Posts Tagged ‘Market Analyser’

Introducing the Chandelier Indicator

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Following requests from users, our next software update will include a new chart indicator – the Chandelier.

The Chandelier indicator is primarily used as a stop loss mechanism to time exits from a trending market.

When using the Switch parameter:

» Exit long positions when the price crosses below the Chandelier line
» Exit short positions when the price crosses above the Chandelier line

The main idea of the Chandelier stems from the Average True Range indicator.

The ATR function could be used to designate a ‘normal’ range for a security, ie a 22-day average true range may indicate the normal range over a 22-day period. The Chandelier function looks to hang, for example, three average true ranges below a high price in an uptrend.

The name comes from the image of chandeliers being hung from the highest point in a room. This style of indicator, generally used as a stop loss, is hung down from the highest price in a trend.

Chandelier indicator

Chandelier indicator

Chandelier indicator

The Chandelier indicator will be available in the next release our core trading platform, including the Bourse, Market Analyser, d2mxIRESS, Virtual Trader and PTP5000 editions. You’ll find it under the Standard Indicators menu, at the right end of the chart toolbar.

Special thanks to Tim Harbort from The Sharemarket College for his contribution to this update.

 

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Trend Line Details on Hover: Upcoming Features in the Next Software Update

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

An idea a member sent us recently was to have some basic details display about a trend line, when you hover your mouse over it. We thought that was a great idea too and have included it in the next round of development.

Hovering your mouse on a trend line will show trend line details.

Hovering your mouse on a trend line will show trend line details.

In the above example, the trend lines are in orange. The mouse, not visible in the screenshot, is hovering over the lower trend line. The chart therefore overlays the value and percent change between the start and end points along with the gradient of the line. We only show positive numbers, as otherwise it depended on which point you picked first, as to whether the slope was negative or positive.  We may consider, in the future, adding a factor to the gradient setting too, for those Gann and ratio enthusiasts. The gradient at the moment is calculated as the basic ratio of price over time.

Move your mouse away from the trend line and that detail disappears. (For example, the upper trend line isn’t showing any details.)

As one of our beta testers has commented already, this new feature makes it easier to adjust existing lines so that they’re parallel to each other. (You can always use the Duplicate Trend Line option to create a new trend line that duplicates an existing line’s angle.)

The screenshot also has some hints as to other new features, can you spot them?  These features should be available in the next release of the software, including the Bourse, Market Analyser, d2mxIRESS, Virtual Trader and PTP5000 editions.

As always, please send us your suggestions, ideas and complaints.  We’re happy to hear and give them due consideration for future work.

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Chart Shadow Rulers: Upcoming Features in the Next Software Update

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

The d2mxIRESS product team is currently in the middle of a development cycle, adding and enhancing features to the Charting area. These new tools will appear in all editions of the software, including Market Analyser, The Bourse, Virtual Trader and PTP5000.

One of the new features is an update to how the ruler (or cross hairs) are drawn on charts.

Holding your right mouse button on any chart, to show the ruler (or cross hairs) will now replicate those lines on the other open chart windows, displaying at same date and price points.

Example of the new Shadow Rulers feature for charts.

In the current version of the software, if you hold your right mouse button down on a chart, a set of rulers will be displayed, so that you can line up dates (on the X-Axis) and values (on the Y-Axis).

In the new version to be released, those ruler positions will be replicated onto any other open chart windows too. They’ll show a vertical line at the date where you’re drawing the ruler and a horizontal line at the value. If the other chart’s on a different price scale, or showing a time period not in the date range of the main chart, then no ruler can be displayed.

In the above example, the two Telstra charts (shown on the right) show both the price and date lines, where the S&P/ASX 200 and AU/US charts only show the date rules, as their prices aren’t within the Telstra price range.  (Which is where the rulers are being drawn.)

Here’s another example, showing Telstra charts on different time periods and how the ruler is shadowed across them.

Three charts of Telstra, demonstrating how the ruler is replicated across different time period charts.

This new enhancement, and a number of others, will be coming in the next update to the software.

The idea originally was given to us by a member. We’re always open to hearing your ideas on how we can improve the software. We keep note of these and review them on occasion for inclusion in a future update.

If you have a suggestion or feedback, get in touch! Post a comment on this blog or in the members forum, or email us.

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Webinar Playback: The Top Five Fundamental Indicators

Friday, December 7th, 2012

A company’s share price can only ignore the fundamentals for so long before reality bites.

In this webinar we looked at our 5 favourite fundamental indicators and how to use them to identify companies that are fundamentally sound.

Thanks to everyone who attended, we hope you enjoyed it!

For a free trial of the software used in this presentation visit http://www.d2mx.com.au/personal/trading/trading-software/

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Webinar Playback: A Bottom Up Approach to Trading

Friday, September 7th, 2012

In a bottom up approach to you look for the shares that are doing well regardless of the current state of the market or bigger picture of the economic environment.

In this webinar we used the Market Analyser 7 to demonstrate how to find trade ideas using this bottom up approach.

And if you like this, check out the top down approach as well!

What’s up next in the webinar program?

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Using Entry Scripts in the D2MX Charts

Friday, August 24th, 2012

** Are you looking for Top Down Analysis? It’s over here! **

The D2MX Charts used in the Market Analyser 7 and the Bourse 7 trading platforms have a wide variety of different analysis tools available. One of these is the Entry Scripts which allow you to apply a range of indicators to the chart so that you can clearly see key points identified by the indicator you have chosen.

The Entry Scripts in D2MX Charts

Entry scripts allow you to identify when the conditions you specify for an indicator have been met. When the indicator meets your criteria a dot is placed on the chart. For example if you want to see when the MACD crosses over you can set an entry script to signal the crossover point as shown in the chart below.

Using the MACD Indicator in D2MX Charts

The red dots show when the MACD crosses down while the blue dots show when the MACD crosses up. You can adjust the parameters when you first apply the Entry Script and also with a right click on any one of the dots, then select your chosen Entry Script Properties. You can alter the colour of the dots as well as the location of them. I find it useful to plot sell signals at the top of the chart and buy signals at the bottom of the chart. You can also adjust the parameters, so for a moving average crossover you can select the moving average time periods you wish to use. With the RSI you can set the levels that determine overbought or oversold conditions.

While Entry Scripts can be used to identify simple crossovers or overbought and oversold conditions, they can also identify more complex parameters as well. The MACD Divergence identifies when the price is rising and MACD is falling or the other way around. There are a range of other divergence parameters available as well, including On Balance Volume, Stochastic and the Commodity Channel Index.

Divergence parameters in D2MX Charts

The D2MX Prealerts are a type of Entry Script that have been built specifically for the D2MX charting platform. You can be alerted when there is an increase in volume in a share after a downtrend (Accumulation), or an increase in volume after an uptrend (Distribution). The Retracement and Open Channel indicators are included in the Prealerts as well.

You can even use the Analyser Wizard to combine indicators, and the indicators you create will be available in the Entry Scripts menu. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of the list to see them. And remember that once you have a chart set up the way you want it you can save it as a template with a right click on the chart and click Save New Template. This means you do not have to apply the Entry Scripts every time you open a chart.

Make the most of the powerful new charting tools in the D2MX Charts, including the Entry Scripts, to assist you to identify when a share meets the entry or exit criteria you choose. It is now quick and easy to identify when the two lines on any indicator have crossed over and the day this occurred using the Entry Scripts.

Jeff Cartridge
Education Manager

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Using the Market Map to Identify Trading Opportunities

Friday, August 10th, 2012

The Market Map is a powerful visual tool that can be used to quickly identify trading opportunities in the markets. The Market Map provides a visual overview of price and volume in a wide range of shares across all sectors of the Australian market. The Market Map is located under the Analytics menu.

[Get your free software trial here!]

The Market Map is located under the Analytics menu
You can control the way that information is displayed, by adjusting the Map Area and Map Colour.

The Map Area controls the size of the box displayed and can be set to display by Index points, Market Capitalisation, Movement, Volume or Value. The Market Capitalisation and Value are most commonly used.

The Map Colour controls how the share price movement is displayed, green for up and red for down. There are two options: either by Index Points, or the more common Movement (%). The brighter the colour the more movement has occurred in the share. You can also select to display the codes for the shares by placing a tick in View Sec Codes box.

Market Capitalisation

You can drill down into a sector with a double click on the sector and then down into subsectors as well with another double click. To move back up a level click the Zoom Out button at the top of the screen.

Zoom in and out of the Market Map

So far we have covered the mechanics of how to use the Market Map, but more importantly is how to use the Market Map to find trading opportunities. The trick here is to identify the odd one out, ie the shares that are behaving differently to all the other shares. This allows us to quickly narrow down trading opportunities.

If the market is up strongly then look for the shares that are underperforming, ie red shares, for potential sells. If the market is down strongly then look at the shares that are showing green and outperforming the markets. On a day when the market is relatively flat look for shares that are moving. The brighter colours identify these shares more clearly.

A recent example of this was Harvey Norman, which was underperforming in both the sector and the market after its announcement of a profit drop of 40%. You can right click on any share in the Market Map and select a D2MX Chart to take a closer look at any company.

Use the Market Map in conjunction with a D2MX Chart

In this way you can quickly identify a few companies to take a closer look at for potential trading opportunities. The information is updated live throughout the trading day, and if you are watching the market during the day you can identify shares that continue to move strongly as the day goes on. This may provide short term trading opportunities for those that choose to jump on board and trade with the momentum of the share.

The Market Map is a great visual tool for quickly sorting out potential trading opportunities, by identifying shares that are moving against the trend of the market or sector. These shares can be identified by the colour and size of the square on the chart, allowing you to quickly move in to your more detailed analysis. Try it today and see what opportunities you can identify.

By Jeff Cartridge
Education Manager

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New Webinars Announced

Friday, July 20th, 2012

Our next series of webinars has just been launched!

This program is aimed at giving you new ideas for your trading, and insights into how to use your Market Analyser 7 software effectively.

Get the full program here.

What’s coming up?

A Top Down Approach to Trading | August 2
With Top Down trading you start out by looking at the bigger picture of what’s currently happening in world markets. From here, drill down into the strongest sectors, and within those sectors identify the strongest companies. More…

A Bottom Up Approach to Trading | September 6
In this webinar Jeff will show you a way to quickly zero in on companies that may present good trading opportunities, and avoid getting lost in an overload of reports and information. More…

Intro to Technical Analysis | October 4
So many successful traders rely on technical analysis. Find out how the chart indicators and tools in The Bourse 7 can improve your trading. More…

The Top Five Technical Indicators | November 1
In this free webinar Jeff Cartridge will share his five favourite technical indicators, and how to use them as the basis of a trading strategy. More…

We look forward to seeing you online.

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Simple Trend Finder Scanning Method: Part 1 Stock Trading Tips for All Types of Market Environments

Friday, July 20th, 2012

In the past year economists have been complaining that the RBA has been setting monetary policy for the states that have been racing ahead because of their exposure to the mining sector. It is only in the last couple of months that we have seen interest rates pull back in deference to the rest of the Australian economy. Retailers, builders and consumer-related companies have been doing it tough in the past couple of years.

Our new IRESS-based trading platforms (including Market Analyser 7 and The Bourse 7) give clients access to our proprietary D2MX Trade Tool set. Today we’re going to use these tools to identify stocks that are challenged in this economic environment and those that are outperforming.

[Get a free software trial here!]

D2MX Trade Tools Menu
Figure 1: D2MX Trade Tools Menu

Scanning for Outperforming Stocks

First we look for stocks that are in a rising trend and are making new highs. Using the Analyser Wizard tool we scan for stocks with:

• Rising medium-term trends with the 40 day moving average above the 150 day moving average
• Plus, rising short-term trends with the 13 day moving average above the 40 day moving average
• And, to ensure that there is short-term momentum, we make sure that the stock price has made a new high in the last 10 days.

Uptrending Stocks Scan
Figure 2: The D2MX Analyser Wizard – Uptrending Stocks Scan

Scanning for Underperforming Stocks

Here we look for stocks that are in a falling trend and are making new lows. Using the Analyser Wizard we scan for stocks with:

• Falling medium-term trends with the 40 day moving average below the 150 day moving average
• Plus, falling short-term trends with the 13 day moving average below the 40 day moving average
• And, to ensure that there is short-term momentum, we make sure that the stock price has made a new low in the last 10 days.

D2MX Downtrending Stocks Scan
Figure 3: The D2MX Analyser Wizard – Downtrending Stocks Scan

The Results

One of the recurring criticisms about this market is the lack of liquidity and trading volumes, which are as little as 50% of what they were just over a year ago. With this in mind we used the ASX 100 for our list of stocks that we are interested in trading.

The Uptrending Stocks scan produced a list of 22 potential trading candidates that are in an uptrend in the medium- and shorter-term and have recently made new highs (see the list below). An interesting aside is that this list has a high proportion of companies that are delivering high yields, which says something about of the state of investors’ psyche at the moment.

Uptrending stocks scan results
Figure 4: Results of Uptrending Stocks scan run on 18 July 2012

The Downtrending Stocks scan produced a list of 17 potential trading candidates that are in a downtrend in the medium and shorter-term and have recently made new lows. You will note that this list is dominated by stocks from the mining and energy sectors, which have clearly underperformed in the Aussie market in the run up since last October.

Downtrending Stocks Scan Results
Figure 5: Results of Downtrending Stocks scan run on 18 July 2012

Sample Trades

To give you an idea about the types of stocks the scans highlighted, I have provided a couple of sample charts for CSL and Macquarie Bank below.

CSL in an uptrend
Chart: CSL (CSL) – in a clear uptrend and moving higher

Macquarie Bank in a downtrend
Chart: Macquarie Bank (MQG) – in a clear downtrend

The Trade

There is no doubt that this is a challenging market for investors, but using some simple tools that D2MX can provide through its IRESS Trader platform you can quickly highlight stocks that are suitable for your investment outlook. This analysis can be done on a regular basis and should take you no more than five minutes.

If you want to try a Long/Short strategy you can do that too through the use of Mini Warrants, which have been discussed in earlier articles, by going Long the outperforming stock(s), while Shorting the underperforming stock(s). Refer to:

Warrant Trading for All Types of Market Environments Series

Part 1 – Shorting With Limited Risk Using MINIs
Part 2 – Boosting Dividend Yield Using Warrants

Utilise the D2MX features in the IRESS Trader platform to select your trades, according to your market view. You will save time and potentially increase your returns by trading with the trend.

Contact me at D2MX Trading on 1300 610 024 and I can help you trade, using a number of strategies that will give you the tools to navigate this market and help you boost your returns on investment.

Michael Hevern
Investment Adviser D2MX Trading

This report was prepared by Michael Hevern. It represents the views and opinions of the author. It is not intended for use by any third party, without the approval of Michael Hevern. While this report is based on information from sources which are considered reliable, its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Any opinions expressed reflect my judgment at this date and are subject to change. Contracting Hevern Pty Ltd is a Corporate Authorised Representative No. 408868 of D2MX Pty Limited ABN 98 113 959 596, AFSL No. 297950 (D2MX), and Michael Hevern has been appointed as an Authorised Representative of Contracting Hevern Pty Ltd. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this report are not given or endorsed by D2MX, unless otherwise indicated. The information contained in this Report is General Advice only, as the information or advice given does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs.
Disclaimer: Using leverage to invest can be a two edged sword, as it can magnify your returns when the stock price rises, but will in turn magnify the losses if the trade does not perform as expected.

For Buy and Sell recommendations on ASX listed companies register for a free trial of MDS Financial Research.

The D2MX Financial Advisory Services offers general advice on trading options to generate consistent steady income on your investment portfolio. Call 1300 610 024 for further information.

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Placing Orders with Trader Dealer

Friday, July 13th, 2012

It’s possible to link up the new Bourse 7 and Market Analyser 7 trading platforms to your Trader Dealer accounts, allowing you to execute orders directly from the platform. Linking your trading account to your software platform can save you money via rebates based on the number of trades you complete. If you have a Trader Dealer account and it’s not linked to your trading platform, then contact Trader Dealer on 1300 853 856 to get the account linked. If you don’t have an account you can quickly and easily open one with Trader Dealer as well.

Once your account is linked you can then place and monitor orders directly from your trading platform. The Orders menu contains a number of choices allowing you to place and monitor your orders and your open positions. You can also right click on any company name or code to buy or sell shares.

Create Buy Order

You can place a wide variety of orders using the Trader Dealer interface, including Market, Limit and Contingent orders. There are also advanced features available allowing you to tailor when an order is executed and how it is executed. Orders can be good until cancelled, good until a set date, Fill or Kill, and Fill and Kill. Today we’ll take a look at these different types of orders and how to implement them.

Limit Order

A limit order allows you to enter the highest price you will pay to buy a share and the lowest price you will sell a share for. For example, you may be prepared to buy CBA at up to 5360, but not pay more than this. To place this order right click on CBA and click Create Buy Order.

Order Pad

The Security Code is already filled in (if you chose to Create Buy Order from the Orders menu you will have to type in the share code). The last traded price is visible, and all you have to do is enter the volume and the price. You can type in the volume as number of shares, say 500, or you can type in a target value in dollar terms, say $10,000 and the quantity will be calculated for you. Enter the price you are willing to pay up to, in our example 5360 and click Buy. Check your order details and click Ok to place the order. Your order will now be executed if CBA trades at 5360.

Confirm Order

Market Order

To place a market order, enter the quantity as before, either in number of shares or a dollar amount using the Target Value feature. Then click on the Advanced >> button. This will give you a range of different choices in how your order is placed.

Limit Orders

For a market order select Best Buy and click Buy. Check your order details are correct and click Ok. Your order will be executed at the best price currently available in the market.

A best order is priority queued at the current best bid or ask on the same side of the market. As soon as a best order is entered into the market, the order is converted to a limit order at the same price as the best bid or ask and will appear in the market as a limit order.

For example, if the market is 17 bid, 18 offered, the a buy order entered at Best places the order at 17, behind any orders already queued at that price.

Advanced Orders

You may want to use some of the other order types that are available in the Advanced section. The order Centre Point Limit will place your order into the market between the Bid and Ask price. If the market is trading at Bid 5350 and Ask 5360 you can use Centre Pont Limit to place your order at 5355. The most you will pay for the share is 5355. If you use Centre Point Market again your order will be placed at 5355 however you may pay more than this price when the order executes.

A Market to Limit order allows you to buy shares at the best price available but with an upper limit on what you are prepared to pay. This can be useful if you are attempting to execute a large order without driving the price higher.

Market to Limit Orders

You can use the Order Type to determine how long the order is valid for and how it is to be executed. End of Day means the order will be cancelled at the end of the trading day. Good till Cancelled means the order remains valid until you cancel it. You can also set an order to be valid until a set date and or time, which allows you to program in a custom end time.

A Fill or Kill order specifies that the whole order is to be filled or nothing at all. This order is useful for larger traders entering a position to ensure an order does not move the market. If there are sufficient sellers at the price you are willing to pay then the whole order will be executed. If there are not enough sellers then the order is cancelled. Fill and Kill is similar but the quantity that is available will be executed and the rest of the order cancelled. If you were trying to buy 10,000 shares at 5360 and there were only 6,000 shares on offer at this price using a Fill or Kill order it would be cancelled, but a Fill and Kill order would buy 6000 shares and cancel the rest.

Sell Orders

The process for placing sell orders is the same as placing buy orders, except the button will state Sell instead of Buy.

Contingent Orders

Contingent orders allow your order to be executed when a set criteria is met. Until the criteria are met the order is not an active order and will not be visible in the market. Essentially these can be considered to be IF orders – if this happens, then do that. A contingent order is used to place a stop loss order.

Contingent Orders

Right click on any share and click Create Contingent Order. Set your order criteria, including the appropriate price (Last, Bid or Ask), the direction (Less, Greater) and the Trigger Price. You can also set start and end times for when the order is valid. An example of the trigger criteria would be: If CBA reaches a Last price Less than or equal to 5400.

Once you have set the trigger criteria you can then set the Action you want taken. Select the action (Buy or Sell), type in the volume, and choose the code of the share you want to trade – note this does not have to be the share you set the contingent criteria for, but normally would be the same. Enter the Order Price and click Ok. Check your order is correct and click Ok.

The Advanced tab allows you to control how the order is executed once the criteria have been met, as well as notification by email if the order triggers. Ticking the Create OCO Order allows you to set a second contingent order that will only become valid if the first order is executed. If CBA was to reach a price greater than 5600 you could buy CBA and then using the OCO functionality place a stop loss order on CBA to sell if it falls below 5400.

Advanced settings on the Contingent Order pad

Conclusion

There is a wide range of order functionality available when using Trader Dealer in conjunction with the new Market Analyser 7 and Bourse 7 platforms. Give Trader Dealer a call today on 1300 853 856 to find out why they won the Best Broker for Heavy Users Gold Medal from Your Money Magazine.

Jeff Cartridge
Education Manager

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