EUR/USD moves lower

EUR/USD fell considerably on Friday to close the week below 1.08, as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer on the potential rebound of U.S. inflation increased the likelihood of an interest rate hike by the U.S. central bank next month. Investors also reacted to sluggish euro zone GDP figures for the third quarter, which could expedite plans … Read More

Crude oil futures

Crude oil futures tumbled towards six-year lows on Friday, amid indications that the sharp decline in U.S. drilling in recent months may be nearing an end, raising concerns that shale production could rebound and add to a supply glut. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in September hit an intraday low of $43.70 a barrel, a … Read More

Gold prices down in Asia

Gold prices eased on Monday in Asia after weekend data on China’s trade disappointed and investors kept a close eye out on the central bank’s next move. Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange eased 0.28% to $1.091.00 a troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for September delivery slumped 0.61% … Read More

Forex Yen ticks weaker after current account

The yen held slightly weaker in early Asia on Monday as investors noted mixed data on bank lending and the current account and mulled disappointing trade figures from China at the weekend. USD/JPY changed hands at 124.31, up 0.02%, while AUD/USD eased 0.21% to 0.7402 – as China is a top trade partner. Japan reported an unadjusted June current account … Read More

Moving Average – IqOption

Moving Average Moving Average is a general name for a group of functions where the values at each point are equal to the average value of the initial function for the previous period. Moving Average is one of the simplest technical analysis tools and one of the most popular indicators among traders of different levels. The price always tends to … Read More

Triple-witching expirations

The S&P Witch Project” (Active Trader, December 2004) analyzed how the S&P 500 index behaved surrounding “triplewitching” expiration days — the two-day periods in March, June, September, and December when stockindex futures, stock index futures options, and equity options expire. (After single-stock futures were launched in November 2002, triple witching days were sometimes called “quadruple witching” days because these new … Read More

Rolling LEAPS calls

You can make money buying stocks and holding them for long periods, but you risk a large amount of capital when doing so. By contrast, buying calls can provide the same type of returns with less risk. The problem is that time decay works against you. A strategy designed to compensate for this drawback is buying long-term calls on exchange-traded … Read More

Straddling the COT report

Traders often view the Commitment of Traders (COT) report as a futures market Rosetta Stone — the key to deciphering where different markets are headed. The problem is that the report can confuse as much as it clarifies. Each week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) publishes the COT report, which lists open interest in more than 90 futures markets … Read More

Trading in 2005-2008 T-note futures

Although some aspects of markets never change, specific volatility and price patterns evolve over time, and only those traders who can adapt their strategies to the prevailing market conditions are likely to enjoy sustained success. “Dissecting T-note futures: Tendencies and characteristics” (Active Trader, July 2005) details the behavior of the 10-year T-note futures (TY) contract from March 1, 2004 to … Read More

The importance of buying time

The long straddle is a non-directional option strategy that can yield solid results with low risk. It’s used when you expect a stock or futures contract to make a big price move but you don’t know whether it will be up or down. Besides price, the other variables that affect the value of a long straddle are volatility and time. … Read More