Sunday, August 2, 2009

up up and away

its quite scary to see how the index can soar up and up without stopping. at this juncture, i like to stay out and analyse the insanity that is going on. market psychology.

for the index to soar so high up, it must be that the listed companies are doing very well. probably having large cash flows and steadily increasing profits. or maybe securing future contracts that will attribute to future growth. however, i don't really think it is the case as of now. another reason would be over speculation, as i have mentioned before, taking the market for a wild ride.

at this moment, there are alot of buyers. investor confidence comes in and so does the buying. if there are so many buyers, who sells them? company can sell their shares that they may have bought back, making a profit on them and further driving the market up. short term traders holding positions for 3 days to a week may provide some liquidity for the buyers. all it needs is for the demand to get exhausted and the market will top.

but we can't really time that, so we just have to observe the market psychology for the time being. people are buying, so when will the buying stop. i know i'm being bearish on my viewpoint, but i feel that there might be some bumps along the way.

Monday, July 27, 2009

some updates

STI has broken above the resistance of 2420 and soared higher. currently, it is trading at 2576, apparently with nothing to stop its paths. just to take note of the consecutive 3 day rise of the index. coupled with a weak show in the US market may trigger a short term correction or reversal.

if we look at the broader perspective, we have to analyse the reason for such a huge move in the singapore equities market. as compared to the US markets, the singapore index has been progressively charging up higher, almost back up to 50% from peak to bottom, whereas the US markets (namely the S&P 500) is around about 35% back up. one way to look at it is that the asian markets in general are doing better in terms of picking up the debris since the meltdown occurred 12 hours away. however, there is a pressing problem of over speculation.

i was looking though some key statistics and indicators of the economy and found that the current economic climate is still shaky and gray. most key indicators point to a drop in figures which doesn't really tally with what the index is reflecting. my fear is that over speculation of share prices may be what that is driving the index up. in my opinion, one contributing factor to the over speculation would be the notion that the recovery is on the way. because of this over optimism, prices and value tend to deviate, and prices would soar way above value.

then again, i might be wrong. but i have this feeling that it is not all rosy as of yet because at this rate, the index would be up to pre-crash levels by the end of this year. i may be a cynic, but i hope for another slide so that i can go shopping once more.

Friday, July 17, 2009

more on bollinger

i've been using bollinger for a long time to trace out potential movement of stocks or indices. this is because bollinger takes into account volatility as well as moving averages.

for example: a couple of days ago, STI surged up many many points, over 70 plus points and closed there at its high. that broke the upper band of the bollinger band indicator. the next day, the index gapped up close to about 40 points, now you won't expect the index to surge up again don't you? thats pretty absurd. a good indication to short at that point would be when the index started to drop 5-10 points. good to short.

nonetheless, the prices are still above the band, so we may see a few more days of red. simple logic. the surge caused many short term investors to cash in on their positions. selling pressure builds. short sellers then take over to further facilitate the liquidity of the transactions, pushing prices lower.

i don't know how far it'll drop. but my guess is that if it goes low, first point to look at is 2300. not that low, i know.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

nice

i've been waiting for the S&P500 to drop. and finally it did! it was looming around the 926-928 levels for a couple of days. i knew it was impossible for it to go up any higher. i guess i was right. watch out for 892.

Monday, June 29, 2009

what's next?

in the next few days, expect some sideways action in the market. looking at the STI, it is possible that it may move back up to 2330, to where the last support turned resistance was. alternatively, watch out for tomorrow's trading action. a bearish move would signal a further downwards move to levels of about back to 2220. currently STI on my chart hit its 20 EMA, and closed down.

if it goes red, go for it.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

how accurate

as perfect as it may seem, 2210 was really the support level i have pointed out. intraday levels was established. STI closed at 2226 today. we can expect 2210 to be tested again tomorrow, and it should head for the next support level once this level is broken.

enjoy :)

Monday, June 22, 2009

major exhaustion

today was a perfect example of exhaustion. initial gap up in the STI triggered intra day selling, which followed by a flurry of buying. from then on, STI began tumbling to close about 17 points below its opening. what does this mean?

the resistance was perfectly establish, intraday, at around 2303, a little short of my initial estimates of 2310. nonetheless, we can expect to see a further down move on the STI in the coming days. this is starting to get purely exciting. of course, there is always a possibility of the market going back up. just keep that trigger on the short side and look for potential selling signals.

july will be a trying month for equities. we may see a further retracement from the peak of 2400 not only to 2200, but even lower. that will be established later.

now why is this so? like i've mentioned before, the rally cannot last. when the fundamentals of the companies are still weak and posting losses, it is not possible for STI to keep charging upwards. now we will see the equities market moving back to value.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

what can we expect?

based on the daily chart of STI with a 20 day bollinger band applied, the support was established prematurely at 2237. STI closed last friday around about 2270, which gives us a handsome profit of at least 130 points on the STI on the short side. those who were apt to notice the support levels like i've mentioned would have taken at most about 170 points on the short side from 2400. but where do we go from here?

firstly, the 27 day EMA is definitely going flat, possibly indicating a turnaround. we need to verify the downtrend when the 10 day EMA cuts it. STI may hover around this values for the days to come. however, if STI reacts correctly, we can see another day or two of green. possibly look out for exhaustion on the second day, a 2 day rise followed by gapping up and closing down. that should be at levels of around 2310 or so. from there we would need to establish the next targeted support level through the bollinger bands, possibly testing the 2237 support again. we would need the 20 day EMA to turn to establish out next target.

in the mean time, for longer term investors, it sure is a good time to sweep the floor for some bargains. of course, bit by bit :)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

updates so far, and so far so good

first resistance to watch out for STI would be around 2200. just to take note, 10EMA cutting down 20EMA.

bolinger band is a good tool to use to determine correction points in a trending market. however, i prefer using envelopes over bolinger bands as bolinger bands tends to stretch once the market gets volatile.

anyways, the market today closed above its opening. a sign to watch out. this may slow down the decline or even reverse it. it is anyone's guess. but in my opinion, the reason for strong buying pressure today would be due to eager buyers buying at a weak support at 2265, and short term traders covering their short positions. we may not see another super slide unless something critical hits the financial scene. however, if the market still wavers, then some slight medium term profit taking may set it, coupled with short sellers driving the market down to further its correction.

just a note, the equity market as seen great gains for the past few months, and the correction is highly likely. however, with the underlying economy still being bruised, share prices will most likely readjust itself back to its underlying value.

Monday, June 15, 2009

round top

a few signs that i look for from the STI graph.

1) round top signalling slowing of upwards momentum.

2) failure to break 2420 resistance level.

3) breaking of the 2330 support level, and subsequently, breaking on the 10 day EMA.

some patterns i observed on the STI. there is always a retracement just above the 61.8% mark on the fibonacci retracement levels. this applies to the upwards move on 9 march, 1 april, 30 april, and 18 may. currently, the STI is hovering at a critical level where it always retraces to. what do we have to look out for?

firstly, tomorrow's trading bias. a further down move below opening and a move to the 61.8% retracement line would signal a short. this would also mean that it would be a short if the 20 day EMA is broken.

levels to look out for: the lowest that i set would be around 2100 (the support level on 18 may), 2190 to 2200 is a possible support level. keep a watch on how STI behaves.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

macroeconomic analysis

i don't usually do fundamental analysis but i guess its good to analyse the underlying factors at what drives the markets once in a while. i'll be giving my opinions on the happenings around the world, and the possible outcome in the near future. for those who are unsure about investment opportunities, maybe it would be worth a read.

1) monetary policy in the US
central bank is increasing money supply, eventually, prices are going to increase due to inflation. however, the effects of inflation are not yet seen, or are not that drastic as of yet. inflation may be imminent, if the monetary policy keeps up.

2) shift of government investments
other governments around the world are aware of this situation and are pulling part of their investments out of the US treasury bonds. this is because the US dollar value has slid more than 11% compared to other currencies. bonds are essentially affected by currency values. as a result, they will have to invest in other instruments to ensure that part of their US investments in the US treasury bonds are hedged against the currency slide. instruments we are looking at are mainly commodities.

3) why commodities
commodities are priced in US dollar, and if inflation does set in, the value of the US dollar is going to slide further. as a result, the prices of commodities has to go up, hence a good hedging tool. besides, countries like china (a rising power) will want to acquire resources that they control so that they can be self reliant. with their recent purchase attempts, it shows that china has been strategically investing in its future growth.

4) where is the potential
the potential is definitely in commodities, as well as crude oil. the demand for oil will begin to increase once the economic crisis is over, and speculators are already pushing prices up bit by bit. i guess they are pretty much looking to push it up to $80 per barrell, and possibly $100. also, the potential also lies in asian economies, mainly hong kong, china, india, probably singapore.the money flow is now coming to the east asian region, so it is a good location for an investment.

there are still other factors that points to why we should look into these areas. definitely, when the recovery comes in around 4 years or so, the market leaders will definitely come from asia, and most likely, china.

for more investment opportunities, feel free to contact me :: es_mc2@hotmail.com

Thursday, June 11, 2009

success

STI yesterday triggered a long signal with an upwards hammer on the 10 EMA. the positive close today finished a 3 day bullish candlestick pattern. other indicators such as RSI and stochastic confirms the upwards move. target still remains at 2480. other than that, just watch if the market starts to go crazy. nothing is 100% sure, except if it had already happened.

Monday, June 8, 2009

bearish engulfing

huge pullback on STI today as the market plunged over 60 points. currently, STI is at its 10 EMA and indicators are pointing down. lets do some analysis. current trend: uptrend because 10 EMA is still above 27 EMA (my own indication). from the past few weeks, STI has bounced up from 10 EMA up to the upper limit of the 20 EMA envelope, hence there is a possibility of the uptrend continuing and the STI to reach further up. alternatively, bearish engulfing could indicate a further downwards move, so be weary.

if a downside is to be seen, 2285 will be the mark. as for upside, hard to say, probably 2480. all depends on tomorrow's opening and how the market progresses within 10-20 minutes. that should give some direction.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

indication?

just an indication when the S&P closes in the opposite direction of the DOW. yesterday S&P closed in the red while the DOW closed in the green. however, both closed below their respective opens. but with the S&P being a broader indicator of US stocks, we can roughly pick out some signs that may tell us something. further down move may be seen, contrary to my bullish stint on the STI.

just have to watch out as STI may be shaky on the upside on monday, and from tuesday onwards it should be clearer.

Friday, June 5, 2009

updates on STI

been awhile since i've posted any updates. as before, STI did break out from the wedge and is staying up. it has been on an upwards charge, bouncing off 10 EMA and back up again. from what i can see, next week should see a further upwards move if STI is able to maintain its momentum. another 100 points perhaps? my guess is 2480. it could be anybody's guess. let's just watch.

nothing else i can say except for go with the flow. if the market says up, we go up. we will have to wait for a possible retracement. possible. just watch for it.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

i see red

based on charting, anyone can point out that STI is creating an ascending flag or upwards wedging, maybe poised for a breakout. important level to watch is 2285. however, today proved to be a down day as it tried to reach the high of 2285. i believe that there will be a few more down days after today since the charge has lost its momentum.

areit is showing a short but the perfect entry would be on monday. just need to watch out for a slight pullback after 4 days in the red. short on strength, 10/27 EMA showing that areit is starting to downtrend. target at 1.23. if its still downtrending, enter a short back at 10-day EMA. stochastic crossover will confirm movement.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

reversal at peak

time to share some trading views. it's been awhile since i've put up anything, so lemme just get the ball rolling again.

with STI closing in the red today, the daily chart for the past 2 weeks nicely shows a double top formation. other indicators may confirm the reversal with stochastic cutting its signal and RSI showing a bearish divergence. why i would say that this might be a potential reversal? simple. the market failed to break its previous high of 2285, created a peak and sank. RSI shows a weakening momentum, indicating weakness in the upwards movement. we could see STI moving to 1990, which is a 50% retracement from the start of the up move. important level to watch is the 2132 support, in which a move below this could signal the retracement or reversal.

i was long on AREIT a few days back, showing a nice upwards hammer with a stochastic cut. RSI also shows a positive divergence and the stock was on a steady uptrend. however, it started acting weird with 2 days hovering around its open, indicating that it has lost abit of steam. so i guess it was right to pull out. the stock closed at 1.36 today, not a very good sign. i'm not turning short on this stock just yet although 10EMA has already cut 20EMA. worth waiting a little bit more.

i always loved looking at capitaland when trading volume is high. today it made a reverse hammer, hanging... short signal? maybe, but i would prefer it to gap up in the sky, at least showing me a shooting star. other indicators such as stochastic and RSI showing that a downwards move is imminent. a slight bearish divergence on the RSI that i would not discount, but its worth looking. capitaland would be a good short, just look out for 3.33 and 3.13 support levels.

i was so stupid

i decided to clean out my cupboard. i just got 7 to 9 new t-shirts and a couple of shorts so i decided to tear up my wardrobe. i dragged out a pile of clothes neatly folded and well, i came across an old paperbag. my heart sank. it was the one she was looking for. there was a diary inside, and i thought to myself, better not read it. like she said, it might "reopen old wounds that have been painfully stitched". i have a knack of not listening to anyone so i went ahead and read, looking for specific dates in the diary.

i was scarred, and angry.

i guess i had no name back then. i was kept a secret, a dark secret affair that could never be made public. i was like a toy that you kept in your closet, a source of comfort in your loneliest days but it would also make you feel guilty because i was supposed to be kept a secret. honestly i hated this and for many years i've endured.

there was no mention of me.

none at all.

what am i to you? what was i to you? seriously, what was i to you?

i hope you are reading this. i'm just sharing with you the pain. the blood never stopped flowing. there are still shards lodged within this aching heart.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

another great day

yes it was another great day. it was cloudy and cold, just the way i like it. it helps me think clearly. it helps me remember. but it never helps me forget.

funny how i define a great day to be one where it is all dark and gloomy, where i simply have time to myself and do nothing. since when have i been this way? funny, i don't remember. now the only thing missing is the last string on my guitar. i really should get a new set of strings. i wish there was an online shopping site where they would deliver the guitar strings right to my doorstep. maybe there is...

well anyways i'm torn between ghs bright bronze contact core, ghs vintage bronze and ghs silk and bronze. i'm not a fan of sounds that are too warm and mellow, i'm gunning for sounds that are brighter, slightly warm is fine, as well as crispy, giving that tone suitable for studio recording. if you do have any inputs i'd like to hear them out. currently i'm using bright bronze contact core strings, and they do provide great sustain and a full and rich tone. i might want to try something different.

sadly, its not longer raining now. i wish it would continue throughout the night. no i'm not being emo, i thrive in the dark and i have a dark dark life. and exams are next week and the week after, i'm expecting myself not being able to breathe for awhile, but once that is over it is going to be a long long break that we all truly deserve.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

are we really going short?

the markets have been on a rampage since a number of weeks back. it has been up, up and up. but is there any reason behind this? i have no clue. but lets just look at some of the factors and you make your own call, and tell me have you ever seen a bear charging up.

economic conditions in general hasn't been all good. positive news have been sporadic, adding fuel to the rally. the current climate still looks very dark and gloomy, and there isn't really a light at the end of the tunnel. not anytime soon. but why this strong upwards move?

my best guess to this question would simply be human rational/irrational behaviour. once the low was touched again, it formed a double bottom pattern, and bargain hunter scooped huge baskets of stocks and keep them in their portfolio. herd mentality led others to do the same as his neighbour or the shoe shine boy. the huge wave in buying led to an increase in momentum in buying pressure, a wave that swept short sellers by surprise, forcing them to cover their positions at either a loss or a reduced profit, spurring the rally. like pouring fuel to a fire.

as a result, the market gives a false sense of impression that businesses are picking up, the market has waded the storm floods and the sun is back up again. people are in a positive mood.

then as we look at the next critical resistance, the highest high since the lowest low was touched, this is where short sellers are lying wait. the wait for the next sign that the momentum has died, and the frenzy of buying will lead to the next wave of manic selling.

today the market turned, whether that is an indication or not, i can't say for sure. it might just be a consolidation. but all i can say is that if you expect the stock market to pick up, stop and rethink.

the next wave will come, and its going to be down.