April Recap – Tricky Month, but Stays in the Green
Trading With the Geek Recap of April Trades
April was another tricky month. The markets were, and possibly still are, in a period of consolidation. They were adjusting to economic conditions, changing global growth outlooks, mixed economic data and another round of Eurozone political upheaval. Nevertheless my friends I was able to rise above the noise and come out on top with another net positive month of trading. All in all I made 25 recommendations for the Geek-folio, 24 of which were triggered. Out of those 24 I profited 14 times for a win/loss ratio just over 58%. A 58% win/loss is not a super great percentage for the month but it is enough to remain in the green. Remember, in most cases a win/loss percentage greater than 54% is all it takes to profit from long term binary options trading.
How Did I Do?
So, to sum it all up I spent a total of $2350 this month buying positions. One trade on the SPX was a half size which accounts for the $50. I use a risk/reward that provides a 15% rebate on my losers so I received $200 in refunds and then a total of $2295 for my winning trades. My net gain for the month was a slim $145, not nearly enough to retire on. On a percentage basis my net gain was 6.2% of the $2350 I spent trading.
Total Cost Of Trading = -$2350
Total Return On Winners = $2295
Total Return On Losers = $200
Net Profit/Loss = $145 (6.2% of investment)
Only One Trade Failed To Trigger
One of my trades on JP Morgan was the one that didn’t trigger. I made a total of 2 trades on this asset this month with no wins. This is ironic because my analysis on JPM was almost spot on. The mistake I made was not giving it enough time. The first trade did not trigger because the market moved to quickly for me following the earnings release. The second trade failed because I was too liberal with my entry target and the expiration was too close.
S&P Rally Carried On
I redeemed myself with the S&P 500 this month. Last month my favorite assets kicked my but, this month I made up for the whooping plus some. I made five calls on the S&P and profited 4 of them. The first trade of the month, the one I lost on, suffered from the same mistake I made with JPM…not enough time. I was still cautious then so I used a one week position. As for the rest, they all finished deep in the money.
Germany Rebound On The Way?
European markets suffered a bit of turbulence last month. Italian elections, Cyprus banking failure, Greece, Spain, economic data and the ECB all had their effects on this market. Out of all the European indexes I trade the DAX most commonly. This month I traded it twice for a total of 1 win and 1 loss. Along with the DAX I also traded the EUR/USD pair 5 times and lost an embarrassing 4 times.
Japan, BOJ and Yen
Japan was a bit of an easier read this month. The index is being driven by internal economic manipulation and telegraphed its move to some extent. I trade the Nikkei twice and won twice. I would have traded it more but was cautious of fluctuation and correction. I also traded the USD/YEN making 5 calls on it. I fared better with this pair than with the EUR/USD and profited 3 times here.
Gold Lost Its Shine
The drop in gold prices took everyone by surprise and opened up new opportunities in that sector. I used GoldCorp as a proxy for the metal in order to make weekly trades because my broker only has intra day expiration on gold prices. I made three trades on the company and profited 2 of them. I will be keeping a close eye on this one over the next week or so as I expect a major breakdown of support.
The Apple Of My Eye
Apple. My old friend. I have tried and tried to trade Apple many time and have had a very bad success rate. This month I stepped into the market again and bought a call just prior to earnings. It was the right move finally…I made winning trade on Apple.