# FTSE Equity Trading



## VSntchr (29 September 2016)

Starting a thread to see if there is much interest on the forum for postings regarding LSE listed equities.

This first post will detail some of the initial research I have done to see what is available in the way of tools/platforms. 

*Brokers*
Fortunately the UK is a CFD friendly market, with many of the popular brokers providing execution for the LSE with commissions starting at 10bps. This is a little more than the ASX which generally ranges from 6-10bp, however is not a deal breaker. I have started my foray by getting my brokers to activate Level 2 data for LSE. 

*Data*
For data I have seen that EODdata seems to cover the LSE. It's a pitty that Norgate (Premium Data) doesn't cover this market because their ASX offering is brilliant. 

*Charting Software*
Regarding software to run EOD scans etc, I will be using the same program that I use for the ASX, which is Fcharts. Fcharts should be able to import data from EODdata. 

*Platforms*
I have also begun researching platforms for newsfeeds, charting etc as webIress doesn't appear to offer appropriate newsfeeds for this market. So far I have found the following:
Quotestream - Looks like it ticks the boxes regarding newsfeeds, live charting and company announcements etc. Does look a little dated, but is cheap at ~$45/m plus exchange costs.
eSignal  - Has a number of packages available with the most popular at $145/m. With the increased price comes a much smoother look. Not sure exactly how the product works with LSE or ASX as it is US based so need to have a further look.

If anyone has experience with any of the above or others please feel free to contribute to the thread.


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## kid hustlr (29 September 2016)

Cool idea.

Nothing to add at this stage but perhaps you could go into detail about what you are doing? hold time frame? reasons for buy/sell? goals?

etc.


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## Gringotts Bank (29 September 2016)

I should look at doing the same.  Snatch, do you have a ticker list you could post up please?

nvm... found here.  http://eoddata.com/symbols.aspx


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## VSntchr (29 September 2016)

kid hustlr said:


> Cool idea.
> 
> Nothing to add at this stage but perhaps you could go into detail about what you are doing? hold time frame? reasons for buy/sell? goals?
> 
> etc.



At this stage I plan to investigate everything that I'm doing on the ASX.
Pairs, event arb, intraday trading, momentum, reversals etc. 
Time frames are mixed upon the activity from:
- intraday for news flow trading
- 15 days max in a pair 
- a couple of months in a momentum trade

Reasons for buy/sell will be as per the individual strategy. I may post some trades of a few different strategies to try and document the process of attempting to take working processes into a new market. 

Main goal will be to wean myself away from relying on the ASX to generate my trading income. Based on the timezone I'll be trading from in a few weeks - the ASX hours will be quite 'graveyardish' and will likely be a strong motivator to succeed


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## skc (29 September 2016)

VSntchr said:


> Main goal will be to wean myself away from relying on the ASX to generate my trading income. Based on the timezone I'll be trading from in a few weeks - the ASX hours will be quite 'graveyardish' and will likely be a strong motivator to succeed




So all happening finally?!

Anyway... have you looked at Interactive Broker? You can open an account in Australia and trade the FTSE all you like, using $AUD as local currency if you wish.

With CFD/spreadbetting, IG operates in Australia and UK. Again, you won't have any problems with accessing UK stocks.


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## VSntchr (30 September 2016)

skc said:


> So all happening finally?!
> 
> Anyway... have you looked at Interactive Broker? You can open an account in Australia and trade the FTSE all you like, using $AUD as local currency if you wish.
> 
> With CFD/spreadbetting, IG operates in Australia and UK. Again, you won't have any problems with accessing UK stocks.



Yep! Visa got approved this morning so it's all in fast motion now.

Thanks for the reminder about IB. I hadn't looked at them for a while given the thread on ASF about no margin for Aussies - which is obv very important to be able to trade and trade borrow etc. The overall platform looks fantastic with good charting, good commission rates and looks like it has all the news feeds available. I'll get in contact with them and see if it's feasible.
Did look at IG but I've got a better deal with FP and Invast for CFD.


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## CanOz (30 September 2016)

VSntchr said:


> Yep! Visa got approved this morning so it's all in fast motion now.




Congrats on the visa mate, go get 'em!


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## peter2 (30 September 2016)

Looking forward to your comments re LSE in this thread. 

ps: LSE stocks are quoted in pence. Worth remembering when you position size.


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## VSntchr (30 September 2016)

VSntchr said:


> I'll get in contact with them and see if it's feasible.



So IB doesn't have level 2 depth for LSE 
They do have a full global equities news package for company announcements etc though at US$75/m.



CanOz said:


> Congrats on the visa mate, go get 'em!






peter2 said:


> Looking forward to your comments re LSE in this thread.
> 
> ps: LSE stocks are quoted in pence. Worth remembering when you position size.



Thanks guys. 
Will have to drill that deep into my brain!


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## skyQuake (30 September 2016)

LSE will open at 6pm nxt week instead of 5pm.
Then week after it will be 7pm.

Biggest thing to watch out for is the stamp duty on trades (50bp on buy). Get yourself a CFD provider or trade via swaps. ETFs and some ADRs/GDRs are exempt


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## skc (30 September 2016)

skyQuake said:


> Biggest thing to watch out for is the stamp duty on trades (*50bp on buy*).




What?! That's like my net profit margin!


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## skyQuake (30 September 2016)

skc said:


> What?! That's like my net profit margin!




Just short sell stocks that go to 0! That way u'll never pay stamp


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## skc (30 September 2016)

skyQuake said:


> Just short sell stocks that go to 0! That way u'll never pay stamp




Lol... I am not sure I can make a living from that strategy alone.

Actually, I just read a piece recently saying that no shorts want to hold a stock 'till death. The shorts actually have to somehow borrow stock with permission from the administrator so they can return the zero-valued stocks to the original lender.

Kind of explains why many stocks have a spike just before they go belly up.


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## VSntchr (12 October 2016)

After testing out eSignal, I quickly realised that it isn't very useful for the LSE. 
All their best features are reserved for the US market, for example: intraday scanning, hotlists. Only level 1 data avail too.

Since then I have been investigating ShareScope Pro. It's a UK owned and LSE focused platform that looks pretty comprehensive. Provides everything required so might be the correct choice.  

I have been watching a little bit of the newsflow this week in preparation for getting to know some of the companies and sectors in play.


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## peter2 (26 October 2016)

Just dropped to say cheers. 

Nice little BO happening in *SDR*.xlon. I have no idea what they do, but I like the chart.


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## peter2 (26 October 2016)

Another great chart. This time it's HSBC. I think you'll have no trouble trading the UK market.


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## Huskar (11 November 2016)

Congrats on the move VS!

I enjoy following the LSE also - there are a couple of very interesting stocks and I am quite bullish generally on UK despite (or even because of) Brexit. 

My strategy is more long term than yours but from some of your other posts you have made some top calls on a number of value plays so we cross over a bit 

In particular I like some of those businesses that essentially replicate what has been done in Australia already - just on a much larger scale. For example, Rightmove and Autotrader - cf REA and Carsales.com. Australia funnily enough was a first mover in some of these network effect type businesses where winner takes pretty much all. And once entrenched they are very hard to displace. 

Also some interesting small caps around..


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## VSntchr (3 December 2016)

peter2 said:


> Just dropped to say cheers.
> Nice little BO happening in *SDR*.xlon. I have no idea what they do, but I like the chart.
> ]






peter2 said:


> Another great chart. This time it's HSBC. I think you'll have no trouble trading the UK market.



Nice charts there Pete, appreciate you popping in with a contribution!
I didn't even see these posts until now, admittedly my thread has been in idle mode while I have adjusted to the new country. 
6 weeks in and only yesterday have I had internet installed. So far I've been using mobile data, which is sufficiently fast but obviously an expensive option which had me limiting my usage. 
With this new "fibra optica" that I have just had installed, I am putting the NBN to shame: 300mb/s up and down.  

With the help of my new platform "Sharescope Pro" I hope to start posting a few BO setups next week. 
I am executing with my Australian CFD providers who are currently charging me 10bp - not the best, but at least I don't have to worry about stamp duty etc. 



Huskar said:


> Congrats on the move VS!
> 
> I enjoy following the LSE also - there are a couple of very interesting stocks and I am quite bullish generally on UK despite (or even because of) Brexit.
> 
> ...




Hi Huskar, 
Thanks for popping in. I am certainly just as interested in business analysis as I am short term trading, so feel free to add anything relating to value investing, bus analysis or whatever you wish on LSE stocks within the thread. 

Funny you mention Autotrader, it's one of the initial companies that I have included within my pairs trading universe. 
While it may not seem like much, just hearing a few of these names that I see on the platforms being mentioned on the forum is a great help - it starts to build a web of relevant companies and begins the knowledge acquisition process. SKC is the master of this for the ASX and after doing my best for a couple of years, I know that it's a slow process but it snowballs overtime.


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## VSntchr (3 December 2016)

Put on my first LSE pairs trade yesterday.

There is some really nice ratio charts on this market and profit targets are a bit fatter than what I have been seeing on the ASX over the past 12 months. 
While the trade below isn't a perfect example, the spread widened at an opportune time for my entry.
Long  WG.LSE (Wood Group)  - 833p
Short TLW.LSE (Tullow Oil)     - 317.2p



At this stage I know little about both companies, but a quick eyeball at some fundamental data, stock news calendars etc shows that there should be a clear path for the expected trade timeframe (20 days or less). At this early stage I am relying more on backtesting than I would like to - this pair screens quite well:


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## VSntchr (8 December 2016)

VSntchr said:


> Long  WG.LSE (Wood Group)  - 833p
> Short TLW.LSE (Tullow Oil)     - 317.2p



Closed this pair today 
Sold  WG.LSE (Wood Group)  - 827.5p
Covered TLW.LSE (Tullow Oil) - 305p

Profit of ~3.1% less 40bp total brokerage. Had a target of 1.7% so pretty happy to get a nice trade away right off the bat. 
I discovered that TLW is certainly the most volatile oil stock that I have in my sector list, which includes:
RDSB, BP, WG, TLW, PFC, AMFW, CNE, HTG (sorted by mcap). Future pairs involving TLW will be sized accordingly (as this trade was) to its volatility.


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## peter2 (13 December 2016)

Hello VSntchr,  good to see you around the forum (even if it's during the UK session). I have to say that the UK session is my favourite time of day to pick a trade. Nice result on WG/TLW even though both fell. 

Looks like the FTSE is stuck in a range like the ASX. Have you considered trading the major futures markets?


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## VSntchr (14 December 2016)

Legging into TSCO / MRW today. 
Was some industry news on market share but numbers not overly significant and did show small gains to TSCO and losses to MRW. 
TSCO avg 206.52 / MRW avg 226.21

Also entered BDEV / MCS yesterday and am in the depth to close prematurely at 70% of my 2.1% target. I tend to take 70% of the target if its offered to me within 2 days. This helps to keep a strong win-rate and move on for the next trade, obviously the trade-off is potentially leaving a bit on the table. 

So far I am finding opportunities across multiple sectors with trades being placed in: oilers, food & grocers, home builders. I have other sectors within the database that look promising including: media, construction, food & drug, utilities, apparel, defence, chemicals.


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## VSntchr (14 December 2016)

peter2 said:


> Hello VSntchr,  good to see you around the forum (even if it's during the UK session). I have to say that the UK session is my favourite time of day to pick a trade. Nice result on WG/TLW even though both fell.
> 
> Looks like the FTSE is stuck in a range like the ASX. Have you considered trading the major futures markets?



Thanks 
I have often thought about futures, but haven't really given it a proper go. 
I once had a play around with some index cfd products on the FTSE, DAX and ASX cash markets, but concluded at the time I didn't really have an edge and found myself lacking discipline on both entries and (especially) exits. 

Most of my edge (in my mind) comes from building up a database of knowledge on tradeable securities and then using that to my advantage when (if) these stocks come 'in-play'. This is why I have started out with pairs on the LSE as I believe it is a fantastic way to develop the knowledge of the stocks and sectors. 

Is the UK session your favourite due to your own timezone? Or due to market characteristics?


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## VSntchr (14 December 2016)

Quick note: The LSE has a 2min close at 12pm every day. It allows an auction process for market participants to clear orders. Haven't really utilised it yet, but I can see it being useful to get fills on my pairs legs.

Entered L CCH 1619.5 / S DGE 2057.5


Also entered L ERM 1069 / S ITV 193.4
Pretty nice target here, keeping size at half of usual given there is a trend in the ratio curve and obviously bigger targets mean the pair can whip around a lot more. ERM is involved in publishing magazines, newsletters etc, while ITV owns a commercial TV network - not perfectly business correlated but the sector correlation is enough for my short term position.


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## VSntchr (8 January 2017)

Bit of an update here.
Haven't had much action on the LSE since last post due to the XMAS break. 
Managed to close CCH 1653 /DGE 2057 pair for a profit of 2.19% over 1 day. 

The ERM / ITV trade was scratched for a small loss - I had an oversight here and missed the important fact that the daily volume in ERM is far too low to be holding in a pairs position. Very bad to let this get through as sufficient liquidity should be an initial check, glad I had the discipline to take the slippage and get out. 
I concluded that this error came about from trying to hard to fill the portfolio with pairs. I need to remind myself that learning a new stock universe will take time and it is OKAY to start slowly. 

New Trade: L ABF 2647 / S BVIC 588. Size 5%





ABF - Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with a focus on the sugar segment.
BVIC - Britvic is an international soft drink manufacturer and distributor with a portfolio of brands.

P.S In yet another problem I am having with PTF - the pair charts don't seem to update on the day that a trade signal is generated. For example, if a signal is generated on the 6th Jan - the ratio chart will only be updated until the 5th. I have emailed support and am awaiting a response.


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## McLovin (8 January 2017)

Hey VS

I may have missed something, but what was the reason for the move to trading UK stocks in the UK? Change of scenery or more opportunities or...?


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## VSntchr (8 January 2017)

McLovin said:


> Hey VS
> 
> I may have missed something, but what was the reason for the move to trading UK stocks in the UK? Change of scenery or more opportunities or...?



Hey mate
I am living abroad in Barcelona for a while (min 12 months). Still trading the ASX but attempting to transition some of my activity over to the UK. ASX opens here at midnight, so not overly desirable


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## McLovin (8 January 2017)

VSntchr said:


> Hey mate
> I am living abroad in Barcelona for a while (min 12 months). Still trading the ASX but attempting to transition some of my activity over to the UK. ASX opens here at midnight, so not overly desirable




Ah gotcha. Enjoy Barcelona and Spain, I could think of much worse places to spend a year or two.


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## MARKETWINNER (26 April 2017)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ft...ut-mining-stocks-hit-by-downgrades-2017-04-25


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