FTSE Equity Trading

[VSntchr]

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.

 

[kid hustlr]

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.

 

[Gringotts Bank]

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

 

[VSntchr]

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

 

[skc]

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.

 

[VSntchr]

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.

 

[CanOz]

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

Congrats on the visa mate, go get 'em!

 

[peter2]

Looking forward to your comments re LSE in this thread.

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

 

[VSntchr]

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.

Congrats on the visa mate, go get 'em!

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!

 

[skyQuake]

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

 

[skc]

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

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

 

[skyQuake]

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

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

 

[skc]

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.

 

[VSntchr]

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.

 

[peter2]

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]

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

 

[Huskar]

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..

 

[VSntchr]

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

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.

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..

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.

 

[VSntchr]

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:

 

[VSntchr]

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.