About.com Day Trading

Japanese Candlestick Patterns - Bullish and Bearish Harami

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:07:42 +0000

The second of the japanese candlestick patterns that require two separate candlesticks (i.e. the double candlestick patterns) to be explained are the bullish and bearish harami. The bullish harami and the bearish harami are similar but opposite to the bullish and bearish engulfing patterns, and are therefore also relatively easy to identify on a price chart, and in the appropriate contexts they can be used as trade entry and trade exit signals.

Japanese Candlestick Patterns - Bullish and Bearish Harami originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 03:07:42.

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Trading Markets' ETF PowerRatings

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:53:38 +0000

I recently reviewed the statistical trading book High Probability ETF Trading by Larry Conners, which provides several statistical trading strategies that are specifically designed for trading ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) markets. Trading Markets (Larry's company and the book's publisher) has just released a new ETF trading tool that goes hand in hand with the book.

The tool is called ETF PowerRatings, and it provides statistical rankings for many ETF markets that are designed to indicate whether each ETF should be bought or sold (or neither). The ETF rankings are based upon statistical analysis of the ETF markets from 2003 to 2009, and while the exact analysis method is not disclosed, it is most likely very similar to the analysis that is used in the book (which would be expected).

I have reviewed the ETF PowerRatings tool, and to be honest, when I first saw the tool, I was not overly impressed, because the tool simply seemed to be saying buy or sell without providing any additional information. However, the tool also provides charts of each ETF market with the buying and selling indications marked on the chart (as shown above), so it is possible to see exactly where each buying and selling indication occured. This provides a much more useful view of the buying and selling indications, and makes the tool much more useful.

If you are an ETF trader or a statistical trader, or if you have read High Probability ETF Trading, the ETF PowerRatings tool may be of interest to you. The ETF PowerRatings tool, and further information about the tool, are available at the Trading Markets web site. The tool is available for free for seven days (i.e. a free trial), after which it costs $79.95 per month (before any yearly discounts).

Note that while I have tested the ETF PowerRatings tool, I have not reviewed any of the trades that it would have indicated, so as usual, I recommend that traders perform their own testing of the tool (which could easily be done during the seven day trial) before they make any of the trades that are suggested.

Trading Markets' ETF PowerRatings originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 05:53:38.

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Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:52:47 +0000

There are several news releases from the US this week, and many news releases from Europe and Asia. The US has nine high volatility news releases, while Europe has ten high volatility news releases, and Asia has ten high volatility news releases. Markets from all three regions will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which is now 1 hour behind Central European Time, and 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

Monday : PMI ISM Manufacturing, Pending Home Sales, Construction Spending, and ISM Manufacturing Prices at 3:00 PM, and FOMC News Conference at 8:00 PM
Tuesday : Factory Orders at 3:00 PM, Vehicle Sales at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and Loan Survey at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)
Wednesday : Job Cuts at 12:30 PM, Non Farm Employment Change at 1:15 PM, PMI ISM Non Manufacturing at 3:00 PM, Oil Inventories at 3:30 PM, and FOMC News Conference, and Federal Funds Rate at 7:15 PM
Thursday : Unemployment Claims, Non Farm Productivity, and Unit Labor Costs at 1:30 PM, and Natural Gas Storage at 3:30 PM
Friday : G20 Meeting at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Non Farm Employment Change, Unemployment Rate, and Average Hourly Earnings at 1:30 PM, FOMC News Conference at 2:45 PM, Wholesale Inventories at 3:00 PM, FOMC News Conference at 4:30 PM, and Consumer Credit at 8:00 PM

This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several US news releases this week, and nine high volatility news releases. The US markets will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Europe

Monday : Switzerland PMI at 8:30 AM, EU PMI Manufacturing at 9:00 AM, UK HPI at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), UK PMI Manufacturing at 9:30 AM, and Switzerland News Conference at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)
Tuesday : UK PMI Construction at 9:30 AM, and Germany Bundesbank News Conference at 5:00 PM
Wednesday : UK Consumer Confidence, and Shop Price Index at 12:01 AM, EU PMI Services at 9:00 AM, UK PMI Services at 9:30 AM, and EU PPI at 10:00 AM
Thursday : Switzerland Consumer Climate at 6:45 AM, Switzerland CPI at 8:15 AM, UK Manufacturing Production, and Industrial Production at 9:30 AM, EU Retail Sales at 10:00 AM, UK Asset Purchase Facility at 12:00 PM, UK MPC Rate at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), UK Official Bank Rate at 12:00 PM, EU Minimum Bid Rate at 12:45 PM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 1:30 PM
Friday : UK GDP at 12:01 AM, UK Financial Stability Report at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Switzerland Unemployment Rate at 6:45 AM, France Budget Balance, and Trade Balance at 7:45 AM, UK PPI at 9:30 AM, G20 Meeting at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and Germany Factory Orders at 11:00 AM

This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are many European news releases this week, and ten high volatility news releases. The European markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Asia

Monday : Australia HPI at 12:30 AM, Japan Average Cash Earnings at 1:30 AM, China PMI Manufacturing at 2:30 AM, Australia Commodity Prices at 5:30 AM, and New Zealand Labor Cost Index at 9:45 PM
Tuesday : New Zealand Commodity Prices at 2:00 AM, Australia Cash Rate, and Central Bank Rate at 3:30 AM, Australia Services Index at 10:30 PM, and Japan Monetary Base at 11:50 PM
Wednesday : Australia Bulding Approvals, and Retail Sales at 12:30 AM, Japan Central Bank News Conference at 2:30 AM, New Zealand Employment Change, and Unemployment Rate at 9:45 PM, and Japan Monetary Policy at 11:50 PM
Thursday : Australia Trade Balance at 12:30 AM, Australia Central Bank News Conference at 8:55 AM, and Australia Construction Index at 10:30 PM
Friday : Australia Monetary Policy at 12:30 AM, Japan Leading Indicators at 5:00 AM, Australia Central Bank News Conference at 6:20 AM, and G20 Meeting at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)

This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are many Asian news releases this week, and ten high volatility news releases. The Asian markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 04:52:47.

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Japanese Candlestick Patterns - Bullish and Bearish Engulfing

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:48:25 +0000

The first of the japanese candlestick patterns that require two separate candlesticks (i.e. the double candlestick patterns) to be explained are the bullish and bearish engulfing (bullish and bearish tsutsumi). The bullish engulfing and the bearish engulfing are relatively easy to identify on a price chart (as long as single candlestick patterns are understood), and in the appropriate contexts they can be used as trade entry and trade exit signals.

Japanese Candlestick Patterns - Bullish and Bearish Engulfing originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 08:48:25.

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Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:35:13 +0000

There are only a few news releases from the US this week, but several news releases from Europe, and many news releases from Asia. The US has five high volatility news releases, while Europe has two high volatility news releases, and Asia has seven high volatility news releases. Markets from all three regions will probably continue experiencing their usual volatility and price movement throughout this week.

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which is now 1 hour behind Central European Time, and for one more week is 4 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

Monday : No News Releases
Tuesday : Treasury News Conference at 8:30 AM, HPI at 1:00 PM, Consumer Confidence, and Manufacturing Index at 2:00 PM, and Treasury News Conference at 4:00 PM
Wednesday : Durable Goods Orders at 12:30 PM, New Home Sales at 2:00 PM, and Oil Inventories at 2:30 PM
Thursday : GDP, Unemployment Claims, and GDP Price Index at 12:30 PM, and Natural Gas Storage at 2:30 PM
Friday : PCE Price Index, Employment Cost Index, Personal Spending, and Personal Income at 12:30 PM, PMI at 1:45 PM, and Consumer Sentiment, and Inflation Expectations at 1:55 PM

This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are only a few US news releases this week, and five high volatility news releases. The US markets will probably continue experiencing their usual level of volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Europe

Monday : Germany Consumer Climate at 7:00 AM, and UK MPC News Conference at 6:35 PM
Tuesday : Switzerland Consumption Indicator at 7:00 AM, UK HPI at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), EU Money Supply, and Private Loans at 9:00 AM, and UK Realized Sales at 11:00 AM
Wednesday : Germany Import Prices at 7:00 AM, and Germany CPI at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)
Thursday : Germany Unemployment Change at 8:55 AM, UK Lending To Individuals, and Mortgage Approvals at 9:30 AM, EU Consumer Confidence at 10:00 AM, and Germany Bundesbank News Conference at 11:10 AM
Friday : UK Consumer Confidence at 12:01 AM, UK Financial Stability Report at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Germany Retail Sales at 7:00 AM, EU CPI, EU Unemployment Rate, and Italy CPI at 10:00 AM, and Switzerland Economic Barometer at 10:30 AM

This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several European news releases this week, and two high volatility news releases. The European markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Asia

Monday : Australia PPI at 12:30 AM
Tuesday : Australia Business Confidence at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and Japan Retail Sales at 11:50 PM
Wednesday : Australia CPI at 12:30 AM, Australia Central Bank News Conference at 1:00 AM, New Zealand Business Confidence at 2:00 AM, New Zealand Official Cash Rate, and Central Bank Rate at 8:00 PM, New Zealand Trade Balance at 9:45 PM, Australia Leading Index at 11:00 PM, Australia New Home Sales at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and Japan Industrial Production, and CSPI at 11:50 PM
Thursday : New Zealand Building Consents at 9:45 PM, Japan PMI Manufacturing at 11:15 PM, and Japan CPI, Household Spending, and Unemployment Rate at 11:30 PM
Friday : Australia Private Sector Credit at 12:30 AM, Japan Monetary Policy at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Japan Overnight Call Rate at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Japan Housing Starts at 5:00 AM, Japan Central Bank Outlook at 6:00 AM, and Japan Central Bank News Conference at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)

This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are many Asian news releases this week, and seven high volatility news releases. The Asian markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 14:35:13.

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US Time Change

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:34:44 +0000

US daylight saving time is over at the end of this week, and the US will move its time backwards by one hour on Sunday morning (November 1st) accordingly. As with last week's European time change, this provides one extra hour of sleep, makes US time correct again (as it is daylight saving time that is incorrect), and also affects the trading schedules of many markets. Exactly how this affects your trading depends upon where you are located and which markets you trade:

US Traders

US markets will open and close at exactly the same times
European markets will open and close at the usual times (e.g. the CAC40 will close at 11:30 AM Eastern Time again)
Asian markets will open and close one hour earlier for the next five months (however, US traders are usually sleeping during Asian market trading hours)

European Traders

European markets will open and close at exactly the same times
Asian markets will open and close at exactly the same times� (note however, that this is one hour earlier for the next five months due to last week's European time change)
US markets will open and close at the usual times (e.g. the Nasdaq will open at 3:30 PM Central European Time again)

Asian Traders

Asian markets will open and close at exactly the same times
US markets will open and close one hour later for the next five months (e.g. the Nasdaq will open at 10:30 PM instead of 9:30 PM Hong Kong Time)
European markets will open and close at exactly the same times (note however, that this is one hour later for the next five months due to last week's European time change)

US Time Change originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 14:34:44.

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Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:58:21 +0000

There are several news releases from each region this week (the US, Europe, and Asia). The US has six high volatility news releases, while Europe has five high volatility news releases, and Asia has three high volatility news releases. Markets from all three regions will probably continue experiencing their usual volatility and price movement throughout this week.

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which for one more week, is 2 hours behind Central European Time, and 4 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

Monday : Central Bank News Conference at 1:00 PM, Central Bank News Conference at 3:00 PM, and Housing Market Index at 5:00 PM
Tuesday : Building Permits, PPI, and Housing Starts at 12:30 PM, and FOMC News Conference at 3:00 PM
Wednesday : Oil Inventories at 2:30 PM, FOMC News Conference at 4:00 PM, FOMC News Conference at 5:00 PM, and Beige Book at 6:00 PM
Thursday : Unemployment Claims at 12:30 PM, Leading Index, and HPI at 2:00 PM, Natural Gas Storage at 2:30 PM, FOMC News Conference at 4:00 PM, FOMC News Conference at 5:30 PM, and FOMC News Conference at 8:00 PM
Friday : Central Bank News Conference at 12:30 PM, Existing Home Sales at 2:00 PM, and FOMC News Conference at 3:30 PM

This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several US news releases this week, and six high volatility news releases. The US markets will probably experience their usual level of volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Europe

Monday : No News Releases
Tuesday : Germany PPI at 6:00 AM, UK Public Sector Borrowing, and Money Supply at 8:30 AM, and UK Central Bank News Conference at 7:15 PM
Wednesday : UK MPC Meeting at 8:30 AM, and UK Industrial Order Expectations at 10:00 AM
Thursday : Switzerland Trade Balance at 6:15 AM, EU Current Account, and Italy Retail Sales at 8:00 AM, UK Retail Sales at 8:30 AM, and Belgium Business Climate at 1:00 PM
Friday : France Consumer Spending at 6:45 AM, France PMI Manufacturing and Services at 7:00 AM, Germany PMI Manufacturing and Services at 7:30 AM, Germany Business Climate, and EU PMI Manufacturing and Services at 8:00 AM, UK GDP, Mortgage Approvals, and Index of Services at 8:30 AM, and EU Industrial Orders at 9:00 AM

This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several European news releases this week, and five high volatility news releases. The European markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Asia

Monday : Australia Business Confidence at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and Australia Central Bank News Conference at 2:00 AM
Tuesday : Australia Monetary Policy at 12:30 AM, and New Zealand Visitor Arrivals at 9:45 PM
Wednesday : Australia Leading Index at 12:00 AM, Australia Motor Vehicle Sales at 12:30 AM, New Zealand Credit Card Spending at 2:00 AM, and Japan Trade Balance at 11:50 PM
Thursday : China GDP, Industrial Production, CPI, Fixed Asset Investment, National Bureau of Statistics News Conference, PPI, and Retail Sales at 2:00 AM, and Japan Industry Activity at 4:30 AM
Friday : Australia Import Prices at 12:30 AM

This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several Asian news releases this week, and three high volatility news releases. The Asian markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 01:58:21.

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European Time Change

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:59:50 +0000

European Summer Time is over at the end of this week (technically two hours into the beginning of next week), and Europe will move its time backwards by one hour on Sunday morning (October 25th) accordingly. In addition to providing one extra hour of sleep, and making European time correct again (as it is Summer Time that is incorrect), this also affects the trading schedules of many markets. Exactly how this affects your trading depends upon where you are located and which markets you trade:

European Traders

European markets will open and close at exactly the same times
Asian markets will open and close one hour earlier for the next five months (e.g. the Hang Seng will start its afternoon session at 7:30 AM instead of 8:30 AM Central European Time)
US markets will open and close one hour earlier for one week (e.g. the Nasdaq will open at 2:30 PM instead of 3:30 PM Central European Time)

US Traders

US markets will open and close at exactly the same times
European markets will open and close one hour later for one week (e.g. the CAC40 will close at 12:30 PM instead of 11:30 AM Eastern Time)
Asian markets will open and close at exactly the same times (however, US traders are usually sleeping during Asian market trading hours)

Asian Traders

Asian markets will open and close at exactly the same times
US markets will open and close at exactly the same times
European markets will open and close one hour later for the next five months (e.g. the DAX will open at 4:00 PM instead of 3:00 PM Hong Kong Time)

European Time Change originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 04:59:50.

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Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:26:01 +0000

There are several news releases from each region this week (the US, Europe, and Asia), and each region also has five high volatility news releases. Markets from all three regions will probably continue experiencing their usual volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Monday : No News Releases
Tuesday : Economic Optimism at 2:00 PM, FOMC News Conference at 5:15 PM, FOMC News Conference at 5:45 PM, and Budget Balance at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)
Wednesday : Retail Sales, and Import Prices at 12:30 PM, Business Inventories at 2:00 PM, FOMC News Conference at 6:00 PM, and FOMC News Conference at 6:30 PM
Thursday : CPI, Unemployment Claims, and Manufacturing Index at 12:30 PM, Manufacturing Index at 2:00 PM, Natural Gas Storage at 2:30 PM, and Oil Inventories at 3:00 PM
Friday : Long Term Purchases at 1:00 PM, Capacity Utilization Rate, and Industrial Production at 1:15 PM, and Consumer Sentiment, and Inflation Expectations at 1:55 PM

This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several US news releases this week, and five high volatility news releases. The US markets will probably experience their usual level of volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Europe

Monday : Germany WPI at 6:00 AM, and UK Retail Sales, and House Price Balance at 11:01 PM
Tuesday : France CPI at 6:45 AM, Switzerland PPI at 7:15 AM,�UK CPI, RPI, and HPI at 8:30 AM, Germany Economic Sentiment, and EU Economic Sentiment at 9:00 AM, UK Inflation Letter at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and UK MPC News Conference at 1:00 PM
Wednesday :UK Claimant Count Change, Average Earnings Index, and Unemployment Rate at 8:30 AM, and EU Industrial Production at 9:00 AM
Thursday : EU Central Bank Bulletin at 8:00 AM, Switzerland Economic Expectations, and EU CPI at 9:00 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 11:25 AM
Friday : Switzerland Retail Sales at 7:15 AM, Italy Trade Balance at 8:00 AM, and EU Trade Balance at 9:00 AM

This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several European news releases this week, and five high volatility news releases. The European markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Asia

Monday : New Zealand Retail Sales at 9:45 PM, and Japan Bank Lending, and Money Stock at 11:50 PM
Tuesday : Australia Business Confidence at 12:30 AM, China Foreign Direct Investment at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and Japan CGPI at 11:50 PM
Wednesday : Australia Consumer Sentiment at 12:00 AM, Australia Business Confidence at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Japan Monetary Policy, and Overnight Call Rate at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), China Trade Balance at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Japan Household Confidence at 5:00 AM, Japan Central Bank News Conference at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), New Zealand Manufacturing Index at 9:30 PM, New Zealand CPI, and FPI at 9:45 PM, and Australia Central Bank News Conference at 11:30 PM
Thursday : Australia Inflation Expectations at 12:00 AM, Australia Central Bank Bulletin at 12:30 AM, Japan Industrial Production at 4:30 AM, and Japan Central Bank Report at 5:00 AM
Friday : Japan Central Bank News Conference at 6:45 AM

This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several Asian news releases this week, and five high volatility news releases. The Asian markets will probably continue experiencing their usual high volatility and significant price movement throughout this week.

Economic Calendar With Volatility Expectations originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at 03:26:01.

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Japanese Candlestick Patterns - Long and Short Days

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:13:00 +0000

The tenth and eleventh japanese candlestick patterns to be explained are also the last of the single candlestick patterns. The long day and the short day are easy to identify on a price chart, but they are oddly named, because they have no relevance to long or short trades.

Japanese Candlestick Patterns - Long and Short Days originally appeared on About.com Day Trading on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 02:13:00.

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