Categories
Forex Daily Topic Point and Figure

Point & Figure: Profit Target and Stop-loss Settings Made Simple

Something new traders struggle with is trying to find appropriate profit targets and stop targets. Point & Figure charts make a process that is a struggle into something that is very, very easy. Two methods can be used to identify profit targets on a Point & Figure chart: Vertical Method and Horizontal Method. I am only going to show you the Vertical Method because the entire series I’ve done here has strictly been on the use of 3-box reversal Point & Figure charts.

The Horizontal Method can be found in Jeremy Du Plessis’s work. The Horizontal Method is more applicable to the most traditional form of Point & Figure – the 1-box reversal chart. There’s a formula for calculating the profit target on Point & Figure. Don’t get freaked about the word formula – the process is very simple.

Long Profit Target
Long Profit Target

Buy/Long Profit Target = (number of Xs in prior column * box size) * (reversal amount) + lowest O of the current O column.

Short Profit Target
Short Profit Target

Short Profit Target = (Number of Os in prior column * box size) * (reversal amount) – highest X of the current X column.

 

Stops

Regarding stops, I always stick with the reversal amount – so my risk is always, no matter the trade, 3-boxes worth. On my standard 20-pip box size Point & Figure charts, 60 pips are my max loss on any trade. Some authors suggest putting the stop one box below (or above) the reversal amount, but I’ve always stuck with the reversal amount being my stop.

The Blind Entry Trading System

I want to tell you something that might be a little mind-boggling. I’ve been teaching Point & Figure to another class this year, and we’ve focused on live testing the ‘blind entry’ trading strategy in Point & Figure – which is nothing more than taking every single multiple-top or multiple-bottom break without any other filter. We focused on the following pairs:

GBPUSD, AUDUSD, USDCAD, USDJPY, GBPJPY, EURGBP, EURUSD, and AUDJPY.

We did not use any profit targets. We exited trades only when the reversal column appeared. So our losses were always limited to just 60 pips on a 20-pip/3-box reversal Point & Figure chart. We traded from March 1st, 2019 through December 7th, 2019. The results below detail the net pips at the end of our trading period:

GBPUSD = +1,060 pips

AUDUSD = -60 pips

USDCAD = +200 pips

UDSJPY = +1060 pips

GBPJPY = + 2,620 pips

EURGBP = +480 pips

EURUSD = -280 pips

AUDJPY = +1,200 pips

Net Total pips = +6,280 (the average for the class was +5443 pips).

To put that into perspective, with a 0.1 (10,000 unit) Lot size, that’s a net $6,280.00. A full Lot would have equaled a net $62,800. I had one woman who traded an odd 3.33 Lots as her standard position size (I guess it is not that odd if you think about it). She led the pack with her real net pip count at +6,880 – with a 3.33 lot size that meant she made a net $229,104. I was and remain very envious of her performance – she should probably be teaching!


Sources:

Dorsey, T. J. (2013). Point and figure charting: the essential application for forecasting and tracking market prices (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Kirkpatrick II, C. D., & Dahlquist, J.R. (2016). Technical Analysis: The Complete Resource for Financial Market Technicians (Third). Old Tappan, NJ: Pearson.

Plessis, J.J. (2012). Definitive Guide to Point and Figure – a comprehensive guide to the theory (2nd ed.). Great Britain: Harriman House Publishing.

DeVilliers, V., & Taylor, O. (2008). Point and figure charting. London: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.

Categories
Ichimoku

Ichimoku – The Two Clouds Discovery

The Two Clouds Discovery

In Manesh Patel’s book, Trading with Ichimoku Cloud – The Essential Guide to Ichimoku Kinko Hyo Technical Analysis, he made a fantastic discovery. When I first read his work, I almost missed it. Whether he knows it or not, Mr. Patel made a discovery and an observation that his peers have not written about in their work. I call this the ‘Two Clouds Discovery.’ It’s one of those moments where you know you’ve probably been aware of this phenomena, but no one put words to it. It’s one of those things where you go, ‘huh, why didn’t I think of that?’ or ‘I can’t believe no one else noticed this.’

Two Clouds

The Two Clouds discovery puts a label on the component we already know: the Kumo (Cloud). The names we are giving to these two components are the Current Cloud and the Future Cloud. The Current Cloud is where price action is currently trading. The Future Cloud is the further point of Senkou Span A and Senkou Span B – so Future Senkou Span A and Future Senkou Span B. It’s important to think of it this way:

The Current Cloud is the average of the Tenkan-Sen and Kijun-Sen from 26 periods ago.

The Future Cloud is the current average of the Tenkan-Sen and Kijun-Sen.

And here is the main point and of the Two Clouds Discovery: When a significant trend change occurs, the Future Cloud is thin with both the current Senkou Span and Senkou Span B pointing in the direction of the Future Cloud.

The image below is Gold’s daily chart. Using the market replay feature in TradingView, I have used November 20th, 2018, as the starting point for this article. It’s important to remember what we are looking for: Current Senkou Span A and Current Senkou Span B pointing in the direction of Future Senkou Span B and Future Senkou Span A.

First, we look to see if the Future Cloud is thin. The thickness or thinness of the Cloud is going to be very subjective, but I believe most people can determine whether something is thick or thin based on the instrument they trade and the timeframe they are trading in. For Gold, this is a thin cloud.

Thin Future Cloud

Next, we want to see if the Current Senkou Span A and Current Senkou Span B are pointing in the direction of the Future Cloud – they are.

Current Senkou Span A and Current Senkou Span B

Now, let’s see what happens when we populate the screen with the price action that occurred after November 20th, 2018. What we should see if a significant trend change is occurring when both the Current Senkou Span A and Current Senkou Span B are pointing in the direction of a thin Future Cloud.

Bull Move

Go through any Daily or Weekly chart and find a thin Cloud and then utilize the market replay – odds are you will see what I have discovered: a high positive expectancy rate of markets trending strongly when price is trading near where the current Senkou Span A and current Senkou Span B are pointing towards the direction of a thin Future Cloud.

 

Sources: Péloille, Karen. (2017). Trading with Ichimoku: a practical guide to low-risk Ichimoku strategies. Petersfield, Hampshire: Harriman House Ltd.

Patel, M. (2010). Trading with Ichimoku clouds: the essential guide to Ichimoku Kinko Hyo technical analysis. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Linton, D. (2010). Cloud charts: trading success with the Ichimoku Technique. London: Updata.

Elliot, N. (2012). Ichimoku charts: an introduction to Ichimoku Kinko Clouds. Petersfield, Hampshire: Harriman House Ltd.

 

Categories
Ichimoku

Ichimoku Kinko Hyo – Introduction and History

Ichimoku Kinko Hyo

 

Ichimoku is not an indicator (many platforms incorrectly label it an indicator) – it is a trading system. Ichimoku Kinko Hyo is, in my opinion, the most effective trading system to use with Japanese Candlesticks.

The reasons for this require a deep dive into the fundamentals behind the differences of Japanese VS Western analysis – but that is for another article. The Ichimoku system – and it is a system, not an indicator – is perhaps the most complimentary system that you could ever use with Japanese candlesticks. The reasons for this are rooted in history.

 

History of Japan: Edo, Meiji, and Candlesticks

One of the most important and famous economists in history, Milton Freidman, often used a specific point in Japan’s history to show how powerful free markets are. This period was known as the Meiji Restoration. If you are unaware of this period of history, you should do a little reading. It’s an astounding story. The period we are most interested in is the period after the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate (Edo Period) and the beginning of the Meiji Period.

It’s important to understand that before the Restoration, Japan was militantly xenophobic. For over a quarter of millennia, no foreigners were allowed in Japan, and no Japanese were allowed to leave. This policy ended almost literally overnight when the Emperor opened the doors of Japan to foreign capital, industry, and ideas. In just a couple of decades, the Japanese went from mostly medieval technology to fast-forwarding their technology ahead almost 350 years. I mean, think about it. In 80 years, the people went from medieval plowshares to aircraft carriers. It’s truly fascinating. But the major transition wasn’t just the technological leap; it was the capital and market-based leap as well.

Believe it or not, Japan created the first futures exchange. The Dojima Rice Exchange was created in 1697 by samurai. Samurai were not just masterful warriors, but they had various duties throughout their existence – one of which was collecting taxes. Rice was the de facto currency in Japan for centuries – it’s how people paid taxes. Rice coupons were issued and used as the first futures contracts.

Fast forward to the end part of the Edo period; we have the first instance of what we now know as Japanese Candlesticks coming to use. Munehisa Homma (nicknamed Sakata) is credited with creating Japanese Candlesticks. It is important to note that Japanese Candlesticks (the mid-1700s) were used well before the invention of American Bar Charts (1880s). More on the history of Japanese Candlesticks and Mr. Homma’s invention will be discussed in another article.

 

Ichimoku Kinko Hyo History

The man who created Ichimoku is Goichi Hosada. David Linton’s book, Cloud Charts – Trading Success with the Ichimoku Technique and Nicole Elliot’s book, Ichimoku Charts – An Introduction to Ichimoku Kinko Clouds provide an excellent history of both Japanese candlesticks and Goichi Hosada’s time spent creating Ichimoku. Both of those books should be on your shelves!

The translation for Ichimoku Kinko Hyo is this: At a glance (Ichimoku), Balance (Kinko), and Bar Chart (Hyo). The most important word here, Kinko, for balance. Experienced traders in Japanese theory and pedagogy will know that one of the most important characteristics in Japanese technical analysis is the focus of balance and equilibrium. This trait is constant in the Ichimoku system. The focus of equilibrium and balance is constant in various Japanese chart forms as well (Heiken-Ashi and Renko). The concept of balance will make more sense when you learn the Ichimoku system in the next article.

 


Sources: Péloille Karen. (2017). Trading with Ichimoku: a practical guide to low-risk Ichimoku strategies. Petersfield, Hampshire: Harriman House Ltd.

Patel, M. (2010). Trading with Ichimoku clouds: the essential guide to Ichimoku Kinko Hyo technical analysis. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Linton, D. (2010). Cloud charts: trading success with the Ichimoku technique. London: Updata.

Elliot, N. (2012). Ichimoku charts: an introduction to Ichimoku Kinko Clouds. Petersfield, Hampshire: Harriman House Ltd.

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily FX Brief, October 03 – Major Trade Setups – Services PMI’s In Highlights

The U.S. dollar retreated for a second straight session, with the ICE Dollar Index slipping 0.1% to 99.02 on Wednesday. The euro climbed 0.3% to $1.0961. The top five economic think-tanks in Germany lowered their 2020 German GDP forecast to 1.1% from 1.8% previously, citing shrinking manufacturing production. And they said the economy could fall into a technical recession in the third quarter this year.

Economic Events to Watch Today

Let’s took at these fundamentals

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD currency pair flashing red at the level of1.0955, also the pair got a rejection near the 1.0967 (38.2% Fib Retracement of 1.1110/1.0943).

The EUR/USD currency pair took a buying at lows below 1.09 on Monday after the negative United States Manufacturing data propped the U.S. economic slowdown fears. As we know, the EUR/USD pair reached the recovery range above 1.0950 on Tuesday, ahead of unexpectedly lowest US ADP Employment data.

The United States’ ten-year treasury yield dropped by 3-basis-points and 4-basis-points on Tuesday and Wednesday, individually, and hit a bearish level of 1.578% in the Asian session. By the way, it’s one of the lowest levels since September 09.

However, the currency pair failed to hit the level of 1.0967, due to the decision by the United States President Donald Trump that to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion in European imports starting October 18. 

At the data front, the U.S. non-manufacturing data scheduled to release at 14:00 GMT is anticipated to compensate for worse than expected manufacturing PMI activity during September. The PMI is expected to issue figures at 55.1 against 56.4 during August.

Massive slip in the U.S. economic data will prop the United States slowdown concerns, eventually supporting the EUR/USD pair to hit higher to 1.10. Moreover, the chances of a 25-basis-points rate cut by the Federal Reserve during this month have already increased from 40% to 84% this week. Whereas, if the data beats the expectations, then the EUR/USD pair could decline back below the 1.09 level.

Daily Support and Resistance    

S3 1.0823

S2 1.0883

S1 1.0921

Pivot Point 1.0943

R1 1.0981

R2 1.1002

R3 1.1062

EUR/USD – Trading Tips

A day before Non-farm payrolls, the EUR/USD is trading a bit muted, as traders are staying out of the market due to a National holiday in China and Germany. Despite that, the EUR/USD may trade bearish below 1.0964 to target 1.0915 area. On the other side, the bullish breakout of 1.0960 can lead EUR/USD 1.1020. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY currency pair consolidates in the narrow range of 107 handle, due to the greenback falls out of favor with investors. Moreover, the USD/JPY currency pair struggles to hit the high-level of107 handles while the Asian equities and Treasury yields trade lowest.

As we know, the greenback continues to drop since the start of the week. The dollar has the weakest start of a 4th-quarter since 2008 after following a slump in the 3rd-quarter range.

The United States stocks continued their decline due to more dismal data. The downward risk sentiment is increasing, and the global economy is slowing down, which was again evident in the U.S. data that pushed the U.S. benchmarks lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, DJIA, dropped around 344 points, or 1.3% during the previous session.

Moreover, the S&P 500 index fell by 52.64 points, and the Nasdaq dropped by 123.44 points. The ADP data showed just 135,000 new jobs against forecasted figures of 140,000. With this, the traders are pricing in weaker Nonfarm Payrolls which is due on Friday.

The greenback and Treasury yields need support at this position. The United States’ two-year treasury yields dropped from 1.55% to 1.48%, and the ten-year dropped from 1.66% to 1.59%. 

Daily Support and Resistance

    

S3 105.7

S2 106.53

S1 106.86

Pivot Point 107.37

R1 107.69

R2 108.2

R3 109.04

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY has formed tweezers bottom on the 4-hour timeframe which is suggesting odds of a bullish reversal. The USD/JPY pair may find support at 106.90, and below this, it can go after 106.400. On the upper side, resistance stays at 107.450. 


WTI Crude Oil – Daily Analysis

The WTI crude oil prices found on the recovery track, due to concerns of the worsening global economic outlook. The economic outlook hit crude oil prices very hard during the previous trading session as traders are pricing in the probability for development in solving the on-going trade war between the United States and China. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were up 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $52.87 a barrel, after sinking by 1.8% on Wednesday.

On the other hand, the global equity benchmarks found on the lowest level in a month on Wednesday. That came due to a sign of a recession in the United States economic growth. Secondly, the weaker economic data in Europe also distributed fears the global economy could fall into the slowdown.

There was a hurting sentiment in the previous trading session from the Energy Information Administration, which reported a surge of 3.1 million barrels in crude oil inventories in the last week. 

It should also be noted that top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is planning to lift the cost for crude oil it sells to Asia during November. The sentiments came following the drone attack on Sauida Kingdoms, and its oil production has also started to spike in the Middle East.  

Daily Support and Resistance

S3 48.53

S2 50.77

S1 51.65

Pivot Point 53

R1 53.89

R2 55.24

R3 57.48

WTI Crude Oil – Trading Tips

The WTI crude oil is finishing the Asian session in a bearish mode, falling from 53 to 52.70. Crude oil is facing significant resistance at 53 levels today. The MACD and RSI are bearish as both of them are holding under their crossover levels of 0 and 50 respectively. 

Consider staying bearish on crude oil below 53 to target 52.65 and 51.80 levels. All the best!