# US weekly equities trading



## Kryzz (15 October 2017)

Hi All

Have been focusing almost exclusively on US equities for the past few months, trading breakouts primarily off of the weekly timeframe, with some reversals. I haven't seen too much longer term US based trading on ASF recently, keen for some feedback accordingly as to where I can improve.

I'll try to update this thread every week or two and when I initiate/close positions. Approx $15k USD in an IB account so brokerage is negligible. Recent months has seen profits erode due to the rising AUD. Currently I'm not hedging this account.

Open positions listed below and some screenshots of trades taken.

Fingers crossed!


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## Wysiwyg (15 October 2017)

Was it only a dollar to buy that last parcel of 32 CVX shares because the difference in P&L from entry to present share price is 4.16 not including brokerage and you have 3.16 in the P&L column.
Very low brokerage if it is one dollar.


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## Kryzz (15 October 2017)

Wysiwyg said:


> Was it only a dollar to buy that last parcel of 32 CVX shares because the difference in P&L from entry to present share price is 4.16 not including brokerage and you have 3.16 in the P&L column.
> Very low brokerage if it is one dollar.




It was yeah, another appeal of trading the US markets. Commission drag almost non existent


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## Wysiwyg (15 October 2017)

Per share works out very inexpensive for higher priced stocks. Stock picks look good, thanks.


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## Kryzz (21 October 2017)

Stopped out of O last night for a small loss (-0.26R)

AAL & ACN looking the best of the bunch. Needing DLPH to turn around soon.


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## Kryzz (24 October 2017)

New long last night, initial entry slightly missed.


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## Kryzz (26 October 2017)

An interesting table I came across yesterday, wish I had been trading US equities for a lot longer (especially with the constant falls in the AUDUSD over the years too)!

Permabears still calling for a correction, will be ready to revert to cash if it does occur. Doesn't look like any sign of that occurring soon though.

SP500 monthly chart and table below for reference.


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## Kryzz (29 October 2017)

Got stopped out of CVX last week for a full 1R. Portfolio is down a little less than 1% since the first post. 

Two buy orders pending for ALL & CNP:


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## Kryzz (1 November 2017)

New long entered last night. AVGO.


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## Kryzz (4 November 2017)

ALL buy stop was triggered throughout the week also closing +4.38%.

Fully invested now almost. Although it looks like DLPH is likely to be stopped out soon, have given it over six weeks to go up but to no avail. Have got the stop in place at a minor low, locking in approx a 1R gain. 

Total portfolio value is slightly higher than what's represented in the spreadsheet below due to currency fluctuations.


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## Kryzz (14 November 2017)

DLPH stopped out as expected, for 0.85r. 

New buy triggered late last week: CMS @ 42.03


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## Kryzz (26 November 2017)

Current open positions below. Still holding ACN, which is approx 3.5r (including dividends).

Losing trades to date a result of trading within a range or entering longs in a downtrend.


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## Kryzz (13 December 2017)

Have been stopped out of AVGO for a small loss.

Entered long CF @39.33. This one isn't breaking out to new highs but has been consolidating a while now and hoping for a push higher.


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## Kryzz (20 December 2017)

Stopped out of AEE & CMS since my post last week. Have entered long with AAPL & ABT.


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## Kryzz (3 January 2018)

First post of the new year for this portfolio. Have been stopped out of ALL for a +1.2R gain - can't say I'm thrilled about my exit. Two pending stop orders for RBS & HBAN. Setups and closed trades below:


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## Kryzz (11 January 2018)

Reviewing a couple of closed losing trades, couple of points I remind myself of when considering new entries and stop movement and what's helped me out so far.

1. Try and wait for a consolidation around prior swing highs, try to avoid going long at the first break. Case in point, CVX below, also missed the re-entry upon the consolidation.




2. When I've been in a position for a while and momentum appears to be waning, I look tighten the stop up sooner rather than later even though trading the weekly time frame. It doesn't take many bear candles to hit your initial stop for the full loss otherwise. AEE for example:




3. Don't trade in ranges when trading a breakout strategy, fruitless exercise:


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## Kryzz (13 January 2018)

Portfolio update below. The recent massive push up in the AUD has me concerned I haven't got any hedge in place for this portfolio.

Will be looking into this on the next push down in the AUD enter a long position, to the equivalent value of my holdings.

ACN almost a 6R trade inc dividends is still carrying this portfolio. Also entered a tiny long position in BK with the residual capital I had left. Apple recovering nicely too, making new all time highs this week.


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## jjbinks (16 January 2018)

Just curious as to what you think the effect of weekly trading vs daily would be on ones strategy. Do you choose larger caps which probably would move slower?


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## Kryzz (17 January 2018)

jjbinks said:


> Just curious as to what you think the effect of weekly trading vs daily would be on ones strategy. Do you choose larger caps which probably would move slower?




I think there would usually be an increase in win % (hopefully accompanied by in increase in avg win), I definitely enjoy trading a weekly strategy. The fact the US is in a secular bull market also helps drastically. 

From what I've seen so far, as you venture out of the S&P 500 and toward the smaller market caps (and lower priced equities) the price action becomes more erratic.

I tend to avoid these as I want to be onboard the larger trends that develop from breakouts, trying to allow for enough wiggle room but not be stopped out.


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## Kryzz (26 January 2018)

Portfolio update below, some positive earnings for ABT announced in pre market earlier this week lifting this and RBS almost to 2R trades now. Apple is due to report on Feb 1, will be tightening the stop slightly prior to this but will be holding through. (Most of my other holdings will be reporting later in Feb, will assess how things are looking then).


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## Kryzz (26 January 2018)

Kryzz said:


> ABT announced in pre market earlier this week lifting this and RBS almost to 2R trades now.
> View attachment 85872


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## Kryzz (26 January 2018)

I might also add that the recent almost 8% run up in the AUDUSD over the past 5 weeks has really hurt my bottom line and waiting for a decent dip to implement a hedge has me concerned if this run continues.

Although I don't intend on returning this account back to AUD anytime soon, I feel I made a mistake here not giving enough thought to currency risk here before trading US equities. Lesson learned.


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## Kryzz (7 February 2018)

Kryzz said:


> Portfolio update below, some positive earnings for ABT announced in pre market earlier this week lifting this and RBS almost to 2R trades now. Apple is due to report on Feb 1, will be tightening the stop slightly prior to this but will be holding through. (Most of my other holdings will be reporting later in Feb, will assess how things are looking then).
> 
> View attachment 85872




Well that was quite a week!

Almost all my positions have been stopped out now, 7% or so wiped off the account in the blink of an eye. Will be reviewing everything closely this weekend. Having a quick glance, perhaps I gave up too much open profit.
ABT was +2.6r, stopped out for + 0.26r 
ACN was at +6.1r, stopped out for 4.2r
CF was 1.5r stopped out at B/E


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## peter2 (8 February 2018)

Yep, it sure was a week to remember and learn from. Having skin in the game makes the experience more valuable. 

Imagine the performance of this portfolio if it started 9 years ago, right at the start of the US bull market. You still would have lost 7%, but you might have been up 200 - 400%. You would have laughed as you saw this panic selling and probably got ready to reload over the weekend to take full advantage of the likely rally. 

Give me a few weeks to get sorted and I think I may tempt you back to the 4H forex markets.


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## Kryzz (8 February 2018)

peter2 said:


> Yep, it sure was a week to remember and learn from. Having skin in the game makes the experience more valuable.
> 
> Imagine the performance of this portfolio if it started 9 years ago, right at the start of the US bull market. You still would have lost 7%, but you might have been up 200 - 400%. You would have laughed as you saw this panic selling and probably got ready to reload over the weekend to take full advantage of the likely rally.
> 
> Give me a few weeks to get sorted and I think I may tempt you back to the 4H forex markets.




Not wrong Pete, nothing's lost if experience is gained. 

I have been following your the recent P2, part 3 thread with interest. Very much looking forward to the FX trades you post up. I'll stay tuned


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## Kryzz (13 March 2018)

First post back here in a while, a hectic 4-5 weeks has resulted in a lull in this thread. Of the six open trades, three of them are pullbacks with a small consolidation pattern just above the 200d MA. 

Six positions and trade history in the below screenshots:


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## Kryzz (7 June 2018)

Quick update here, still going with US equities. Have made some adjustments to entries and exits of late. Mainly around the introductions of MAs for pullback entries, and looking to exit around prior swing highs.

Targeting banking more 1r and 2r trades, I felt I was letting too many trades that were in profit get away from me. Account balance was hovering around the $14k mark, now back up to $15.72k. Having said that, looking back at M & VRSN - I closed out too soon, but banked some profit and on to the next. (Have also recently increased risk per trade from 1 to 1.5% per trade)

I've attached charts of VAR & ABCB for recent entries, pullback to the MAs with some consolidation on an old swing high. This is the primary setup I'm now looking for.

I've made some adjustments after following Rolly on twitter and his YouTube channel Suubee - top resource in my opinion (if this hasn't already been mentioned in other threads): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzUaSBvEnkob4AD7nbyvqVg/videos


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## peter2 (8 June 2018)

Kryzz said:


> recently increased risk per trade from 1 to 1.5% per trade



Good, wont' be a problem with weekly charts. Check for scheduled earnings reports.



Kryzz said:


> I've attached charts of VAR & ABCB for recent entries, pullback to the MAs with some consolidation on an old swing high. This is the primary setup I'm now looking for.




Much better in a bullish market as they provide quicker RR. A good improvement to your skill set.


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## Kryzz (14 June 2018)

Covered ABCB for +1.4r. Long TSE last night. Charts attached.


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## peter2 (15 June 2018)

Nicely done. 
I don't like the TSE chart. 
eg ABCB touched your short term MAs then immediately took off. TSE has now touched three times. Price seems to be going sideways. I'd need to see a bullish bar closing above the prior bar before buying. 

With all the opportunities in the US you should be able to find plenty of perfect setups. Don't take near-enoughs. Remember you've got two setups, break-outs and the shallow pull-back that touches your MAs in a strong trend up.

Do you look for the strongest sectors before choosing a stock?


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## peter2 (15 June 2018)

Another aspect you may want to consider. Trade lower priced stocks. This will use less capital and you'll be able to start more trades when others are past their BE prices. More trades will allow you to be patient with those that go sideways for a few weeks.


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## peter2 (15 June 2018)

I love that you're trading the weekly charts on the US markets. I like your thread and I want to see you earn some above average profits. I want you to get twice the SPY. If the SPY goes up 15% pa I want to see you get 30%.

I know you can do it. You've got two fantastic setups.
(i) BO - which will get you into a start of a trend
(ii) PB - the resumption of a trend.

I know you can position size correctly and your record keeping is good.

I'd like to see your W% and your AW, AL in R multiples for all your weekly trades (PM me?). You may think you haven't earned much so far. That doesn't matter. What matters is how are you going to improve? What minor changes will or have you made to improve your edge?
eg. Increasing trade risk to 1.5% won't improve your edge. It should produce more profit but only because you're risking more.
eg Adding a second setup (PB). This may improve your edge if the setup gets you into trades that move quicker (like ABCB moved from MAs to prior high, _ka-ching_ grab the +1.4R, next trade)

Right now the US tech stocks and small caps are booming. Starting more trades* when the markets are very bullish will improve your edge. Starting fewer trades when market conditions are unfavourable will improve your edge.

Finding the next hot sector and jumping onto it near the start will definitely improve your edge. You'll need a process to identify the next hot sector. That's why I asked you about it.

I'm very positive about your trading efforts so far. I think you're close to really getting it.

* _lower price stocks, leverage x2_


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## Kryzz (16 June 2018)

Thanks for the feedback Peter.



peter2 said:


> With all the opportunities in the US you should be able to find plenty of perfect setups. Don't take near-enoughs.
> 
> Do you look for the strongest sectors before choosing a stock?




I will note the industry the stock that I'm looking at, but probably not actively monitoring which sector is outperforming the rest. I think my TSE trade here is more a hoping there's a strong swing up off support here. I occasionally look at the sector performance here: http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker

But definitely not as much as a I should have been.



peter2 said:


> Another aspect you may want to consider. Trade lower priced stocks. This will use less capital and you'll be able to start more trades when others are past their BE prices. More trades will allow you to be patient with those that go sideways for a few weeks.



 I will need to amend my scans I think to cater for this, I note the lower price stocks tend to run harder (reviewing my recent CROX trade).



peter2 said:


> I love that you're trading the weekly charts on the US markets. I like your thread and I want to see you earn some above average profits. I want you to get twice the SPY. If the SPY goes up 15% pa I want to see you get 30%.
> 
> I know you can do it. You've got two fantastic setups.
> (i) BO - which will get you into a start of a trend
> ...




Thanks Pete, I will PM you later with recent trades . I wish I could utilize leverage with IB however from my understanding this is tricky for Aus customers. I think I would need to create a Pty Ltd company and sell down all positions and transfer AUD cash to the new a/c.


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## Kryzz (19 June 2018)

Following on from the above commentary, I have thought more about developing a routine which hopefully leads to improved consistency. My thoughts are to:

Review each sector every weekend and maintain a log of how they're performing. I won't drill down as far as industries within the sector (14 industries in the industrials alone). I will also look at each of the major US indicies. I've dot pointed some comments below as to how this could look (and comments on open trades)

HBAN - entry was ok here, moving sideways long with the index however and is hovering around b/e after 5 or so weeks
_Financials (XLF) - sideways trend, approx 10% from 52 week high_
TSE - hopeful entry, was banking on a bump up as price approached the 200d ma, tends to support price well in the states. No bullish bar to confirm though.
_Materials (XLB) - sideways trend, 7% from 52 week high_
VAR - Entry met my criteria, narrow ranging bars setting up on a prior swing high with the MAs moving up to meet price
_Healthcare (XLV) - sideways trend, slight uptick past two weeks, 7.5% from 52 week high_
SSNC - best performer, up +0.50% at the time of writing whilst the S&P is -0.60%. Missed the entry slightly, should have been two bars earlier and had a larger position/tighter stop here. Strong sector.
_Technology (XLK) - strong trend, 0.86% from 52 week high_
STZ - Missed the entry here by one bar also I feel, after price had touched the MAs (200day ma too). Going ok at the moment however considering the broader market and sector.
_Consumer staples (XLP) - weak trend, approx 14% from 52 week high_

I had messaged Peter re discussing scans also. I currently use incredible charts for scanning, so it is somewhat rudimentary in nature but seems to do the trick. My main one I use is below. This yields lots of good candidates, but is often too late as price has already broken out of moved away from the MAs convincingly. 

On occasion I will also manually go through the S&P and make watchlists for pullbacks and breakouts. 




Open positions below.


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## Kryzz (20 June 2018)

As soon as I posted the above reply I was stopped out of TSE for a full -1.17r.

If I didn't have that trade on, my portfolio would have only been down -0.25% or so when the index is down 1% at the time of writing. 

Ouch.


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## Kryzz (21 June 2018)

I have a stop order in place for TWOU after some capital has freed up after I got stopped out of TSE. Looking for a breakout for this tech stock, no earnings coming up in the near term. Chart below:




Other names I've looked at tonight also include, but not as confident with as TWOU.

OCN - pullback (financials)
NG - pullback (materials)
SREV - pullback (tech)


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## Kryzz (28 June 2018)

Two new trades triggered yesterday. 

PXD & LW. One PB and one BO, respectively


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## Kryzz (8 July 2018)

New long entered on Friday night with ATGE - breakout. Consumer discretionary sector made new all time highs two weeks ago, sector is looking strong. Earnings on 16/08.


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## Kryzz (19 July 2018)

Kryzz said:


> New long entered on Friday night with ATGE - breakout. Consumer discretionary sector made new all time highs two weeks ago, sector is looking strong. Earnings on 16/08.
> 
> View attachment 88215




Partial profits for ATGE banked tonight and stop moved to B/E. S&P up for three weeks in a row almost now, wanted to bank some profits whilst there and reduce risk. (I've never scaled out of a position before, so this is a first for me).

New long (pullback trade) entered with NRG on Monday. 

SSNC, NRG and SSNC all have earnings within the next fortnight, likely all these positions will be closed prior to then.


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## Kryzz (24 July 2018)

Kryzz said:


> New long (pullback trade) entered with NRG on Monday.
> 
> SSNC, NRG and SSNC all have earnings within the next fortnight, likely all these positions will be closed prior to then.




LW exited for +0.23r, earnings tomorrow so bumped the stop right up.

NRG had a weak close last week and hasn't started this week off great, have moved the stop up to the low of the bar I entered on. Looking to cut these pullback trades that don't move in my favour asap.

New long entered with CROX, I had an buy stops pending for this ticker and M, CROX triggered first however. M took off however.


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## Kryzz (27 July 2018)

Kryzz said:


> LW exited for +0.23r, earnings tomorrow so bumped the stop right up.
> 
> NRG had a weak close last week and hasn't started this week off great, have moved the stop up to the low of the bar I entered on. Looking to cut these pullback trades that don't move in my favour asap.
> 
> New long entered with CROX, I had an buy stops pending for this ticker and M, CROX triggered first however. M took off however.





Remaining half parcel of ATGE closed overnight, total position closed out for +1.73R.
NRG stopped out on Wednesday for -0.17R.
CROX tagged previous highs last night and closed out for +0.96R.
New breakout trade entered on Wed night, BR. (Tech sector, earnings on Aug 9.).
SSNC made new all time highs this week, still holding moving the stop up to lock in +0.53R.

I'm 58% cash atm to give myself a bit of a buffer with so many earnings announcements currently, waiting patiently for the next ideal setup.


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## Kryzz (31 July 2018)

Stopped out of my BR trade last night after tanking almost 4% overnight. I'm glad I've been taking a more aggressive stance when looking to close weak trades out ASAP. I opted to move my stop up after a weak close on the breakout, the best ones should rocket straight through resistance. -0.48r

SSNC also stopped out overnight for +0.53r. Reviewing this trade, I slightly missed the entry here and had a wider stop than what I would have wanted so less of a gain. 

I only have one active trade currently, SMHI. A breakout, after a shallow cup formation after holding the MA's. Very thin stock this one and with the indexes looking weak, I've bumped the stop up.

82% cash now.


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## Kryzz (2 August 2018)

Kryzz said:


> Stopped out of my BR trade last night after tanking almost 4% overnight. I'm glad I've been taking a more aggressive stance when looking to close weak trades out ASAP. I opted to move my stop up after a weak close on the breakout, the best ones should rocket straight through resistance. -0.48r
> 
> SSNC also stopped out overnight for +0.53r. Reviewing this trade, I slightly missed the entry here and had a wider stop than what I would have wanted so less of a gain.
> 
> ...




Stopped out of SMHI last night. -0.19r loss. 100% cash now.

Thought I would share this link I came across throughout the week which was a good read, by Jason Leavitt:

http://leavittbrothers.com/blog/index.php/2018/02/25/three-steps-to-epiphany/


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## Kryzz (18 August 2018)

Two trades I've been in since the first week of August are below. Close to 90% invested in these currently because of the tight stops initially. I guess this is where leverage would be nice, to still enter new positions in bullish conditions (whilst keeping heat at an acceptable level).

NEE.

Made a new all time high this week, utilities seem to be moving along nicely in the US at the moment, along with consumer discretionary too.




XCRA. 

Semiconductor stock, was hoping a sharp move like the one out of February's consolidation could take place, breakout looking likely to fail. Have bumped the stop up to the low this week's bar. Price looks more constructive on the daily, having tagged the 50d MA and closed off its lows. 

Earnings in approx one week so never anticipated to hold too long regardless.


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## Kryzz (20 August 2018)

Have only just seen the new 'client portal' on IB too. Looks quite interesting, provides a running % portfolio return chart on the home screen. I couldn't manage to overlay the S&P benchmark for some reason though (even after being on the phone to IB for 15mins).

Equity high was in late Jan, approx $16,400. Equity low slightly below $14,000 in April or about a 14.5% drawdown. I'll try and post the below chart every month or so for a clearer picture of how everything's tracking. Hopefully it moves up and to the right!


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## Kryzz (21 August 2018)

Order filled for CHGG last night, missed the entry slightly here. Small position size as a result of limited capital. Tight stop in place.


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## MTSPort (5 September 2018)

Hi Kryzz,
It's great to see another follow weekly trend trader. Since you are using tight stops, what would be the of R/R of the strategy?

I use wider initial stop loss but a tighter trailing stop.


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## Kryzz (25 October 2018)

MTSPort said:


> Hi Kryzz,
> It's great to see another follow weekly trend trader. Since you are using tight stops, what would be the of R/R of the strategy?
> 
> I use wider initial stop loss but a tighter trailing stop.




Hey MTSPort, sorry have been away from the screens a while now. I usually aim for a 2:1 RR.

Below are the stats I was running at before I left. Have been predominantly cash the past 5 or so weeks as it turns out. Looks like I have learned something from the big sell off at the start of this year after all.

I'll be looking at getting back into the swing of things in the next couple of weeks hopefully.


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