750.

Nifty has finally broken out of this down trending channel of 22 days..after showing positive divergences and closed above the "short term average-5 ema" as a confirmation. A follow up action is awaited and it must hold the 5 sma which is likely to be 4750-4775 for wednesday.
The quality of bounce as well as "solidarity" from world markets are required for any meaningful rally. We must follow up on the prices one day at a time as many possibilities appear.

"Greener pastures" spreading from "Hour" to "Day" and now to protect the "DAY" tomorrow.

Nifty Intraday Update-III

You can see the first resistance in the chart..

Nifty Intraday Update-II

At 12.15PM: Hourly close below "Hour High ema" halts the upmove for a while. Deep support @ Low ema . Near support @ 4765.
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Hourly TA is improving. R1 and Day High ema are same @ 4815.
5 day ema @ 4791 has given the first resistance.
Supports are @ 4765, 4752.

Nifty Intraday Update

Following are the ways one could use "Trendlines" to make 3 Trades so far.

Nifty PreMarket View.

A most likely "Inside Day" with 4690-4710 to 4765-4775 range trading.
Buy Puts(4600PE) as a hedge at higher levels if it does not close above 5 day ema @ 4791. Prices are clearly trending down but "Oversold".
If the Asian Cues are better and if Nifty manages to trade consistently above the Pivot(4752) and 4791(5 day Ema), then higher levels possible -4810 - 4825 (4850).
Trade the points for the day.


Monday, February 8, 2010

Nifty, after a "5" & +ve div, reverses..

The first signs of "short term bottom" was seen today quite close to the 200sma.
More follow-up price action has to be observed, a minimum being a close above 5 day ema(4791) tomorrow, to confirm the same.
There are two possibilities at work here. However, we prefer the "5" completed from 5309 to 4675 today and a corrective move is underway.This corrective wave can not be gained for maximum with a positional trade and one may need to keep taking profits and be willing to make both kind of trades.
Price is supreme. Any fall below 4730-4740(Hr & Day Low ema) will be weakness.


Nifty Intraday Update-II

At 2.05PM: Reversal Confirmed.
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First Reversal signal has come at 1.00PM.
If the day closes above 4740(Day Low ema) would stop this fall temporarily.
2.00PM close above 4736 - 4740(Hour High ema) would give some momentum to upmove.

Nifty Intraday Update-I

Nifty PreMarket View

Watch the "rising Pink trendline" break for a sell
as well as the sloping down grey channel resistance or a Breakout.

"ORB" would be useful today.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

She makes more of my world...

It has been said that love is not something you find; it's something you do. Loving Donna is the easiest thing I've ever done in my life.
We've been married to each other for twenty-five years, and we're still newlyweds, if you consider that marriage is supposed to be forever. A year ago, when the phone rang and I answered it, the voice said, "This is Doctor Freeman. Your wife has breast cancer." He spoke matter-of-factly, not mincing any words, although I could tell from his tone that he was not in a matter-of-fact frame of mind. He is a warm, caring and kindly physician, and this was not an easy phone call to make. He talked to Donna for a few minutes, and when she hung up the phone, the color drained from her face, and we held each other and cried for about five minutes.
She sighed and said, "That's enough of that."
I looked at her. "Okay," I said. "We have cancer. We'll handle it."

In the twelve months since then, Donna has had chemotherapy, a mastectomy, a bone-marrow transplant and radiation. She lost her hair, she lost a breast, she lost her privacy, and she lost the comfort associated with the assumption that tomorrow always comes. Suddenly, all her tomorrows were put on hold, and doled out, piecemeal, until the supply could be reestablished. But she never lost her dignity or her faith. She never gave up, and she never gave in.