Diary of an LSE stock trader

Discussion in 'Journals' started by Mo06, Dec 12, 2012.

  1. henry76

    henry76

    Thanks , my father's sailing would be best described as foolhardy , tempered with alcohol and irresponsibility ,he was ( according to him ) the youngest nco in the marines during ww2, ( until he got demoted for getting his platoon drunk in some German castle they were billeted in ( they found a wine cellar apparently), I think our father's generation had a more cavalier attitude to health and safety.
     
    #381     May 9, 2020
  2. Mo06

    Mo06

    My father was just six when WW2 started.
    His father served in the forces though, died quite young - from a rare type of cancer that was apparently caused by the chemical gas he was exposed to during WW2.
    I never met him.

    My father was evacuated during the war from Liverpool, which was heavily bombed, to Southport (all of about 15 miles).

    My mother stayed at home with her mother, she used to tell me how frightened they were when they heard the air raid warning siren - and everyone would head for the shelter as quickly as possible. Sometimes they'd be there all night. She still was nervous when a siren like that sounded on TV, decades later.

    We can scarcely imagine what our parents and grandparents had to go through.
    Grateful to everyone who served, and ensured the Allied victory in May 1945.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2020
    #382     May 9, 2020
    beginner66 likes this.
  3. henry76

    henry76

    It's good to hear someone tell their stories , many of us don't, my grandfather was also gassed during ww1 and , according to mother ,onetime dived into a gutter on mistaking a car backfiring for gunfire. As regards the bombing , my father said in Dresden large parts were like walking on a pebble beach such was the destruction.
     
    #383     May 9, 2020
  4. Mo06

    Mo06

    Proud of my grandfather, who I never had the chance to meet.
    Grandfather.jpg
     
    #384     May 9, 2020
    ffs1001 and beginner66 like this.
  5. henry76

    henry76

    Different world back then.
     
    #385     May 9, 2020
  6. Mo06

    Mo06

    Trading Summary Week Ended 15th May 2020

    36 Trades:

    1 AAL + 214 BPS.
    1 BP + 26 BPS.
    3 GLEN + 4,105 BPS.
    31 UK100 + 2,192 BPS.

    8 long trades + 126 BPS.
    27 short trades + 6,411 BPS.
    23 intra-day trades + 318 BPS.
    12 multi-day trade + 6,219 BPS.
    Total trades net + 6,537 BPS.
    Return on account for the week + 2.53 % net.
    P:L ratio N/A.
    Days traded: 5.
    Longest trade duration: 495 days.
    Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
    (All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

    Thoughts

    Another volatile week on the equity markets.

    The FTSE started the week fairly in a fairly bullish mode, trading as high as 6012 on Tuesday, but then sold off sharply into Thursday, breaking down to 5661, before a bounce on Friday (which was expiry). Over the week the index lost 136 points, or 2.29%.

    The mining sector was very volatile, this is a seven day chart of the FTSE mining index, showing Thursday's sell off and Friday's rebound:

    Screenshot from 2020-05-15 17-49-04.png

    A challenging trading environment for sure.

    A busy week, just met my 2.5% weekly benchmark, I made a few very poor trade exits, mostly on the short side, which accounted for 75% of trades made.

    I'm not at all sure the lows are in for equity markets for 2020.
    Unemployment claims in the US were pretty dreadful, and I don't think our economies are going to recover very quickly even when the lock downs are over.

    Our lock down here was eased this week, a very welcome development. Travel is now limited to 100 km, but the border with Italy remain closed for now.

    Looking forward to getting out and about this weekend, and to more trading opportunities next week.

    Stay disciplined.
    Stay focussed.
    Stay humble.
     
    #386     May 16, 2020
  7. henry76

    henry76

    It's going to be tough to predict the economy next couple of years , size of economy probably key rather than debt.
     
    #387     May 16, 2020
  8. Mo06

    Mo06

    Trading Summary Week Ended 22nd May 2020

    23 Trades:

    1 BP + 19 BPS.
    1 FRES + 522 BPS.
    3 GLEN + 253 BPS.
    18 UK100 + 1,723 BPS.

    7 long trades - 1434 BPS.
    16 short trades + 3,951 BPS.
    13 intra-day trades + 191 BPS.
    10 multi-day trade + 2,326 BPS.
    Total trades net + 2,517 BPS.
    Return on account for the week + 0.90 % net.
    P:L ratio 1.2:1.
    Days traded: 5.
    Longest trade duration: 504 days.
    Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
    (All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

    Thoughts

    Another difficult week on the equity markets.

    Again we saw strength in equities early in the week, the FTSE gained more than 400 BPS on Monday, and broke above 6,100 on Tuesday.
    There was a sharp sell off early on Friday, influenced by political events in Hong Kong, when the index briefly traded below 5,900.
    Mining and oil and gas shares were volatile again.
    Over the week, the FTSE gained 194 points or 3.34%.

    Some missed opportunities, poor entries and exits, and well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

    I'm still not sure the lows are in for equity markets for 2020.

    Monday is a bank holiday in the UK, so markets are closed.
    Looking forward to getting out and about in the sunshine over this long weekend.

    Stay disciplined.
    Stay focussed.
    Stay humble.
     
    #388     May 23, 2020
    tla666 likes this.
  9. Mo06

    Mo06

    Trading Summary Week Ended 29th May 2020

    32 Trades:

    4 BP + 263 BPS.
    2 GLEN + 3,189 BPS.
    26 UK100 + 208 BPS.

    18 long trades + 165 BPS.
    14 short trades + 3,495 BPS.
    28 intra-day trades + 359 BPS.
    4 multi-day trade + 3,301 BPS.
    Total trades net + 3,660 BPS.
    Return on account for the week + 0.49 % net.
    P:L ratio N/A.
    Days traded: 4.
    Longest trade duration: 273 days.
    Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
    (All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

    Thoughts

    A four day week on the equity markets, after the bank holiday.

    Equity markets saw more strength, and the FTSE broke above 6200 on Thursday, making a post COVID19 high at 6234.
    The mining sector was strong, with AAL, BHP, GLEN and RIO all making 30 day highs.

    Over the week, the FTSE gained 83.32 points or 1.39 %.
    Over the month of May, it gained 2.97 %.

    A difficult week, well below my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

    For the the month of May, I made 116 trades and a net profit of 7.25 %.

    Looking forward to more opportunities next month.

    Stay disciplined.
    Stay focussed.
    Stay humble.
     
    #389     May 30, 2020
  10. Mo06

    Mo06

    Trading Summary Week Ended 5th June 2020

    31 Trades:

    1 AAL + 13 BPS.
    1 BP + 2,770 BPS.
    2 FRES - 4,465 BPS.
    2 GLEN + 39 BPS.
    25 UK100 + 2,842 BPS.

    11 long trades + 448 BPS.
    20 short trades + 751 BPS.
    21 intra-day trades + 56 BPS.
    10 multi-day trade + 1,143 BPS.
    Total trades net + 1,199 BPS.
    Return on account for the week + 2.77 % net.
    P:L ratio 6.5:1.
    Days traded: 5.
    Longest trade duration: 493 days.
    Shortest trade duration: 1 min.
    (All PNL expressed in basis points for the purpose of comparison.)

    Thoughts

    Another volatile week on the equity markets, with the FTSE making four consecutive post COVID19 highs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
    The ECB surprised the market on Thursday, with a larger than expected financial stimulus, again boosting equity markets.

    This is the FTSE 100 chart over the week, gaining over 400 points or 6.71%:


    The Dax was even stronger.

    Commodity stocks were strong after early weakness, maybe people think economies are over the worst of the crisis.

    On Friday we had US payrolls, and a bumper number sent the equity indices higher.

    A frustrating week, I made some very poor trade exists (longs), just above my 2.5% weekly benchmark.

    Apparently the LSE is considering reducing trading hours, which would be a great idea in my opinion - I see no reason why the London market has to trade for eight and a half hours, when the US gets by trading just six and a half.

    Back in August 2019, a technical problem caused the LSE open to be delayed until 09:40, and as far as I can tell, this made little or no difference. Most of the action takes place in three periods - the first hour, the period around the Wall Street opening, and the last 30 minutes.

    In my opinion (which counts for nowt I realise), 09:00 to 16:00 London time would be good.

    This week we saw the reopening of bars and restaurants, although I've not actually been to either yet. Yesterday evening I passed a few places and they were very busy, with little sign of any 'social distancing' being observed.

    Looking forward to more opportunities next week.

    Stay disciplined.
    Stay focussed.
    Stay humble.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2020
    #390     Jun 5, 2020