Thursday, July 31, 2008

Money Management

"Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1. "

-Warren Buffett



"The whole secret to winning in the stock market is to lose the least amount possible when you're not right."

-William O'neill


I consider money management as the most crucial aspect while dealing in stocks.Trading in stocks without having a sound money management is like ,driving a car which has no brakes.Risk management is a two-step process - determining what risks exist in an investment and then handling those risks in a way best-suited to your investment objectives.

When you are making trades, you should always examine the risk/reward ratio.For instance, if you have measured the risk/reward ratio to be 3:1, then you can safely ascertain that all you need to win is 1 trade (with the spread in mind) and lose 2 trades to break even.

Fibonacci Retracement



In the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, each number after the first two is the sum of the previous two numbers. Thus the sequence is 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, etc.

The higher up in the sequence, the closer two consecutive numbers of the sequence divided by each other will approach the golden ratio (approximately 1 : 1.618 or 0.618 : 1).


Fibonacci Retracement in technical analysis refers to the likelihood that a financial asset's price will retrace a large portion of an original move and find support or resistance at the key Fibonacci levels before it continues in the original direction. These levels are created by drawing a trendline between two extreme points and then dividing the vertical distance by the key Fibonacci ratios of 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8% and 100%.

Fibonacci retracement is a very popular tool used by many technical traders to help identify strategic places for transactions to be placed, target prices or stop losses. The notion of retracement is used in many indicators such as Tirone levels, Gartley patterns, Elliott Wave theory and more.

Indicator


In the context of technical analysis, an indicator is a mathematical calculation based on a securities price and/or volume. Technical Indicators are the often squiggly lines found above, below and on-top-of the price information on a technical chart. Indicators that use the same scale as prices are typically plotted on top of the price bars and are therefore referred to as "Overlays."
Common technical analysis indicators are the moving average convergence-divergence (MACD) indicator,Stochastic and the relative strength index (RSI).

Moving averages are one of the most popular and easy to use tools available to the technical analyst. They smooth a data series and make it easier to spot trends, something that is especially helpful in volatile markets. They also form the building blocks for many other technical indicators and overlays.

Price Scaling(Arithmetic and Logarithmic)


There are two methods for displaying the price scale along the y-axis: arithmetic and logarithmic. An arithmetic scale displays 10 points as the same vertical distance no matter what the price level. Each unit of measure is the same throughout the entire scale. If a stock advances from 10 to 80 over a 6-month period, the move from 10 to 20 will appear to be the same distance as the move from 70 to 80. Even though this move is the same in absolute terms, it is not the same in percentage terms.

A logarithmic scale measures price movements in percentage terms. An advance from 10 to 20 would represent an increase of 100%. An advance from 20 to 40 would also be 100%, as would an advance from 40 to 80. All three of these advances would appear as the same vertical distance on a logarithmic scale. Most charting programs refer to the logarithmic scale as a semi-log scale, because the time axis is still displayed arithmetically.

The chart above illustrates the difference in scaling. On the semi-log scale, the distance between 50 and 100 is the same as the distance between 100 and 200. However, on the arithmetic scale, the distance between 100 and 200 is significantly greater than the distance between 50 and 100.


Key points on the benefits of arithmetic and semi-log scales:

 Arithmetic scales are useful when the price range is confined within a relatively tight range.

 Arithmetic scales are useful for short-term charts and trading.

 Semi-log scales are useful when the price has moved significantly, be it over a short or extended time frame

 Trend lines tend to match lows better on semi-log scales.

 Semi-log scales are useful for long-term charts to gauge the percentage movements over a long period of time. Large movements are put into perspective.

 Stocks and many other securities are judged in relative terms through the use of ratios such as PE, Price/Revenues and Price/Book. With this in mind, it also makes sense to analyze price movements in percentage terms.

Point & Figure Chart


Point & figure Charts are based solely on price movement, and do not take time into consideration. There is an x-axis but it does not extend evenly across the chart.
The beauty of point & figure charts is their simplicity. Little or no price movement is deemed irrelevant and therefore not duplicated on the chart. Only price movements that exceed specified levels are recorded. This focus on price movement makes it easier to identify support and resistance levels, bullish breakouts and bearish breakdowns.

Point & Figure charts consist of columns of X's and O's that represent filtered price movements over time. X's represent increasing prices (AKA demand). O's represent decreasing prices (AKA supply).

Candlestick Chart



Originating in Japan over 300 years ago, candlestick charts have become quite popular in recent years. For a candlestick chart, the open, high, low and close are all required. A daily candlestick is based on the open price, the intraday high and low, and the close. A weekly candlestick is based on Monday's open, the weekly high-low range and Friday's close.

Many traders and investors believe that candlestick charts are easy to read, especially the relationship between the open and the close. White (clear) candlesticks form when the close is higher than the open and black (solid) candlesticks form when the close is lower than the open. The white and black portion formed from the open and close is called the body (white body or black body). The lines above and below are called shadows and represent the high and low.

Bar Chart



Perhaps the most popular charting method is the bar chart. The high, low and close are required to form the price plot for each period of a bar chart. The high and low are represented by the top and bottom of the vertical bar and the close is the short horizontal line crossing the vertical bar. On a daily chart, each bar represents the high, low and close for a particular day. Weekly charts would have a bar for each week based on Friday's close and the high and low for that week.

Bar charts can also be displayed using the open, high, low and close. The only difference is the addition of the open price, which is displayed as a short horizontal line extending to the left of the bar. Whether or not a bar chart includes the open depends on the data available.

Bar charts can be effective for displaying a large amount of data. Using candlesticks, 200 data points can take up a lot of room and look cluttered. Line charts show less clutter, but do not offer as much detail (no high-low range)

Line Chart


Some investors and traders consider the closing level to be more important than the open, high or low. By paying attention to only the close, intraday swings can be ignored. Line charts are also used when open, high and low data points are not available. Sometimes only closing data are available for certain indices, thinly traded stocks and intraday prices.

What Are Charts?


Technicians, technical analysts and chartists use charts to analyze a wide array of securities and forecast future price movements.

A price chart is a sequence of prices plotted over a specific time frame. In statistical terms, charts are referred to as time series plots. On the chart, the y-axis (vertical axis) represents the price scale and the x-axis (horizontal axis) represents the time scale. Prices are plotted from left to right across the x-axis with the most recent plot being the furthest right.

There are some popular style of charts ,like..line charts, bar charts, candlestick charts and point and figure charts.

A daily chart is made up of intraday data to show each day as a single data point, or period. Weekly data is made up of daily data to show each week as a single data point.

 Traders usually concentrate on charts made up of daily and intraday data to forecast short-term price movements. The shorter the time frame and the less compressed the data is, the more detail that is available. While long on detail, short-term charts can be volatile and contain a lot of noise. Large sudden price movements, wide high-low ranges and price gaps can affect volatility, which can distort the overall picture.

 Investors usually focus on weekly and monthly charts to spot long-term trends and forecast long-term price movements. Because long-term charts (typically 1-4 years) cover a longer time frame with compressed data, price movements do not appear as extreme and there is often less noise.

 Others might use a combination of long-term and short-term charts. Long-term charts are good for analyzing the large picture to get a broad perspective of the historical price action. Once the general picture is analyzed, a daily chart can be used to zoom in on the last few months.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

CRR,Repo Rate Hike - Bad Days Ahead..As Crude Could Become Rude..

It seems that the government is getting ready for the next general election after surviving a trust vote .Reserve Bank on Tuesday announcing tough policy measures to contain high inflation, a move bankers say would lead to hike of up to one per cent in interest rates.The move is directed at cooling inflation that is running at nearly 12 per cent on an annual basis by containing demand.

The RBI has raised repo rate by 50 basis point to 9 per cent from the existing 8.5 per cent. This short-term rate at which the RBI lends cash to banks was last raised on June 24 by 50 basis points to 8.5 per cent.

The central bank has also raised the CRR ( percentage of banks' deposits which they must keep with the central bank) by 25 basis points from the existing 8.75 per cent. This will come into effect from August 30.

The reverse repo rate ( The short-term rate at which the central bank absorbs cash from the market) remains unchanged at 6 per cent. It has also held the Bank Rate (rates used to price long-term loans to firms and individuals) steady at 6.0 per cent.

This news is bad for the stock market ,perticularly to the banks and real estate sector.Although crude has been corrected to 121 level zone after reaching near 148 dollars per barrel mark,I fear crude will become more rude in coming days and it will worsen the stock market scenario worldwide.

"The Trend is Your Friend"



The trend is your friend except at the end where it bends.

--- Ed Seykota

Technical analysis is built on the assumption that prices trend. Trend Lines are an important tool in technical analysis for both trend identification and confirmation. A trend line is a straight line that connects two or more price points and then extends into the future to act as a line of support or resistance. Many of the principles applicable to support and resistance levels can be applied to trend lines as well.



One standard definition of an uptrend is a succession if higher highs and higher lows. The trend can be considered intact until a previous reaction low point is broken. A violation of this condition serves as a warning signal that the trend may be over. It should be emphasized, however, that the disruption of the pattern of higher highs and higher lows (or lower highs and lower lows) should be viewed as a clue, not a conclusive indicator, of a possible long-term trend reversal. Uptrends and downtrends are often defined in terms of trend lines. An uptrend line is a line that connects a series of higher lows, while a downtrend line is a line that connects a series of lower highs.

It is not uncommon for reactions against a major trend to begin near a line parallel to the trend line. Sets of parallel lines that enclose a trend are called trend channels.

The following rules are usually applied to trend lines and channels:

Declines approaching an uptrend line and rallies approaching a downtrend line are often good opportunities to initiate positions in the direction of the major trend.
The penetration of an uptrend line (particularly on a closing basis) is a sell signal; the penetration of a downtrend line is a buy signal. Normally, a minimum percentage price move or a minimum number of closes beyond the trend line is required to confirm a penetration.
The lower end of a downtrend channel and the upper end of an uptrend channel represent potential profit-taking zones for short-term traders.
Trend lines and channels are useful, but their importance is often overstated. It is easy to overestimate the reliability of trend lines when they are drawn with the benefit of hindsight. A consideration that is frequently overlooked is that trend lines often need to be redrawn as a bull or bear market is extended. Thus, although the penetration of a trend line will sometimes offer an early warning signal of a trend reversal, it is also common that such a development will merely require a redrawing of the trend line.

The key to trading does not lie in following a specific line, but in recognizing that the trend represents the underlying momentum of the market, which is the direction your trades should take as well.

Trend Trader

A trading strategy that attempts to capture gains through the analysis of an asset's momentum in a particular direction. The trend trader enters into a long position when a stock is trending upward (successively higher highs). Conversely, a short position is taken when the stock is in a down trend (successively lower highs).

This strategy assumes that the present direction of the stock will continue into the future. It can be used by short-, intermediate- or long-term traders. Regardless of their chosen time frame, traders will remain in their position until they believe the trend has reversed - but reversal may occur at different times for each time frame.

Position Trader

A type of stock trader who holds a position for the long term (from months to years). Long-term traders are not concerned with short-term fluctuations because they believe that their long-term investment horizons will smooth these out.

Many position traders will take a look at weekly or monthly charts to get a sense of where the asset is in a given trend. Position trading is the polar opposite of day trading because the goal is to profit from the move in the primary trend rather than the short-term fluctuations that occur day to day

Swing Trading

A style of trading that attempts to capture gains in a stock within one to four days.
To find situations in which a stock has this extraordinary potential to move in such a short time frame, the trader must act quickly. This is mainly used by at-home and day traders. Large institutions trade in sizes too big to move in and out of stocks quickly. The individual trader is able to exploit the short-term stock movements without the competition of major traders. Swing traders use technical analysis to look for stocks with short-term price momentum. These traders aren't interested in the fundamental or intrinsic value of stocks but rather in their price trends and patterns.

Such traders use 20 DMA(Moving Average),and RSI,Stochastick (below 30) indicators.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Intraday Trading

Intraday trading refers to opening and closing a position in a security in the same trading day. This can be buying and selling to capitalize on a potential rise in a security's value or shorting and covering the short to capitalize on a potential drop in value. Intraday traders capitalize on small moves in the value of a security by using "leverage" or "margin", which basically means borrowing money. Most day trading accounts are allowed to take an initial position in a security that is 4X the value of their account (per securities regulations), but some professional accounts get more leverage (i.e. 10X). For instance, a day trader with Rs.10,000 in his/her account can take a Rs.40,000 position in a security for day trading purposes. This amount is not allowed to be held overnight (only about 2X the value of the account can be held overnight per securities regs). The leverage inherent in day trading allows small gains in a position to yield meaningful profits (and losses). Most day traders are very strict about cutting losses with "stop loss" orders. This limits the potential downside (but not the upside) on any particular trade, hence the adage "cut your losses short and let your profits run". With this basic strategy, a day trader can be wrong on 50% of his/her trades and still make good money. Day trading styles vary from "scalpers", which take positions for only a few minutes, to holding a position for most of the day. Some day traders are momentum followers and jump onto any given move, while others try to identify intraday reversals. Virtually all day traders use technical analysis (stock charting) heavily in their decision making

Day trading used to be the preserve of financial firms and professional investors and speculators. Many day traders are bank or investment firm employees working as specialists in equity investment and fund management. However, day trading has become increasingly popular among casual traders due to advances in technology, changes in legislation, and the popularity of the Internet.

Some day traders focus only on price momentum, others on trend patterns, and still others on an unlimited number of strategies they feel are profitable. Winning day traders find they must learn to be more patient for the opportunity to ride on the strong move, that may arise at any moment.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Investor and The Trader

Stock investors purchase stocks with the intention of holding for an extended period of time, usually several months to years. They rely primarily on fundamental analysis for their investment decisions and fully recognize stock shares as part-ownership in the company. Many investors believe in the buy and hold strategy, which as the name suggests, implies that investors will hold stocks for the very long term, generally measured in years. This strategy was made popular in the equity bull market of the 1980s and 90s where buy-and-hold investors rode out short-term market declines and continued to hold as the market returned to its previous highs and beyond. However, during the 2001-2003 equity bear market, the buy-and-hold strategy lost some followers as broader market indexes like the NASDAQ saw their values decline by over 60%.

On the other hand,individuals or firms trading equity (stock) on the stock markets as their principal capacity are called stock traders. Stock traders usually try to profit from short-term price volatility with trades lasting anywhere from several seconds to several weeks. The stock trader is usually a professional. A person can call himself a full or part-time stock trader/investor while maintaining other professions. When a stock trader/investor has clients, and acts as a money manager or adviser with the intention of adding value to his clients finances, he is also called a financial adviser or manager. In this case, the financial manager could be an independent professional or a large bank corporation employee. This may include managers dealing with investment funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, and pension funds, or other professionals in equity investment, fund management, and wealth management. Several different types of stock trading exist including day trading, swing trading, market making, scalping (trading), momentum trading, trading the news, and arbitrage.

The Stock Market

A stock market, or (equity market), is a private or public market for the trading of company stock and derivatives of company stock at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.

The size of the stock market is estimated at about $51 trillion. The world derivatives market has been estimated at about $480 trillion face or nominal value, 30 times the size of the U.S. economy. and 12 times the size of the entire world economy. It must be noted though that the value of the derivatives market, because it is stated in terms of notional values, and cannot be directly compared to a stock or a fixed income security, which traditionally refers to an actual value. Many such relatively illiquid securities are valued as marked to model, rather than an actual market price.
The stocks are listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities a corporation or mutual organization specialized in the business of bringing buyers and sellers of stocks and securities together.

TRADING

Participants in the stock market range from small individual stock investors to large hedge fund traders, who can be based anywhere. Their orders usually end up with a professional at a stock exchange, who executes the order.
Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor, by a method known as open outcry. This type of auction is used in stock exchanges and commodity exchanges where traders may enter "verbal" bids and offers simultaneously. The other type of exchange is a virtual kind, composed of a network of computers where trades are made electronically via traders.
Actual trades are based on an auction market paradigm where a potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock and a potential seller asks a specific price for the stock. (Buying or selling at market means you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock, respectively.) When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place on a first come first served basis if there are multiple bidders or askers at a given price.
The purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a marketplace (virtual or real). The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities, facilitating price discovery.

HISTORY

Historian Fernand Braudel suggests that in Cairo in the 11th century Muslim and Jewish merchants had already set up every form of trade association and had knowledge of many methods of credit and payment, disproving the belief that these were invented later by Italians. In 12th century France the courratiers de change were concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks. Because these men also traded with debts, they could be called the first brokers. In late 13th century Bruges commodity traders gathered inside the house of a man called Van der Beurse, and in 1309 they became the "Brugse Beurse", institutionalizing what had been, until then, an informal meeting. The idea quickly spread around Flanders and neighboring counties and "Beurzen" soon opened in Ghent and Amsterdam.
In the middle of the 13th century Venetian bankers began to trade in government securities. In 1351 the Venetian government outlawed spreading rumors intended to lower the price of government funds. Bankers in Pisa, Verona, Genoa and Florence also began trading in government securities during the 14th century. This was only possible because these were independent city states not ruled by a duke but a council of influential citizens.
The Dutch later started joint stock companies, which let shareholders invest in business ventures and get a share of their profits - or losses. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued the first shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It was the first company to issue stocks and bonds. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (or Amsterdam Beurs) is also said to have been the first stock exchange to introduce continuous trade in the early 17th century. The Dutch "pioneered short selling, option trading, debt-equity swaps, merchant banking, unit trusts and other speculative instruments, much as we know them.
There are stock markets in virtually every developed and most developing economies, with the world's biggest markets being in the United States, Canada, China (Hongkong), India, UK, Germany, France and Japan .

Function and purpose


The stock market is one of the most important sources for companies to raise money. This allows businesses to be publicly traded, or raise additional capital for expansion by selling shares of ownership of the company in a public market. The liquidity that an exchange provides affords investors the ability to quickly and easily sell securities. This is an attractive feature of investing in stocks, compared to other less liquid investments such as real estate.
History has shown that the price of shares and other assets is an important part of the dynamics of economic activity, and can influence or be an indicator of social mood. Rising share prices, for instance, tend to be associated with increased business investment and vice versa. Share prices also affect the wealth of households and their consumption. Therefore, central banks tend to keep an eye on the control and behavior of the stock market and, in general, on the smooth operation of financial system functions. Financial stability is the raison d'ĂȘtre of central banks.
Exchanges also act as the clearinghouse for each transaction, meaning that they collect and deliver the shares, and guarantee payment to the seller of a security. This eliminates the risk to an individual buyer or seller that the counterparty could default on the transaction.
The smooth functioning of all these activities facilitates economic growth in that lower costs and enterprise risks promote the production of goods and services as well as employment. In this way the financial system contributes to increased prosperity.

Unpredictable

The stock market, as any other business, is quite unforgiving of amateurs. Inexperienced investors rarely get the assistance and support they need.
Sometimes the market tends to react irrationally to economic news, even if that news has no real effect on the technical value of securities itself. Therefore, the stock market can be swayed tremendously in either direction by press releases, rumors, euphoria and mass panic.

Over the short-term, stocks and other securities can be battered or buoyed by any number of fast market-changing events, making the stock market difficult to predict.
some research has shown that changes in estimated risk, and the use of certain strategies, such as stop-loss limits and Value at Risk limits, theoretically could cause financial markets to overreact.
Other research has shown that psychological factors may result in exaggerated stock price movements. Psychological research has demonstrated that people are predisposed to 'seeing' patterns, and often will perceive a pattern in what is, in fact, just noise. (Something like seeing familiar shapes in clouds or ink blots.) In the present context this means that a succession of good news items about a company may lead investors to overreact positively (unjustifiably driving the price up). A period of good returns also boosts the investor's self-confidence, reducing his (psychological) risk threshold.
Another phenomenon—also from psychology—that works against an objective assessment is group thinking. As social animals, it is not easy to stick to an opinion that differs markedly from that of a majority of the group. An example with which one may be familiar is the reluctance to enter a restaurant that is empty; people generally prefer to have their opinion validated by those of others in the group.
In normal times the market behaves like a game of roulette; the probabilities are known and largely independent of the investment decisions of the different players. In times of market stress, however, the game becomes more like poker (herding behavior takes over). The players now must give heavy weight to the psychology of other investors and how they are likely to react psychologically.


STOCK MARKET CRASH


A stock market crash is often defined as a sharp dip in share prices of equities listed on the stock exchanges. In parallel with various economic factors, a reason for stock market crashes is also due to panic. Often, stock market crashes end up with speculative economic bubbles. There have been famous stock market crashes that have ended in the loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on a massive scale. An increasing number of people are involved in the stock market, especially since the social security and retirement plans are being increasingly privatized and linked to stocks and bonds and other elements of the market. There have been a number of famous stock market crashes like the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the stock market crash of 1973–4, the Black Monday of 1987, the Dot-com bubble of 2000. But those stock market crashes did not begin in 1929, or 1987. They actually started years or months before the crash really hit hard.
One of the most famous stock market crashes started October 24, 1929 on Black Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial lost 50% during this stock market crash. It was the beginning of the Great Depression. Another famous crash took place on October 19, 1987 – Black Monday. On Black Monday itself, the Dow Jones fell by 22.6% after completing a 5 year continuous rise in share prices. This event not only shook the USA, but quickly spread across the world. Thus, by the end of October, stock exchanges in Australia lost 41.8%, Canada lost 22.5%, Hong Kong lost 45.8% and Great Britain lost 26.4%. Names “Black Monday” and “Black Tuesday” are also used for October 28-29,1929, which followed Terrible Thursday – starting day of the stock market crash in 1929. The crash in 1987 raised some mysticism – main news or events did not predict the catastrophe and visible reasons for the collapse were not identified. This event had put many important assumptions, of modern economics, under uncertainty, namely, the theory of rational conduct of human being, the theory of market equilibrium and the hypothesis of market efficiency. For some time after the crash, trading in stock exchanges worldwide was halted, since the exchange's computers did not perform well owing to enormous quantity of trades being received at one time. This halt in trading allowed the Federal Reserve system and central banks of other countries to take measures to control the spreading of worldwide financial crisis. In the United States the SEC introduced several new measures of control into the stock market in an attempt to prevent a re-occurrence of the events of Black Monday. Computer systems were upgraded in the stock exchanges to handle larger trading volumes in a more accurate and controlled manner. The SEC modified the margin requirements in an attempt to lower the volatility of common stocks, stock options and the futures market. The New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange introduced the concept of a circuit breaker. The circuit breaker halts trading if the Dow declines a prescribed number of points for a prescribed amount of time.

Stock market index

The movements of the prices in a market or section of a market are captured in price indices called stock market indices, of which there are many, e.g., the S&P, the FTSE, Euronext,NSE,BSE…. indices. Such indices are usually market capitalization (the total market value of floating capital of the company) weighted, with the weights reflecting the contribution of the stock to the index. The constituents of the index are reviewed frequently to include/exclude stocks in order to reflect the changing business environment.

Derivative Instruments

Financial innovation has brought many new financial instruments whose pay-offs or values depend on the prices of stocks. Some examples are exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stock index and stock options, equity swaps, single-stock futures, and stock index futures. These last two may be traded on futures exchanges (which are distinct from stock exchanges—their history traces back to commodities futures exchanges), or traded over-the-counter. As all of these products are only derived from stocks, they are sometimes considered to be traded in a (hypothetical) derivatives market, rather than the (hypothetical) stock market.

Leveraged strategies

Stock that a trader does not actually own may be traded using short selling; margin buying may be used to purchase stock with borrowed funds; or, derivatives may be used to control large blocks of stocks for a much smaller amount of money than would be required by outright purchase or sale.

Short selling

In short selling, the trader borrows stock (usually from his brokerage which holds its clients' shares or its own shares on account to lend to short sellers) then sells it on the market, hoping for the price to fall. The trader eventually buys back the stock, making money if the price fell in the meantime or losing money if it rose. Exiting a short position by buying back the stock is called "covering a short position." This strategy may also be used by unscrupulous traders to artificially lower the price of a stock. Hence most markets either prevent short selling or place restrictions on when and how a short sale can occur. The practice of naked shorting is illegal in most (but not all) stock markets.

Margin buying

In margin buying, the trader borrows money (at interest) to buy a stock and hopes for it to rise. Most industrialized countries have regulations that require that if the borrowing is based on collateral from other stocks the trader owns outright, it can be a maximum of a certain percentage of those other stocks' value. In the United States, the margin requirements have been 50% for many years (that is, if you want to make a $1000 investment, you need to put up $500, and there is often a maintenance margin below the $500). A margin call is made if the total value of the investor's account cannot support the loss of the trade. (Upon a decline in the value of the margined securities additional funds may be required to maintain the account's equity, and with or without notice the margined security or any others within the account may be sold by the brokerage to protect its loan position. The investor is responsible for any shortfall following such forced sales.) Regulation of margin requirements (by the Federal Reserve) was implemented after the Crash of 1929. Before that, speculators typically only needed to put up as little as 10 percent (or even less) of the total investment represented by the stocks purchased. Other rules may include the prohibition of free-riding: putting in an order to buy stocks without paying initially (there is normally a three-day grace period for delivery of the stock), but then selling them (before the three-days are up) and using part of the proceeds to make the original payment (assuming that the value of the stocks has not declined in the interim).


Investment strategies


One of the many things people always want to know about the stock market is, "How do I make money investing?" There are many different approaches; two basic methods are classified as either fundamental analysis or technical analysis. Fundamental analysis refers to analyzing companies by their financial statements found in SEC Filings, business trends, general economic conditions, etc. Technical analysis studies price actions in markets through the use of charts and quantitative techniques to attempt to forecast price trends regardless of the company's financial prospects. One example of a technical strategy is the Trend following method, used by John W. Henry and Ed Seykota, which uses price patterns, utilizes strict money management and is also rooted in risk control and diversification.
Additionally, many choose to invest via the index method. In this method, one holds a weighted or unweighted portfolio consisting of the entire stock market or some segment of the stock market (such as the S&P 500 or Wilshire 5000). The principal aim of this strategy is to maximize diversification, minimize taxes from too frequent trading, and ride the general trend of the stock market (which, in the U.S., has averaged nearly 10%/year, compounded annually, since World War II).

Taxation

According to each national or state legislation, a large array of fiscal obligations must be respected regarding capital gains, and taxes are charged by the state over the transactions, dividends and capital gains on the stock market, in particular in the stock exchanges. However, these fiscal obligations may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction because, among other reasons, it could be assumed that taxation is already incorporated into the stock price through the different taxes companies pay to the state, or that tax free stock market operations are useful to boost economic growth.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Short term traders could book the profit

As I had recommended some stocks to buy on pure technical grounds earlier..these stocks have moved in desired direction and given more than 15 to 20% returns.I would like to congratulate those traders who followed my advise and suggest the short term traders to book the profits.

Stocks---- on the date of the recommendation(1 july 2008)

1.GMR Infra- 80.75
2.TEIL - 66.80
3.RNRL - 58.75
4.JPHydro - 40.00
5.JPassociate- 134.85
6. BHEL - 1356.10
7.RPower- 127.55


Stocks------today closing price

1.GMR Infra- 91.25
2.TEIL - 89.10
3.RNRL - 72.35
4.JPHydro - 49.05
5.JPassociate- 173.20
6. BHEL - 1572.05
7.RPower- 148.35

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Technical Analysis

A method of evaluating securities by analyzing statistics generated by market activity, such as past prices and volume.As it is said-history does repeat itself. Technical analysts do not attempt to measure a security's intrinsic value, but instead use charts and other tools to identify patterns that can suggest future activity.

Technical analysts believe that the historical performance of stocks and markets are indications of future performance.

In a shopping mall, a fundamental analyst would go to each store, study the product that was being sold, and then decide whether to buy it or not. By contrast, a technical analyst would sit on a bench in the mall and watch people go into the stores. Disregarding the intrinsic value of the products in the store, his or her decision would be based on the patterns or activity of people going into each store.

From now onwards, I will provide you some information regarding the technical analysis, so you can choose the right stocks yourself to profit handsomly.

Fundamental Analysis

A method of evaluating a security by attempting to measure its intrinsic value by examining related economic, financial and other qualitative and quantitative factors. Fundamental analysts attempt to study everything that can affect the security's value, including macroeconomic factors (like the overall economy and industry conditions) and individually specific factors (like the financial condition and management of companies).

The end goal of performing fundamental analysis is to produce a value that an investor can compare with the security's current price in hopes of figuring out what sort of position to take with that security (underpriced = buy, overpriced = sell or short).

This method of security analysis is considered to be the opposite of technical analysis.


Fundamental analysis is about using real data to evaluate a security's value. Although most analysts use fundamental analysis to value stocks, this method of valuation can be used for just about any type of security.

For example, an investor can perform fundamental analysis on a bond's value by looking at economic factors, such as interest rates and the overall state of the economy, and information about the bond issuer, such as potential changes in credit ratings. For assessing stocks, this method uses revenues, earnings, future growth, return on equity, profit margins and other data to determine a company's underlying value and potential for future growth. In terms of stocks, fundamental analysis focuses on the financial statements of a the company being evaluated.

Generally, P/E ratio,EPS,book value,asset of company....etc,these are compared with their peer groups.

One of the most famous and successful users of fundamental analysis is the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, who has been well known for successfully employing fundamental analysis to pick securities.Currently(july 2008),he is the richest person in the world according to the Forbes magazine.

Checkout the prices what I recommended to buy yesterday

Stocks---- Yesterday closing price

1.GMR Infra- 80.75
2.TEIL - 66.80
3.RNRL - 58.75
4.JPHydro - 40.00
5.JPassociate- 134.85
6. BHEL - 1356.10
7.RPower- 127.55

Stocks---Today closing price


1.GMR Infra- 88.00
2.TEIL(Triveni)- 74.95
3.RNRL - 66.25
4.JPHydro - 44.00
5.JPassociate- 144.95
6.BHEL - 1423.00
7.RPower- 132.35

I will be very glad if anyone has been profited by my views.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The fear has gripped the market

Two main factors drive the market...The fear and the greed.I sense ,the fear will lead our indexes to my given levels very soon ,what i mentioned in my May blog,which are 3,500(nifty)and 11,000(sensex).
Today,nifty again closed in red at 3896.75(-3.56%)and sensex at 12.961.68(-3.71%).
As i have given the nifty support level near 3,500 zone,time has come to have a look on those stocks which are looking fairly good on the charts,as they are approaching the support levels.Just keep an eye on these stocks and accumulate it if they fall from current levels:

STOCKS CMP

1.GMR Infra- 80.7
2.TEIL - 66.80
3.RNRL - 58.75
4.JPHydro - 40.00
5.JPassociate- 134.85
6. BHEL - 1356.10

I will suggest to consider RPower as a good investment oppurtunity though it has nothing to do with the charts.