Trading Strategy Based On Market Sentiment (Part I)

By Ahmad Hassam

Most traders have a love hate relationship with the market thinking that the market is either against them or for them. Do you see the market as a big mechanical matrix which is devoid of emotions? How do you view the forex market is very important.

The truth is that forex market is just the compressed display of emotions. At anyone time the market is emanating the emotions of currency speculators around the world.

You should think of a market as a big living organism. Think that this organism is made up of millions of cells. Each cell is doing its own functions. Each cell also interacts with other cells of the body keeping the living organism alive and kicking around the clock.

Knowing what the market thinks at anyone time and how it thinks is crucial to your trading success. Forex market comprises millions of traders acting out their perceptions and emotions about the different currency pairs.

Ultimately, you as the trader are dealing with other traders out there in the market whether they are big institutional players or an independent individual trader like you and me. You need to know what the other participants are thinking.

Market sentiment is the most important factor that drives the currency markets or that matter any financial market. What is the market sentiment? Market sentiment is simply what the majority of the market participants are perceived to be thinking or feeling about the market.

Market sentiment sums up to the overall dominating emotions of the market participants. Traders tend to act based on what they feel and think of certain currencies. They form their opinions based on emotions regarding their strengths or weaknesses relative to other currencies. It explains the current actions of the market as well as the future course of action.

Market sentiment is primarily based on the sum total of all the traders emotions. These emotions are one of the greatest factors in the determination of the currency pair prices. One important thing you should know: market sentiment is not logical.

Market sentiment is like a fickle lover. It is capable of changing its mind based on new information. This incoming new information can upset the existing emotion. Market sentiment can be bearish, bullish or just plain confused.

If the majority of the market participants want to sell the currency, the market sentiment is deemed to be bearish. If the majority wants to buy that currency, the market sentiment is bullish. When most market participants are unsure of what to do at a particular moment, the sentiments end up being mixed up.

Understanding the current market sentiment and exploiting it with an appropriate trading strategy can help maximize your trading profits. If you can understand what the other traders are thinking and why the market is doing what it is doing, you will be in a better position to plan the entry and exit for your trade. In Part II of this article we will discuss what factors influence the market sentiment. - 23167

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Know Candlestick Patterns. Learn Forex Trading!

How The Hedge Fund Managers Trade Forex? (Part II)

By Ahmad Hassam

You must have read Part I of how hedge fund managers trade forex. You need to understand that hedge fund managers are always on their nerves edge. They constantly look for strategies that work.

Hedge fund managers want to make good money while always on their guard if things go bad, how to get out of a bad position before it really hurts. You as individual investors also want to bet your own hard earned money in the hope of making capital gains.

You should decide whether you want to range trade or trend trade? Many hedge fund managers are trend following traders. If you want to become a trend trader than you need to become a master of predicting and anticipating trends in your favorite currency pairs. If you want to be a contrarian trader and range trade, than you should understand how to scalp.

You also need to decide the time frame that you will trade most. You should decide whether you will use the 5 min charts, 30 min charts, 4 hour charts , daily charts etc and why.

Will you only day trade or hold your position overnight? If you are doing a job, will you trade after hours? What time of trading best suits you? These things should be very clear in your mind before you start trading.

Learn the art of entry and exit. You will need to learn technical analysis for this. Technical analysis is essential for your success. Should it be multiple entry, multiple exits? Should it be single entry, single exit? Should it be multiple entries, single exit? Should it be single entry, multiple exits?

You should understand the money management rules. Never ever put more than 1% of your equity at stake in a single trade. Learn to calculate the risk/reward ratio.

Now, test drive the forex system by back testing and forward testing. Back testing can be done on Metatrader and other platforms. Forward test your strategies on a demo account.

Open a mini account and try to test it live with a small amount of money. This way you will not lose much money but will be playing against your emotions.

In the end, forex trading is all about developing discipline in yourself and controlling your emotions. You dont get this feeling in demo trading when you know nothing is at stake and you are under no stress of losing your hard earned money.

Get intimate with your strategies. There are two primary types of trading strategies"one that has a high percentage of profitable trades and one that has a high profit factor.

The key factor here is to know and find out what type of market environment your trading strategy performs well in and what type of market environment your trading strategy fails in. Because only then will you know what works under what conditions and what does not work.

Drawdown is very important. Know how much drawdown you can afford. You can establish bench mark figures using a back test for each trading strategy. Decide before you trade, how much drawdown is acceptable before you need to pull the plug out of the trade.

The last step of thinking or trading like a hedge fund manager is self reflection. Oftentimes we become so absorbed with trading that we do not notice the obvious.

This is why it is good to spend some time on a weekly or monthly basis to self reflect on your past trading performance. You need to fix a certain level of pips per day for yourself and keep on tweaking your trading strategies until you reach that figure. - 23167

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Learn Currency Trading. First Trade Your Forex Demo Account!

Introduction To Forex Pips

By Bart Icles

The most important thing a new Forex trader must do is to lean how to understand the value of a PIP in a paired currency. A PIP is the acronym for Percentage In Point, or Price Interest Point which is the smallest measure of value in any paired currency in Forex.

Since transactions in Forex involve very large sums of currency and Forex spreads are usually very small, currency pairs are quoted to the fourth decimal place to be accurate. This is what is known as a Pip, or the smallest change of a currency pair. Take for example the currency pair of USD/EUR, quoted at 1.2345 and changes to 1.2346, the change in Pip would be 1. And if it changes from 1.2345 to 1.2305, the corresponding Pip change would be 40 Pips. Presently, there are 6 widely-traded currency pairs or called the majors, which are the following:

* EUR/USD, also called the 'EURO" * GBP/USD, also called the "CABLE" * USD/CHF, also called the "SWISSIE" * USD/JPY, also called the "NINJA" * USD/CAD, also called the "LOONIE", or "BEAVER" * AUD/USD, also called the "AUSSIE"

Of the 6 majors, the EUR/USD is the most widely traded currency paired, with an average of 100 Pips per day.

Also, profits and losses are measured in Pips, with the exception of the USD/JPY, since it is quoted at the second decimal place due to having a cent or of a hundredth in some major currencies. The yen's Pip value is .01, while other majors are placed at .0001.

If the price quote for the currency pair of USD/JPY is placed at 110.95, and changes to 111.0, then it has gained 5 Pips. In other currency pairs, such as the USD/CAD, a quote of 1.0234 moves to 1.0224, then it lost 10 Pips. A USD/JPY quote of 77.48 changed to 77.53, the Pip would be at 5 Pips increase. Trading with the AUD/USD with an exchange quote of 1.9876, the Pip equivalent is .0001.

When a trader says "30 Pips", it means thirty units of value in a trade. You might want to check carefully the individual currencies that you plan trading on to know what their respective Pips are, as these do vary. It may be confusing at the start, and the figures might seem a little formidable at first, but once you delve into Forex currency trading regularly, it'll soon grow on you.

In order not to get confused with the quotes, most currency paired with the USD are placed at 4 decimal places or .0001, while the yen is place at 2 decimal places or .01. Keeping this information on Forex Pips at all times during your trading can greatly help. - 23167

About the Author:

A live forex chart is better than a dead one:). Also, the best forex platforms are free and we recommend the metatrader platform so click to come and learn how to use it properly.

Forex Trading Tips: Selecting And Using A Forex Trading System

By Bart Icles

As a forex trader, you may well be aware that there are various kinds of trading systems. With the sheer number of trading systems available, it can indeed be a challenge to select one that you would use in actual trading. One of the most common mistakes that retail traders commit when they enter the currency market as beginners is having lack of knowledge in what to expect from this volatile yet profitable trading environment. Having a reliable forex trading system to help you in making different currency market transactions can minimize the amount of money that you can lose as a beginner yet it is not an assurance of gaining profits minute after minute. Understanding how these trading systems work would be to the best of your interests.

When newbie traders realize that they are starting to lose money while trading currencies, they would usually pull out their investments from the forex market. Some of them would just take a step back and review the situation, wherein they can learn a lot from the things that have gone and is going on around them. Of these two reactions, stepping back a bit is most recommended as this would enable you to see and understand what the market is all about. To add to this action, it is advantageous to invest on a forex trading system where you can practice trading with actual conditions while using play money.

In learning more about the different strategies you can apply while trading in the forex market, it helps to have a forex trading system. It is advisable to use a medium term forex trading system so you can have an idea of the general conditions in the currency market. Using this forex trading system allows you take a good look at the different participants in the forex market. Doing so will enable you see that there are different kinds of traders that give different kinds of actions and reactions.

By now, you might have built a notion to select a medium term forex trading system to help you develop your trading skills and strategies. However, there are still many different medium term forex trading systems available. In selecting a forex trading system that would best fit your trading personality, you will need to take note of the good points associated with a certain type of forex trading system. You will also need to be aware of its disadvantages.

Selecting a forex trading system is more than just taking a step further into honing your trading skills and strategies. It is also a way of having a better understanding of the different kinds of forex traders and how they would react to different forex market situations. - 23167

About the Author:

A forex tutorial starts with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Learning with a forex trading tutorial takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

Silver Eagle Collection Coins

By George Lapidis

Any coin collector knows that his collection cannot be complete without the silver eagle coin. The set of American Silver eagle coins is special because they are the largest in size and are made using the purest legal silver in the history of the United States.

There are a number of other aspects linked with silver eagle coins that add to their value. First of all their size is such that they are easily portable. Hence you can carry your collection around with you.

These coins have a government guarantee status which is applicable universally. This makes the coins highly liquid and they retain great value around the world.

The worth of silver eagle coins is high but how do you compare them with other collectible coins. Their worth differs in that these coins are not antique.

This collector's item is a young issue and has been in circulation for only 20 years.

When purchasing an American Silver Eagle coins set for your collection you must be aware of the location and date the coins were minted. Also you may be able to get a good comprehension of the worth of the coin if you know the mint marks and the finish of the production.

These coins are specifically created and issued for the collectors. They are not meant for circulation in the market. Collectors can directly purchase these collectible coins from the United States Mint.

Earlier when the silver eagle coins were launched, individuals were not allowed to purchase from the mint. Instead they had to purchase from certified coin sellers or precious metals manufacturers.

The silver eagle coin collection from the limited edition set of the 1955 era is the most sought after collectible. The 1995 " W Proof American Silver Eagle is off the market and not available for purchase.

This set contains the American gold coin in 1 ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce and the tenth of an ounce and the entire set was valued at less than $1000 and minted for only 125 collectors.

The purity is guaranteed by the fact that the government certifies the collector through certification. These coins are filled onto the coin press manually by the minters and then they were pasted on special blanks which were burnished to create a unique mint mark for each coin.

In present times the American silver eagle coin is the best seller in the global silver coin market. Over 130 million pieces were sold since 1986 and each was made from 100% pure silver guaranteed by the government. - 23167

About the Author:

Many savers are looking to 4oz state silver coins to provide safety in unsure economic times. If you want to know more about silver proof eagle coins please follow the links.