Share trading – the Steve Seah’s way, Thur 29 July 2010

This Thursday 29 July 2010, we will have another session on trading.  Steve Seah is a remiser; and he will be available to moderate the session.  SHCians who are interested in using the services of a remiser and to meet and chat around share trading activities, please do come along.

  • Place: Cafe Brastilava, inside MPH Robinson, 63 Robinson Road.
  • Date/Time:  Thurs, 29 July, 4pm – 6pm.

Terence Seah

Registration List:

  1. Terence Seah
  2. Steve Seah
  3. Weng Hon
  4. Vince Wong
  5. Kenneth Tan
  6. Cheng Pun
  7. Lillian Teo
  8. Juliette Ong
  9. Rosalind Ong
  10. Christina Pan
  11. Kelly Wee Jee
  12. Bobby Bok
  13. Henry Yip
  14. Freda Lim
  15. Jean Tan
  16. Pleae add a comment here to let us know you are comiing.

Author: Terence Seah

Founder

63 thoughts on “Share trading – the Steve Seah’s way, Thur 29 July 2010”

  2. Hi Weng Hon

    I am curious. Are you the same Weng Hon who worked in ITE previously? I would like to meet up with you if you are the same person.

    Chengpun

  8. News Flash: BP posts losses of $16.9bn (£10.9bn) for April to June, after setting aside $32.2bn for costs linked to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

    Implications to traders???

  12. hi Terence and Steve,

    1)i am the new kid, register me Juliette Ong for the event.,
    2) as well as register for RosalindOng. thanks a lot.

    see u soon.

  23. hi Terence,
    if you want to make at least $1000.00 a month or more, trying monitoring Jardine C & C. it jumps more than $1 quite frequently. today’s price $36.74. went up by $1.64. Try contra. just a suggestion.
    warning:
    Disclaimer: if money is loss, I cannot be held responsible

  25. Yesterday, we had another equities trading gathering. Steve Seah led by introducing himself as someone new in equities trading, and was kind of wanting to make it “big” as a trader, after getting out of his full time job.

    Kelly was the smart one, advising the newer ones to study the financials before jumping into any one counter. Christina Pan with more than 10 years experience, advocates trading US stocks.

    I guess the cool one was Henry Yip, who is into exchange indices and funds. Sounds like less of a headache than venturing into individual stocks. Again, he also advises someone new to be prepared and read more.

    Gee, I was hoping I can make $1,000 a month when I retire. Thanks Wen Hong. Seems everyone around me thinks my target is peanut. I should be able to do more. Well, these sessions are intended to allow SHCians to share, and hopefully help one to make sound decisions.

    Anybody with remiser background, backing, forex and currency knowledge, etc, do let me know. Maybe I will pick up something. Afterall, a lot of experience guys and gals around. TimL was the only one to have lost a few bucks.

    Terence Seah

  26. “TimL was the only one to have lost a few bucks”.

    Yes, I am shitty with stocks & shares but indisputably a clear winner at the last WC. So, with 6500 cents coming in anytime, that will cancel out the few barks I had lost.

    So far we hv read of SHCians supplementing their income/savings with investments in shares, options, derivatives, toto/4D/soccer bets, horse racing and cash-in-no outings, which are all strenuous and will take a toll on our health.

    Thus, I think what Prof Feng writes in his ST Forum letter today – paras 4 to 6 particularly – is a timely reminder that, inter alia, risky sexual behaviour is bad for health. Of cos what he didnt say but obviously is understood is this – pay yr tax, dont play with sax.

  27. books recommended by Henry are
    ‘Secrets of Millionaire investors’ and
    ‘Profit from the panic’
    by Adam Khoo and Conrad Alvin Lim / and Ryan Huang
    There are a few more
    Sold at MPH, Times, Popular stores

  28. hi Tim,we should trade without emotions. If u worry and yr health is affected, than u should not invest and take risk.
    Use part of yr spare money and be prepared to lose. believe me, if yr mind is relax and calm, u make better decisions and somehow end well. Desperate gamblers always lose money.
    Take it as travelling, restaurant or expensive goods expenses. One does not lose sleep over these things

  29. Hi all SHCians, I am glad to have come to meet you all at the Cafe.. and I thank my big brother Terence SEAH (also SEAH ? :) ) for making the arrangement. 1st of all, sorry for the mis-understanding and mis-communication that I was a remiser. Frankly, if I know I am going to be a full-time trader when I was young, I would be being one.

    The reason why I want to make it ‘big’ in trading is because I believe that this is one of the business I can do not only in my silver days, but also when I reach my golden age and till I meet my maker. You see, I suffered from 3 retrenchments in my career life. This was becuase the industries I was in, ie Electronics, IT, PC, Digital Imaging and Information Security, are changing fast and merciless. You get obsolete very fast. They do not value human resources, at least what they do demonstrate that. Your previous years of experience has little or no value to any new employers. IT/Computers/Digital stuff are things that need innovation.. They want new, young, and aggressive persons who has gathered and understand new and ‘cool’ technologies.

    Trading is like being a doctor or a surgeon. The more you do (of course, doing the right thing), the better you become. I think I have to become a very good trader first before I can make it big. Becoming one will need very high discipline and strong psychology.

    I was encouraged by Henry Yip’s comment..about trading indexes, following the right rules, and such.. trading can be a business not it is not gambling if find the right guidiance. All business has risk, you just need to manage it objectively.

    Anyways, before I sign off, let me share one good point I learnt from my mentor last few days ago.. He said, “many people do the opposite thing. They flip properties and invest in equities. What they should do is to trade (or flip) equities and invest in properties”. What I understand is property is to hold for long term. Singapore’s land is small and population is growing. The prices of properties will rebound and create new high. However, quite a lot of Equity’s value can go down to almost zero. I am not surprise that Creative Lab’s share value will never go back to their high days which is more than S$69.

    Thank you all once again.

  30. Hi guys!

    Sorry that I had to leave early… but it was good to see that quite a few are doing well trading the Singapore market.

    I am not a trader and I do not wish to become one. At my age, I do not want to be stuck to a screen watching charts anxiously or not, making leveraged bets, or losing sleep.

    On Terence’s objective of making $1,000 a month: I think it is a commendable and achievable one. If you start with $50,000 capital, $1,000 is only 2 percent of that amount. And I think that you can make that quite comfortably.

    In fact, that was my aim to achieve 4 percent per month using covered call options. But that’s another story.

    Anyway, the books that you can buy and read (for your investment education) are:

    Secrets of Millionaire Investors (stated by Weng Hong #27)

    Profit from the Asian Recovery by Jason Wee (a new addition to the Adam Khoo series)

    For forex trading:

    Secrets of Forex Millionaires by Yeo Keong Hee

    Peak Performance Forex Trading also by Yeo

    Secret Psychology of Millionaire Traders by Conrad Lim

    Steve Seah on Creative: They were listed on the US Nasdaq until some three years back. You can ride the share up and you can ride it down to $16 before it was removed. From there it was just that downward slide.

    Now that the property market is booming there are also a couple of local books on property investing. YOu can throw a few 10s and buy yourself one.

    Happy trading (and investing)!

  31. Hi Kenneth @30,

    Can you enlighten me on ‘covered call options’ and how do they work?

    I guess you are writing options for the premiums but are not ‘naked’ie ‘covered’ So what would be a typical fee be like, (in %) and for what tenure (1 month?) and for what kind of indicative premium over the spot price? Which broker or FI does these, minimum amounts and are they only for blue chips?

    Also if it’s not too intrusive, what was your trading experience like?

    Thanks

  32. hi Kenneth,
    would also like to know more abt covered calls.
    from what I know, it is buying a stock and at the same time
    selling a call around 4 to 6 months away, also buy a current month put.
    tried that on ‘paper trade’ seems like a long term strategy, if the stock price falls,
    would like yr comment

  33. by the way, this page is getting longer, Christina is forming a SHC investment club, maybe as discussed at the meeting, steve can help to setup a ‘chat room’. in the meantime, email address is requested from Terence, Steve, Henry, Abel, Kenneth and the rest who wants to join. Christina has a some email addresses already

  34. sorry wen hon
    I am not forming a SHC investment club
    As it is, Terence has started this group and he will be the one..
    I was just suggesting a “chat room”…easy for all to post question, give ideas etc on stock investing

    as for my collecting of emails, contacts and fwded to some of you… as requsted…it is for some of you who may like to get in contact with each other with regard to stock investing matters…

  35. Hi Guys/gals, many thks for the sharing, I really enjoyed the warm & cordial discussions we had. Made new friends too.

    Just to share 2cts worth of the current trading in NewYork. Both the GDP & personal consumption nbrs came off slightly below expectations. As such the s&p hving a hard time to trade abv 1104. With today being the last day of the month, I dont expect much action, with nxt week employment nbrs coming in, I see the markets trading within the range still. So I think the assault on 3000 on the STI wud be further postpone. Good luck & special tks to chief, without which our meeting wud not be possible. Good weekend cheers!

  37. Some days are diamonds, some days are gold, some days the hard times won’t leave you alone…..
    Good morning SHCians, most traders will tell you the above song kind of sum up their feelings too sometimes. hehehe
    I didn’t wake up early to sing a song but to place a caveat on my 2cts worth of commentary. Let me quote Ray Barros, the famous trader & mentor ” tht’s my opinion, but I reserve the right to change my opinion within 5 minites & not inform you”. hehehe
    Good luck & have a nice weekend!! cheers!!

  38. Thanks Weng Hon for yr good counsel. I can see that you are dead serious with share trading and of cos you shd when it’s btwn making money and not.

    Stocks and shares are my nemesis so at best I can only be an armchir critic but all at seas once I am into it myself. Good for you and the rest share and discuss regularly whether chat-lines or line up charts to look at together.

    Good luck and all the best !

  39. Charles & Weng Hon

    On my options strategy:

    I trade only covered call options on the US market. I use a subscription website to search for options with very safe fundamentals and positive price action charts.

    I aim to make at least 4 percent per month and sell calls which are at most three months out. Getting excercised or called out could be a positive outcome in the trade.

    I find that covered calls are best in a trending but slightly rising market; so right now may not be the best time.

    Trading costs must be kept low; using a US discount brokerage can keep costs as low as US$5 to $10.

    I will need to invest around US$5,000 per share and obtain at least $300 option premium to make it worthwhile.

    A possible covered call play recently could be Seagate (STX) which is around US$13.31 (July 27) and selling the Sept 17 $13.00 Strike for a $1.00 premium. So we can buy 500 STX shares for $6,655 and credit $500 premium. This is a return of 5.18 percent if sold (exercised) or 7.51 percent if expired. The option has a very high chance of excercise so we should be making 5.18 percent at expiry in September. (The return percent is not annualized)

    I hope that you get an idea of what I do for options.

  40. Hi Kenneth @ 39,

    Thanks for yor reply. Not bad considering the option value is (500-65=435) Say financing for 500 SG @ $13= $6500. This works out to 6.7% for 3mos exposure and not annualised too. If you buy a similar put to protect your downside, can you still make money? ie a natural arbitrage position?

    My thots are that if you are confident of SG @ S13 minimum, it makes sense to borrow USD and fund the transaction and make on the difference. If the market falls, your confidence in SG @ $13 will be tested.

    Of course the other scenario would be the market has a crisis and SG falls way below your cost despite all the cumulative option premiums earned. Heaven forbid!

    I think also that you will do very well with this approach when the markets are range bound, ie not too bullish or bearish but stuck in a certain range because of the continuing uncertainty. What happens therefore is you will continue to write your options without losing your underlying security. Your return would then be 7.5%x4 times pa or 30% pa. You can beat Temasek with this approach if you can carry this thru’.

    So while the market is digesting the ‘unusual uncertainties’, it will be range bound and you are on your way to 30% pa. That is something to think about. Not the 30% but will the market stay rangebound? If yes, go for it, if no, stay clear because you will lose value on your security. If unsure, stick with amounts you can afford to lose and hope your confidence in SG or any other underlying security is correct.

    Lastly considering Lehman’s default hope you have factored in default risks with your current broker/FI.

    Good luck and thanks for your example.

  41. Hi Kenneth again,

    Just another thot. Before you go big on this. Consider the US is a big market and if the big funds want to get out, they can use the options market.

    Ie they buy up the options on your STX, the market sees the premium going up, some buy STX directly, others like you buy to write the calls. Meantime they sell the STX (original intention) and some months later STX collapses because of some issue or whatever. They call this the ‘tail wagging the dog’.
    So you still cannot avoid knowing your stock well.

    Cheers

  42. Hi SHCians

    Before delving further, allow me to report my puntings for the past week.

    Monday 26/7 – we were behind the “q” on Genting 1/20 and
    Golden Agri 0.56

    Tuesday 27/7 – we q again Genting & Golden Agri but was a
    bid below the stocks lowest price of 1.24
    and 55.5 respectively. But we hit-n-run
    Ezra on 5lots at 2.00/03, thus netting less
    than $85
    Wednesday 28/7 – we just hesistated to “chase” Capital Land
    at 3.87 (low 3.83, high 3.90)
    Thursday 29/7 – again we hesistated to “chase” this time
    Genting 1.27 and was behind the “q” on
    Golden Agri 56.5
    Friday 30/7 – we bought Noble 10lots @ 1.65 and is
    aiming to contra @ $1.68 on Monday 2 Aug

    What do we mean by “Chase”? A punter notices a dormant stock “comes alive” meaning prices rise and backed by increased volumes or one has a gut-feel that a speculative stock will climb further, therefore one has just a few minutes to make a decision and in our case, half of the time we buy at the Seller’s current quoted price for otherwise we “miss the boat”. Ezra was “hot” on Tuesday27/7
    but the stock became a flash-in-a-pan. Personally, I beleive Ezra is worth picking up at $1.90

    I trust Christina Pan made some money on BP shares. With due respect, just be comfortable with your individual modes of trading activity like indexes for Henry Yip and options for Kenneth Tan.

    The two Jardine stocks are rather “chin tang” Weng Hon, but we had in the past punted five times on Hongkong Land. But the slight problem is each time we suffered losses of less than ten dollars due to exchang rates differences cause when one buys, one pays the seller’s US$ rate and when one sells, one received the dollar conversion based on the buyer’s rate.

    Besides Ezra, two other stocks worth picking up are Indo Agri 2.25 and Yanlord 1.84. Straits Asia too below $2. These three were punting stocks previously.

    On Monday, yours truly is monitoring DBS and will punt below $14.20.

    Regards

    Abel Tan

  43. quote : if the big funds want to get out, they can use the options market…
    that’s what happen to BP shares…I heard…
    before the oil leak news out and then the share price tumbled down from $60 to $27 …. I suspect the recent rebounce from low of $27 to $38 was due to short covering…may be more to come
    No, Abel I didn’t buy BP as I think the mess is not over and the risk/reward is too high

    I bought/sold bombed out stock like TSFG, Tone.. all small banks (all dead now…bought for rebounce on the force of shorts and not FA; make just a little)
    Also bought some US bio-stocks.. no patience to wait..need alot of luck but the reward is good for those who are patient
    ….miss out on YRCW..too busy with my 2 nieces from HK and US in town for their summer holiday
    Now focus only on some big banks and more bombed out stocks
    i believe more to come as US economy is still in a mess

  44. abel, if you are trading on US$ denominated stock it is better to keep it in US$ for your buy/sell, only convert once you are done with the trades on that stock ..
    just sharing from experience … the to/fro conversion plus the currency change can eat into your profit

  45. Hi guys!!

    Yes, it can be difficult… or it can be simple. I try to keep it simple by buying only “good” companies with strong earnings, growth, cash and volume and, price at lower end of year’s high and miving upwards on volume.

    The company must then have options which have the yield I want, not too far out-of-the money and less than three months expiry.

    Charles: I did state earlier that a trending or slightly rising market would be best for covered call strategies. I also consider appropriate credit spreads (buying a put and a call) if the net yield is more positive.

    Christina: I am a very cautious investor. Why buy BP when you can buy Chevron which has just as good fundamentals and earnings without the oil spill mess and costs. Bp has to sell off a lot of subsidiaries and operations to pay off and keep the company afloat.

    Stocks which are going down can still go down further… no telling where the bottom is.

    Better buy stocks which are going up… with strong fundamentals and performance.

  46. Here are my observations from the trading chat and discussions.

    Steve has requested to start a chat, sometime in the morning so that tips can be exchanged. This can be a good idea. Currently, there are a number of investors’ club chat out there; although I have not used them myself. What I would do in the meantime is to encourage discussions on this forum. When the discussions reach a sizeable mass, then we will introduce an online chat, within the SHC forum. Ongoing discussions are fine, very healthy. So, please continue.

    Do you have some suggestions on how we can take this investment and trading chats further?

    Terence Seah

  47. Hi SHCians

    #44 Correct Christina, particularly when I trade on contra basis.

    #46, Terence, perhaps you are aware that each morning since the 7th July, I have had sms-ed my daily tips to one SHCian.

    Just to recap, on Monday 2/8 we contra 10lots Noble @ 1.68 against the purchase last Friday 30/7 and netted $180plus.
    Then with palpitating hearts we chased the new IPO, Kreuz at 39cts on 30lots and quickly ran out @ 40cts and netted less than $220.

    Yesterday, for the rare time the STI turned gradually softer after 9.45am inspite of the Dow adding 200points in Monday’s trade. We did q to buy Genting @ 1.22(lowest 1.23) and was unlucky to be behind the q on Cosco @ 1.62.

    As for today we did q Golden Agri 0.57(lowest 57.5) and Noble 1.65(lowest 1.66). Like yesterday we just dare not chase Kreuz.

    For tomorrow, I cannot confirmed my tips now until the results from Wall Street. My focus is specifically on the established stocks with large turnovers vis-a-vis: Genting, Golden Agri, Noble, Yangzijiang, Cosco, Capital Land, Sing Tel and Indo Agri, Ezra, Straits Asia, Yanlord, Midas & Swiber if these laggards appear on the High-volumes’ radar.

    My take on the very large volumes of Genting and G Agri is if the stocks do not fall below $1.20 & 56cts respectively, it signify that one or two or more mega buyers are picking up the shares which means that the next bull run for Genting & G Agri will be price clearence over $1.40 and 65cts respectively.

    Regards

    Abel Tan

  49. Hi Abel,

    Sharing tips on what shares to buy and sell, and at what price has always been a request from new players. I guess this is something that goes on, among private groups.

    I have no objections to some tips from you sonce in a while on this forum. On a regular basis, I am not too sure.

    I prefer to let this sharing carry on, based on supply and demand. If demand is high, let’s find better ways to share the info. Keep up the money making.

    Terence Seah

  50. Hi Abel,

    Thanks for the tips. I could not attend your talk previously as it was during my office hours. Kindly explain more details on the following:-

    How much time per day is needed for your intensive intra-day trading style?

    What are your returns like, is S$ 1k per month after broker commissions possible as per Terence’s target? (p.s. your broker must be a very happy man considering your daily volume)

    What are your win-loss ratios like? How about stop-losses?

    A word of caution to newbies:- Trading is NOT easy. There are 4 main hurdles to overcome for any trader…Ignorance, Greed, Fear & Hope. The market is unforgiving and will not hesitate to part a fool from his cash. Take care!

  51. Jonathan, I suppose Abel’s strategy is simple & straighforward : watch/monitor the active stocks closely. Then hit, grab & run.

    Occasionally what one grabs may be too heavy to carry altho I can see that in his case, he has the cool-head to grab what he really can digest so apparently on the average, he has been on the upside. Good for him/his associates. Nonetheless, yr cautionary reminder to trade carefully is very timely. Esp if one lacks the experience in this modus operandi.

    There was this guy who splurged $2k as his initial investment. He walked away after abt 5 hours, with smthg like $35k in his pockets. I was watching him. He was really cool and collected but what ultimaley mattered was luck which favoured him in most of those 300 minutes…..

  52. A word of caution to newbies:- Trading is NOT easy. …Ignorance, Greed, Fear & Hope – agree totally with this statement
    For Abel I consider him a pro trader…focus and strategic move …emotionless
    For amateur – make 10 trades of 2 cents but lost 1 trade of 20cts.. happen to many ..in the end the broker makes the most money.. ha!..ha!

  53. Dear Abel,

    I have been following your posts with interest and actually wrote down your recommended stocks to trade too. Alas, by the time I was ready to enter the ‘buy’ market, your group was taking profits.

    However, I was lucky to contra GenHK 0.245 and got out at 0.27cts. I was queuing to get into Golden Agri, Ezra but did not manage to enter and soon chickened out.

    Grabbed some Nobel at 1.68, any advice? Fyi I am holding on to Yangzijiang, Singtel,Tiger Air etc. Can I request to be on your ‘tips-list’? My email address is catcael@yahoo.com.sg.

    Much appreciate if you include me in your sms list.

    Thank you,
    CatherineY

  54. Following Steve Seah’s meeting, I am looking forward to have some remisers offer to lead a chat. What it takes to be a reminser? What does a remiser do? How much commission for the service? And how to go about starting a relationship with a remiser.

    Please offer to speak and chat on this. Once you have raised your hand, we shall determine the date and time.

    Abel is not a remiser. Steve is heading towards being one. Ben Foo has moved to Ho Chi Minh. We had Christina Pan, who trades in US stocks; but she has not offered her hand. Kelly is an individual trader; hopes someday she will put up her hand. Henry Yip trades in exchange or country indexes; hope he will raise his hand too. This is trading with a basket of stocks, rather than individual counters.

    Kenneth Teo on call options, against US market. Wen Hon, I am hoping you will share your knowledge too.

    I am looking forward to make $1,000 a month from dabbling some money in the stock market. Please take all the advice and words of caution.

    Terence Seah

  55. Hi Terence,

    If you are a cautious person, maybe you should do what you are good at – making money through selling products (either physical or virtual) through internet since you are already an owner of a virtual club.

    Have a look at my blog – if you are able to create a similar blog then making $1,000 should not be much of a problem.

  56. Hi Steven #55,

    I am not a cautious person. Tend to think of myself as a gambler. If there is a 51% chance of a success, I go for it. Those who know me, know that I love taking bets, usually against the direction of the current.

    Where did I get this $1,000 idea from? Well, I think when I retire at 65, my CPF life will give me $900 to $1,000 per month. I think this is not sufficient. So, I hope to have another $1,000.

    From the trading chitchats, I hear many see making $1000 from equity trading as chicken feet and easy task. Personally, I think it is a tough target, considering the potentially losses and risks. But, again, if there is a 51% chance of reaching it, yes, I will try it.

    On the comment that SHC is a virtual club. Had never thought it this way, but yes, it seems so. But, SHC is a reality; we see people, we can argue and debate in reality and we can dress up in pyjamas and bikinis. We meet one another, as if we have been friends since primary school days.

    I am very open to ideas. If you have an idea that would beneift fellow SHCians, especially through retirement, I will surely give support.

    Even Tim Liu managed to convince me today and those around at our meeting that farewell services can be fun, and viable in today’s modern world. Gee, I talk alot today. Can wait to go to the kelong trip and the beach party.

    Terence Seah

  57. HI SHCians

    Besides Monday’s(2/8) deals of Noble & Kreuz(new IPO), we were behind queues on for the following next two days. On Thursday 5/8, we bought 5lots Yanlord 1.84 as our hunch was the stock would rebound the next day, but then alas, Yanlord’s rebound was feeble and therefore we quickly exited at 1.85, the highest price was 1.86, thus incurring a nett loss of less than $30 after taking into account the gross profit of $50. We did not want to carry forward our position further as Monday 9th being National Day, the market is closed.

    #48 Weng Hon, my email is abeltan@hotmail.com. But please bear in mind that since I do not own a laptop, my response will be only once weekly during my days off from work.

    #50 Jonathan, my joint-account partner works parttime while I am a fulltime security-guard on 12hour day-shift(only) 6 days a week. By 9.30pm each evening we would have decided which stock to punt the next day and more than half the time I give the trading orders.
    Trading is active usually after 9.10am to about 9.45/50, then activity picks up again after 10.15am as punters digest the HKong mkt opening performance. By 11.30 the STI cools off again until at times after 12 noon some activity is aroused due to 3-and-half-day or 4-and-a-half-day contra window-limits being cleared. Activity picks up again after 3.30pm when Zurich/Frankfurt open trading and trades become more bouyant after 4.30pm as traders clear positions before 5pm closing time. Many times the proprietary traders enhance the “buzz during these dying moments”.
    Intermittently between these trading hours, an invidual stock or a group of stocks in an industry vis-a-vis Friday’s palmoils Wilmar, Golden Agri, Olam, Indo Agri, (the latter which we just hesitated to commit ourselves when the stock’s quotation was 2.47/48) will create action due to bullish/bearish news specific to the stocks. Our remisier will immediately contact us regarding such “waves”.

    Probably more than half of punters are small-bits players like us where we are contented with nett profits of less than $100. To begrudge the higher percentage of total brokerage fees we pay proportioned to receivable profits would deter us from trading. On the other hand, we are compensated for many of us by not having to put a cent down when we buy. Really, I cannot pinpoint which other from of gambling where one does not have to put forward actual cash money on placing a bet except between colleagues/friends, to await the outcome of a win/loss.

    Since we started in May 2006, we had averaged nett profits of $200plus monthly per person. We had so far only two months of incurring nett losses of $500plus and $800plus in the years 2008 and 2009 respectively. Our best profit is a one time $714 each in 2007. Our smallest nett profit is $39 each in January last year.

    For many of us, veterans of the 90s Clobshares trading, our punting is merely just an acquired expertise. One of the trading Commandments we learned is to – BUY during moments of FEAR(even though we are feeling breathless) and SELL during moments of EUPHORIA. Our clinical focus is – “The price is now XXXX, what is one’s immediate decision, long or short”.

    To gamble big, punt in penny stocks. Buy 200lots ABC @ 11.5cts and sell at 12cts, a just one bid higher attainment, and one’s gross profit is $1k.

    #53 Catherine Yeo,hold your counters till the next bullishness. Noble appears weak since the change of CEOs. But it is a regular punting stock. Buy Tiger Air again if the stock is $1.95 or lower. My email is abeltan@hotmail.com

    For Tuesday 11/8, we are buying Capital Land 3.97, Noble 1.62,NOL 1.99, Genting 1.22, Cosco 1.56, Kreuz 42cts.

    Happy National Day

    Abel Tan

  58. Hi guys!

    I’m not one to gamble… but the current market is not one where I should “buy and hold” either.

    The US equity indicator of the website I use shows an uptrend starting around end July. So I should be looking into buying safe, value stocks soon.

    I’m also looking into China companies whose stocks are listed on the US exchange. And this is where maybe I can make some “bets”.

    To make it realistic and not just talk, I will use $50,000 and buy 10 counters using $5,000 per counter to start this mini-China fund. Then I will track the performance of this weekly and see if I can make some money.

    Baidu.com BIDU $87.74 56 shares $4,913.36
    China Agri CAGC $15.91 314 shares $4996.27
    China Auto CAAS $18.74 266 shares $4,984.15
    China Yuchai CYD $19.39 257 shares $4,989.90
    Ctrip.com CTRP $42.61 117 shares $4,984.79
    Focus Media FMCN $19.25 259 shares $4,985.34
    Funtalk China FTLK $8.35 598 shares $4992.49
    Home Inns & Hotel HMIN $44.37 112 shares $4,969.31
    Spreadtrum Com SPRD $10.87 459 shares $4,990.10
    Telestone Tech TSTC $14.11 354 shares $4,994.27

    I have used Monday 9 August as the start date for the prices and $9.99 per trade cost. I will get out of the share if it drops 10 percent but will not replace it.

    Let’s see where this will take us! Happy investing!

  59. hi fellow SHC traders,
    Congrats to those who make money like Abel, Henry, Kenneth.. etc. Below an article I received from a learned trader friend..

    Most people looking to make money in the markets believe that the answer lies in finding some simple technical analysis strategies that will catapult them to profitability.

    The truth is that trading is not as simple as beginners believe. It is a profession, and like any profession it requires a learning curve. Reading a book or getting a few simple “tips” is not going to turn you into a professional trader.

    After studying for a length of time, it’s not uncommon for students to begin their search for the “holy grail.”

    They search for more indicators, chart patterns, gurus, alert services or the latest secret day trading strategies and other things that will provide their answer to becoming successful.

    But here’s the fact. Success lies within you .. and it won’t come easy.

    In fact, one of my favourite success principles is this:

    “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.”

    Let’s apply this to trading in the form of my list of “Day Trading Rules to Live By” … all of which have to do more with you than with the market.

    The consistency you need is in your mind, not in the market. Many in the market get frustrated because the market often behaves differently than they expect. You can’t rely on the market to be consistent. It is largely a random walk. But there are times when the market does setup with a probability scenario that gives you an edge. Your job is be consistent in trading those probability setups and trade them every time they occur.
    Trade like a cat. Most beginners over trade. It’s one of the most common trading sins. Your job is to be better than other day traders in having the discipline to wait like a cat in the brush until just the right moment (your high probability setup) and then jump on the trade without hesitation.
    Successful trading is simply a game of not making mistakes. Keep a list of your day trading rules posted on the wall or on your monitor and then follow those rules perfectly. You must be more disciplined than the average trader. Never depart from your rules no matter how good a trade “looks” or “feels” to you if it violates your objective and back-tested rules.
    Only trade when you are in an optimal emotional state. Never trade when you are tired or are in an emotionally unstable situation (after a fight with a spouse or friend for example). Day trading is more like athletics than academics. Trading on such a short time frame requires you to be able to make split second decisions, and you’re risking a lot of money when you do. Make sure your mind is sharp and your emotions are centred.
    Keep a detailed trading log. Every day trading course I’ve seen has a trading log. Yet my experience in dealing with trading students demonstrates that less than 10% of them actually use it. This is a huge mistake. Not only should you log every trade, but you should also record how you felt and what you were thinking as you took the trade. In this way your logs will become a type of “biofeedback” mechanism for you. Personally, this was the difference that made all the difference for me.

    These 5 day trading rules are not the type of rules that you were probably looking for. The masses want rules about indicators, price bars, where you get in and where you get out.

    Granted, you definitely need clear objective rules about those things as well. Yet thousands of traders have those types of rules, and yet continue to fail because those rules are about market action.

    They fail because they don’t have, or don’t follow, the more important rules the rules about their own action.

    If you find yourself resisting the importance of these rules about your own behaviour, realize that you are one of the masses who feels the same way. But since the masses fail at day trading, you must set yourself apart and do something different than them.

    Following these 5 day trading rules are what the retail traders fail to do. Not because they can’t do them, but because they are unwilling to do them. And remember, “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.” Happy trading and Cheers..

  60. If you can assess your risk you are half way there to being a trader…
    Quote : …not the most talented or skilled person wins the game. The game is won by the ones who can manage their Personal Risk and have a Mental Edge

    good read from http://www.tradingmarkets.com/stocks/trading-lessons/5-keys-to-dealing-with-trading-fear-771586.html

    5 Keys to Dealing with Trading Fear
    How comfortable are you dealing with uncertainty?

    As volatility and uncertainty increases, so does fear. When our emotions run high, then our decision making process suffers.

    It seems like the harder we try, the worse things get.

    We start reacting to things instead of being proactive. Then we feel overwhelmed.

    Does this sound familiar?

    One of the hardest things to deal with is uncertainly.

    We have strategies for managing our risk in most aspects of our trading. However, we seldom talk about or have strategies for the most crucial element, our Personal Risk.

    Have you noticed the panic that is going on in the markets? Do you know people who have been a contributor to it? Do you know them intimately?

    How do you manage your Personal Risk?

    1. Trade With a Clear Mind

    Do not make emotional decisions. Realize that emotions are emotions. What differentiates the successful traders from others is how we recalibrate our reactions to our emotions.

    I was watching an interview with a surfer. The interviewer asked him what he does when a big surf comes and he goes underwater. The surfer said it was simple. “If I panic, I only have 3-5 seconds of air to breathe. If I stay calm, I have 45-60 seconds of air.”

    What does surfing have to do with trading? If you panic and operate from a place of fear, you could lose all of your capital. However, if you take a moment and think about your strategies, you can have much better results.

    2. Look at Your Portfolio Objectively

    Think about your portfolio as if you are looking at the portfolio of your best friend. How would you advise him/her?

    3. Limit Your Input

    There are a lot of conflicting points of view. If we want to listen to all of them, it becomes very confusing, and the confused mind does not make a decision.

    Instead of listening to everybody, pick the top 3 people that you respect and listen to them. This way, you can remain focused and have much better trading results.

    4. Be In Tune With the Markets

    Trade the markets as they are and not as you want them to be.

    If we are not in tune with the markets and don’t listen to them, we are going to be in a losing game.

    After all, hope is a lousy hedge.

    5. Be In a Supportive Environment

    It is important to listen to the people that we respect and are successful.

    There are traders whose spouse and/or friends have little or no risk tolerance. As a result, these traders allow the fear of their spouse and/or friends to become the boundaries of their success.

    Who are you choosing to surround yourself with?

  62. Hi SHCians

    Some Wednesdays I can “steal” 15/20minutes to internet at the workplace.

    With due respect, my partner and me are just satisfied with “collecting drips of water to make a pail”. Four arms lengthwise is unable to encompass a pond. Our drips of water are absolutely way beyond comprehension to make an ocean.

    After 3.30pm today we bought 5lots Capital Land 3.96 and 30lots Golden Agri 57cts. We are praying Dow Jones will add a near 100points or more to its index in this evening’s trade, thus boosting hopefully the STI tomorrow morning.

    Admittedly, stocks punting is an addiction to us.

    Regards

    Abel Tan

  63. Hi guys!!

    There’s a new chat taking place on Aug 19 but I may not be able to attend… so sad…

    Anyway, here’s an update on the China Fund #58 as of close Friday 13th…. yes, Friday 13th!! It looks like there’s nothing going well with global stock markets down. The day I entered the China trades, China news became negative. Then the US employment data… so it’s down, down. And not a good time for longs in the market. The short uptrend is rapidly replaced by a down.

    I’ve closed out China Auto CAAS which reached the trailing stop of 10%. The other counters are down an average 8.7%, so let’s see how they go in the coming weeks.

    Meanwhile, the short sellers are in and the traders will have a great time playing that side of the market.

    Have a great weekend!

Leave a Reply