When evaluating the forex market for swing trade opportunities the focus is placed on predicting directional changes or continuations for a given currency pair. For this we rely on technical analysis.

In technical analysis, just as in fundamental analysis, there are lagging indicators and leading indicators. One of the most reliable tools used to predict forex market swings is Elliott Wave analysis. Elliott Wave analysis can be used to identify trends and countertrends, trend continuation or exhaustion and to evaluate the potential price targets of a trend.

You can apply Elliott Wave analysis to both long and short position swing trade set ups for your currency pairs.

Elliott Wave theory is named after Ralph Nelson Elliott, who concluded that the markets moved in a repetitive pattern of waves. He attributed this action to the mass psychology of the market.

Elliott concluded that the market’s movement was a direct result of the mass psychology of the time and that the stock market is a fractal. A fractal is an object that is similar in shape, but at different scales. A great example of a fractal in nature is a stalk of broccoli. The stalk and the individual branches look exactly the same; just the branches are smaller in scale.

Fractals just happen to form in accordance with Fibonacci ratios. Is this a coincidence?

Elliott attributes this mass psychological move to the human trait of herding. Even though Elliott’s theories were based on stock market price movements, it has been applied to evaluating Presidential approval ratings and fashion trends changes as well.

The conclusion, the market price actions are not the cause of economic growth or slow down, but the reflection of the mass psychology of investors. If the mood of the investing public is upbeat then a bull market ensues. This is counter to what most individual perceive, that because there is a bull market the mood of the investing public is upbeat.

Elliott Wave patterns follow a sequence that the markets move up in a series of 3 waves and down in a series of 2 waves. This 3 wave impulse and 2 wave corrective sequence form the foundation of the 5 Wave impulse pattern (the opposite is true in a downtrend).

The Elliott Wave Counts are as follows;

Wave 1 – Short Covering

Wave 2 – Pullback from Short Covering

Wave 3 – Major Rally Phase

Wave 4 – Institution Pause in the Rally

Wave 5 – Retail Buying

Wave 1 is usually the weakest of the impulse waves. It is a brief rally based on short covering of the bears from a previous move down. When Wave 1 is complete, the currency pair sells off, creating Wave 2.

Wave 2 ends when the market fails to make new lows. You often see dominant reversals patterns form at the end of this wave signaling the being of the rally phase or Wave 3.

Wave 3 is the longest and strongest of the impulse waves. This signals strong currency buying or selling in the direction of the trend. This trend usually starts of slowly, but tends to accelerate as it breaks to new highs above the top of Wave 1.

Like any trend, especially a strong trend a correction will occur. Traders will begin to take profits and the currency pair will retrace. This signals the beginning of Wave 4.

Again the currency pair will rally ushering in the Wave 5 rally. Wave 5 is typically supported by the retail traders and not institutional buyers (the herd) and tends to lack the momentum generated in the Wave 3 rally. This creates divergence that can be easily measured on any technical oscillator. After the currency pair breaks to new highs above the previous Wave 3 high, the rally loses steam and changes trend.

This trend change can result in either a new 5 Wave impulse pattern or a corrective in nature.

Now that we know what the Elliott Wave analysis is, how would a currency trade using this analysis look like, just as an example?

Look to Wave 5 as the most reliably tradable impulse wave. The trade sets up as follows. Look for the Elliott Oscillator to pull back between 90% and 140% of the Wave 3 high on a daily chart. This pullback should correspond to a 38%-62% Fibonacci retracement from the Wave 2 extension. This signal is the strongest when the Fibonacci retracement is between 38% – 50%.

Like any technical analysis tool you never want to employ an indicator as a stand alone analysis tool. A trigger and a confirming indicator are required as well.

Look for a trigger in candle patterns, such as Harami, Tweezers or Harami cross. There are a variety of software packages on the market that perform Elliott Wave counts and have other entry signal indicators as well.

Draw a regression channel on the Wave 4 retracement and look for a break above or below the channel as confirmation to enter the trade.

Place stops at the high of the Wave 1 advance, just below the 38% Fibonacci retracement level or where your individual trading plan dictates. Trail your stops once the currency pair has advanced past the Wave 3 high. Look for reversal candle patterns like doji, hammers, shooting stars or hanging mans for signals that the wave is about to end or stall. A typical price target is 127% retracement of the Wave 4 low.

This is just a glimpse of how Elliott Wave analysis can be deployed to enhance your forex swing trade evaluations. Look more into the Elliott Wave theory and other strategies as tools for increasing your forex swing trade opportunities.



By: Todd Judkins

Learn how to make money trading the foreign currencies using Pivot Points … forex trading daytrading technical analysis profits euro dollar currency learn FX easy pivot points

There more popular than ever and greedy investors think they are going to get rich quickly with no effort. The reality check is almost all robots will destroy your account equity quickly…

95 – 98% of robots I see on the net have not even been traded!

The track record has this disclaimer on it.

Look for it in the small print if you see it and read it you will understand why it probably will fail miserably:

“CFTC RULE 4.41 – Hypothetical or simulated performance results have certain limitations. Unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, since the trades have not been executed, the results may have under-or-over compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity.

then of course the statement that makes the track record no use at al in determining profitability:

Simulated trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profit or losses similar to those shown”.

Now what is the logic of having a track record that has never been traded and what does it tell you?

Does it indicate anything about the profitability of the system – NO

Of Course it doesn’t and it’s a wonder that these track records are allowed to be used to sell to the public. Most of the time the traders buying the system don’t dig to deep and are generally trusting throw in some good copy and there soon buying the system.

I always read about how these forex robots are sold by ex bank traders etc – there not, there sold by marketing companies looking to tap into the huge market in forex trading products.

You can make money in forex but an automated trading system that has never been traded is not the way to do it. Let’s make one point clear:

Forex trading is NOT as easy as giving a few hundred dollars and buying success in a box – life isn’t like that!

You need to get the right forex education and do your homework – if you want to buy a forex trading system you can find some good ones with track records if you shop around – but never ever buy one with a simulation.

You could trying writing to the vendor and ask for his track record audited over say 2 years and see if you get a reply but don’t hold your breath.



By: Monica Hendrix

Are you looking for a highly successful Forex online trading course? This trillion dollar market is the largest volume trading market in the world, with money changing hands between a wide variety of participants every day that includes large financial institutions, investment firms and small investors like you and me.

Most of the currency rate movements are caused by the large financial players due to changes in demand and supply in different currencies. As these transactions are being made, smaller investors like institutions and single investors can profit from the activity by speculating in the direction of movement of the currency rate.

1. Signing Up for a Forex Online Trading Course

Before you can expect to make any money from the currencies market, you should get a good education first by joining a Forex online trading course. These types of courses will give you a good idea of how the markets work in general and help you realize the dangers as well as the potential profits that can be made trading the Forex.

2. Profiting with Forex Automated Trading Software

If you have absolutely no experience but you want to start making money immediately, you can choose to download automated software that can start making money automatically while you learn how it trades the market.

3. How to Start Profiting from the Forex Market?

You will need to sign up for a live account to start making real money with Forex trading. If you have no idea of how your trading system works yet, you should get a demo account to practice on it and get familiar with it first.

4. How is Forex Online Trading Different from Trading other Financial Markets like the Stock Market?

The currencies market is much more liquid and provides much more margin for profit due to increased leverage. It is extremely liquid compared to the stock market, and you can be sure that your trades will be successfully executed as there are always buyers and sellers, unlike certain stocks that can be very illiquid.



By: William Barnes

With everything that is at stake when you are trading Forex, it is only logical that you would want the best tools available to help you. Forex trading is the epitome of volatile trading and even the best trading systems seem to fail eventually. This is why over 90% of new forex traders blow through their accounts and go bust. Don’t get me wrong, volatility is a good thing and can lead to quick profits. But we have to remember that the same effect can also lead to quick losses.

So now that I have stated the obvious you are asking yourself what is needed to analyze a currency chart and that is the purpose of this article. When we analyze a chart we need only look for signals that indicate one of two emotions; fear and greed. These two emotions are found quite frequently in forex markets due to the high leverage and quick gains or losses. By using a trading system like Japanese Candlesticks with your trading plan and research, you are giving yourself the best chance for success in Forex trading.

What’s so different about candlestick trading forex? When you are watching your favorite chart as the market moves it’s easy to forget that what we are watching are the collective trading activities of every trader, both institutional and individual, leaving their tracks for us to interpret on the chart. This is very important and I want you to stop and think about it for a minute! No matter how small the timeframe, the chart will show us not only the collective trading activity but the collective emotions as well. Fear, greed and uncertainty are easy to spot with the use and understanding of candlesticks and are also easy to learn.

Japanese Candlesticks have been around for centuries and have proven their effectiveness in all tradable markets. With forex however, we need to adjust our thinking a bit because the patterns form differently due to the fact that forex is traded twenty-four hours a day and there is no open or close to the trading day. Many traders are under the false misconception that candlestick trading won’t work in forex due to this feature of the forex market. In actuality, there isn’t a better market to use candlesticks than forex once you learn to spot the different nuances in the candlestick reversal patterns.

With everything at stake while trading forex it’s time to stop relying on useless indicators and start concentrating on the chart itself. A candlestick chart if you want to learn to quickly asses the mood of the forex market. I urge you to spend a little time studying forex candlestick trading and see for yourself how easy it is to spot these changing tides of emotions that lead to price moves and reversals.



By: B.M. Davis

Candlestick charts are claimed to be the oldest type of charts used for price prediction. It all started around 1700s, when Munehisa Homma in Japan became a legendary rice trader for predicting rice prices using Candlestick Charts.

Candlestick chart patterns are exceedingly popular in forex trading because of their dynamic features and versatility. On all charts, users can toggle between line, bar and candlestick chart view. Candlestick Charts are usually very colorful charts as compared to conventional charts.

Different colors are used to indicate different nature of price movement. Four prices are of utmost importance in constructing the Candlestick Chart- High, Low, Open, and Close.

Each candle consists of two parts: the body and the shadows. The body reflects the open and closing price for the certain period. If the candle body is black the close price is below the open, and white if the close is higher than the open for the period. On the other hand, candlestick shadows reflect the intra-period high and low prices of forex in a market.

In candlestick charting the periods used are 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, daily and weekly. A long shadow reflects that the trading extended well beyond the opening or closing price, while a short shadow, shows that trading was confined closely to the open or closing price.

Each element in a candlestick pattern in forex predicts certain trends. Long white candlesticks predict strong buying pressure. The longer the white candlestick, the further the close is above the open. This indicates that prices advanced significantly from open to close and forex buyers were aggressive.

There are various patterns of candlesticks charts, which are employed in forex. Doji, for example is a candlesticks pattern that is generated when the body of the candle is minimal as market’s open and close are virtually equal.

There are others like Hammer, Inverted hammer, Gravestone, Shooting star, Three white soldiers, Three black crows, Marubozu Black and White and many more. These candlesticks do not have upper or lower shadows and the high and low are represented by the open or close.

Candlestick charts are much more visually appealing than any other two dimensional bar charts used in forex prediction. They convey market price information in a quicker and easier manner. Candlestick Chart became famous and acceptable to the forex traders by its amazing success story initially in the commodity market.

If you think that the candlestick charts are difficult to comprehend you are wrong. All you would need is to learn the means of represent ting the charts in the forex market. Few tips for candlestick charts and their interpretation in the forex market can be:

A Black Candlestick — when the close is lower than the open.


A White Candlestick — when the close is higher than the open.


A Shaven Head — a candlestick with no upper shadow.


A Shaven Bottom — a candlestick with no lower shadow.


A Spinning Tops — an equilibrium between the bulls and the bears (either white or black).


A Doji Line – a very close Open and Close


Some of the benefits of candlesticks in forex are:


· Ease of reading – as the charts are composed of four price readings: open, high, low, close.

· Not only shows the direction of a trend, also shows the strength of a move in a particular time frame.

· Can be used in conjunction with other technical indicators.
· Provides the earlier reversal signals.



By: Paul Bryan

Watch Forex Trading learning videos – the easiest way to understand all ins and outs of currency trading. The Forex Video Education is so simple – you will be ready to start Forex Trading right away. Make your first step to Forex Trading NOW!

Swing trading can be highly effective in forex markets enabling you to trade with low risk and high rewards.

Swing trading is however misunderstood by many traders and they lose.

Here we will look at a specific method to swing trade that will give you low risk and high reward.

Swing trading

Takes advantage of corrections in value sideways or strongly trending markets and a typical trade will last 2 – 5 days.

Many traders think they can swing trade on a daily basis but this will just see you lose your equity quickly.

Day trading no matter what system you use is a mugs game, as volatility within a day is totally random and levels have no significance.

If you want proof then ask a day trader for a real time track record of profits and you won’t get one.

Now let’s get started on a simple 3 point method to swing trade.

1. Establish valid support and resistance

You are looking for support or resistance that has been tested and held on several occasions preferably at new chart highs or lows.

2. Watch Momentum

Watch prices move strongly toward the support or resistance and look for confirmation that price momentum is going to turn.

This is the critical point!

You need CONFIRMATION that price momentum is waning, a turn is likely and the odds favour a swing trade.

You want some evidence that price momentum is not strong enough to take out support or resistance.

The best indicator for this is the stochastic indicator – It’s the ultimate indicator to time a swing trade and if you don’t know how it works learn about it from our other articles.

The stochastic is a visual indicator and here we will simply look at the visual set up you need.

When the market is for example trending up to resistance, the stochastic lines will both normally point up. When the market is moving down the opposite set up will apply.

The signal you are looking for is:

For the stochastic lines to cross each other and point either up (bullish divergence) to show support has held or cross and point down (bearish divergence) to show resistance has held – This is your signal to take the trade.

You can see this set up on any free chart service and one of the best is futuresource.com.

3. Target

When you have entered a trade you need a target.

Next pull up the Bollinger band.

If you have had a quick volatile move to test support or resistance, prices will be normally at the top or bottom of the band.

Look for prices to return to the middle band and make this your target.

Don’t hang around and trail stops.

As soon as you hit this band or near it take profit.

Other points

1. Only trade sharp volatile moves into valid and significant support and resistance.

2. Always wait for a stochastic crossover to enter don’t predict.

3. Set a target and get out.

A typical swing trade will last for around 2 – 4 trading days.

If you look for set ups that meet the above criteria you can get some low risk high reward trades that will build significant profits over time.



By: Sacha Tarkovsky

Forex trading refers to foreign exchange trading. Here you buy and sell foreign exchanges. Contrary to the belief of people who are in the investment field, the Forex market is bigger and stronger than stock market. It accounts for more trade than stock and commodity exchanges. The dollar is the most valuable currency here closely followed by EURO. People in the forex trading love it because it allows them the unending excitement.

As we talked in the earlier paragraph forex trading refers to foreign exchange trading. The foreign exchanges of different countries are traded here. Contrary to popular belief, not all currencies traded here. The most traded currencies are the US Dollar, EURO, Sterling, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, Newzealand Dollar, Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc. These currencies are traded in pairs here, ie you sell one to buy another. The US Dollar is the base currency at most times except when traded in pair with EURO and Pounds.

What makes Forex trading most exciting is its high leverage margin factor that allows people to trade 100 times more the amount they invest. You can invest 1000 dollars and trade for 100000 dollars. That makes it more exciting and it has some disadvantages too. You can make the best return on your investment owe to this factor. Forex trading as people who trade say gives more returns than any other investment.

India has not opened itself to forex trading yet. But, that did not deter people from trading in foreign exchanges. There are people who trade in foreign exchange and making nice profit. Though it is an exciting opportunity people from India have not risen to the potential in this trading. It requires you to be on your toes all the time because small changes in regulation or in the market can wipe your investment away or give you unexpected returns. My advice shall be to trade cautiously.



By: Noor Mohamed

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