Foreign Exchange trading commonly referred to as Forex or FX is the exchange of one currency for another currency at an agreed price.

The Forex market is the largest financial market in the world with over $4.4 trillion traded daily1, compare this with the approximate $34.52 billion daily average volume of the NYSE Listed Shares of the NYSE Group2. Over 85% of Forex trading is concentrated in the major currency pairs, which are combinations of the EUR, USD, JPY, GBP, CHF, AUD, CAD. The markets are at their most liquid during the London Trading Hours as over 38% of the global daily FX volume is transacted through the London Forex market3. Why Trade Forex? 1. Liquidity The FX market is the most liquid market in the world, making the cost of trading lower than other asset classes. Additionally, slippage is far less likely to occur than in other markets due to the depth of the market. In normal market conditions and size in the most liquid currency pairs you should see no slippage on your trades or orders. 2. 24 Hour Global Market The Forex market is not traded on a central exchange or in a physical location, it is an Over the Counter (OTC) market where trading occurs through electronic systems and the telephone, 24 hours a day from Sunday evening till the close on Friday night (UK Time). This 24 hour market means that gapping is less likely and allows traders to react to political, economic, technical and fundamental factors as they happen rather than waiting for the market to open. 3. Access The growth of the internet enabled Forex to be offered to retail customers, allowing them to trade Forex in milliseconds through an online broker. This coupled with leverage has bought about huge growth in retail customers now trading Forex. It is estimated that Retail FX daily trading volumes have grown from $10 Billion in 2000 to over $200 Billion in 20124. 4. Leverage Forex is a margined (or leveraged) product. This means that you can trade Forex with an initial deposit that is a small percentage of the total transaction value. This means that the rate of return, the profit or loss from the initial capital outlay, is significantly higher than in traditional cash trading. 5. Low Transaction Cost Most Forex brokers do not charge commission on Forex trades but make

their money from the dealing spread, the difference between where a customer can buy (the offer) or sell (the bid). Due to the high liquidity and 24 hour market the spread in currency pairs is small meaning the cost of trading is low. Other trading costs are also low, the initial margin required to trade FX is small and the financing rates, the cost to borrow the notional transaction value overnight are also lower than other financial markets. 6. Trade Long or Short It is easy to take a positive or negative view of how a currency will perform against another, there are no selling (shorting) restrictions on free floating currencies. 7. Volatility The exchange rate is affected by a huge variety of political, economic, technical and fundamental factors meaning that it is constantly moving and adjusting price wise. This variety makes forex trading interesting and exciting as it causes volatility, as prices can change rapidly in response to many factors creating trading opportunities. CFD A CFD (Contract for Difference) is an agreement to exchange the difference in value of the underlying instrument between the time at which the contract is opened and the time at which it is closed. Geared products like CFDs can help you make the most effective use of your investment capital, but it is important to appreciate that the amount you could gain or lose relative to your initial investment is greater for geared products than for non-geared products. CFDs are margin traded products. You only need to deposit a fraction of the notional trade value of the contract allowing you to make a much larger investment than in traditional cash markets. Your profit or loss is determined by the difference between the price you buy at and the price you sell at. Margin levels required will vary between different CFD products. A CFD is all of the following;

An agreement to exchange the difference between the opening price and the closingIndices
S&P 500 Quote Contract Size Trading Unit 1550.5 / 1551 $100 per One Index Point 1 Index Point

You believe the S&P 500 Index will go You believe the S&P 500 Index will go lower, you sell 1 contract at 1550.5 higher, you buy 1 contract at 1551 Opening SELL The quote means you can sell at: 1550.5 Opening BUY The quote means you can buy at: 1551.0

You need to have the required margin of You need to have the required margin of $4,000 per contract available on your $4,000 per contract available on your account. account. The Contract Size of 1 contract is $100 per One Index Point meaning your profit or loss per contract will be $100 per one Index Point price increment The value of 1 contract is Price x Contract Size (1550.5 x $100) = $155,050 The Contract Size of 1 contract is $100 per One Index Point meaning your profit or loss per contract will be $100 per one Index Point price increment The value of 1 contract is Price x Contract Size (1551.0 x $100) = $155,100

Two days later the market rises on better than expected Non-Farm Payroll Figures and the S&P price quote moves to 1554.5 / 1555. You decide to close your open trading position. Closing BUY You decide to close the position by placing an equal and opposite trade to Closing SELL You decide to close the position by placing an equal and opposite trade to

the opening trade, in this case buying 1 the opening trade, in this case by selling contract at 1555.0 1 contract at 1554.5 Your profit is calculated as follows: Closing Price - Opening Price / Trading Unit x Contract Size x Number of Contracts Your profit is calculated as follows: Closing Price - Opening Price / Trading Unit x Contract Size x Number of Contracts

1555.0 - 1550.5 / 1 x $100 x -1 = -$450 1554.5 - 1551.0 / 1 x $100 x 1 = $350 (Loss) (Profit) As this is a Futures (expiring) CFD there is no commission or overnight financing charges, all costs are in the competitive dealing spread

price of a contract. A derivative that allows you to trade the price movement of the underlying instrument without actually owning that instrument. A total return swap where cash is borrowed from the counterparty to purchase a contract for the return of an underlying asset from that counterparty. The borrowing cost can either be paid separately as an overnight financing charge or be included in the spread. A leveraged product meaning that only a small amount of collateral (margin) is required as an initial deposit. A trading contract that gives the client the ability to open a long or short position. An OTC (Over the Counter) product meaning you can only close that contract with the counterparty you opened it with.

Types of orders To assist our customers in managing their trading risk we offer a wide range of different order types. These strategy orders can help customers manage the risk on their open positions or enable them to open new positions if the market reaches certain levels. What is a Market order? A Market order is an instruction to buy or sell at the current market price. For example, EURUSD is currently trading at 1.3040 / 1.3043, if you want to buy

EURUSD at the current price of 1.3043 you can simply click the Buy/Ask Price button and your order will be executed instantly at this price. What are Limit and Stop orders? A Limit or Stop order is an instruction to buy or sell if the market price reaches a pre-defined level. The order essentially contains two variables, the price and the duration. The duration is the time period that the customer wishes the order to remain active, after which it will expire. Limit order: This order is an instruction to either BUY BELOW or SELL ABOVE the current market price, if the pre-defined price is reached during the order duration. Stop order: This order is an instruction to either BUY ABOVE or SELL BELOW the current market price, if the pre-defined price is reached during the order duration. Pre-defined order levels must be placed a certain minimum distance away from the current market price. These minimum levels will vary by instrument. What are Limit Settle orders? There are two types of Limit Settle orders: Linked Limit and Stop Loss. Limit orders (take profit) or stop loss orders (limit loss) are pending orders that are linked to open positions whose primary purpose is to close an existing open position at a profit or for a loss. These orders can be attached to a market order at the point of placing the market order or after the position has been opened. From the MarketsTrader platform, it is possible to set both a limit and a stop loss order at the same time. These orders can be viewed, amended or cancelled at any time. If the open position is closed then any Limit Settle orders that are linked to the position will automatically be cancelled. What are Limit Open orders? There are two types of Limit Open orders: Limit Open and Stop Open. These are limit or stop orders that are designed to open a new position when the price reaches a pre-defined level. If you want to SELL below or BUY above the current price you would place a Stop order and if you wanted to BUY below or SELL above the current price you would place a limit order. These orders can be viewed, amended or cancelled at any time.

Hedging facility Clients have access to a hedging facility within the MarketsTrader platform. A hedge trade is a way of insuring an investment against future risk. So if you have an open Forex position which you feel has encouraging future prospects but you anticipate the currency pair may reverse against you in the short term, you may want to neutralize this short term risk by hedging your position by making an opposite trade to the existing open position. This hedging function enables CCC traders hold a long and short position in the same instrument at the same time. Order Duration It is possible to choose different lengths of time that an order remains active in the market. Daily: A Daily order remains active in the market until the end of the trading day. GTF (Good til Friday): A GTF order remains active in the market until the end of trading each week. GTC (Good til Cancelled): A GTC order remains active in the market indefinitely until either the price is reached and the trade executed or the client manually cancels the order. Advanced Strategy Orders OCO (One Cancels the Other) An OCO is an order that comprises of both a limit and stop order. If one of the orders is executed the other order will be cancelled. OCO orders can be either Limit Open or Limit Settle. IF-Done Limit Order An if-done limit order allows you to preset the Take Profit and the Stop Loss price for your limit entry order. This is an easy way to place stops and limits on a trade that you anticipate may be opened in the future if a certain price target is reached. If your market entry order is triggered, the If-Done order automatically attaches your pre-defined Take Profit and Stop Loss orders to the live open position. Trading Order Examples

Limit Settle OCO Limit Price and Stop Price You open a long position in EURUSD at 1.3043 and decide that you want to take profits if the price reaches 1.3098 but also want to limit your losses if the price trades at 1.3022. You can place an OCO Limit Settle order, above the market, with a Limit Price at 1.3098 and a Stop Price at 1.3022, below the market. If the price reaches 1.3098 first then the open position will be closed at 1.3098 and the Stop order cancelled. If the price was to reach the 1.3022 level first then the open position will be closed at 1.3022 and the limit order cancelled. If the open position is closed either manually or as a result of the order expiring, then both Limit and Stop orders will automatically be cancelled. Limit Open Limit Price EURUSD is currently trading at 1.3040 / 1.3043, and you want to buy if the price reaches 1.3020. You can place a limit order at 1.3020 and if the price reaches that level the trading system will automatically execute the buy order at the exact price of the order. Stop Price EURUSD is currently trading at 1.3040 / 1.3043, and you want to sell if the price reaches 1.3017. You can place a stop order at 1.3017 and if the price reaches that level the trading system will automatically execute the sell order at the exact price of the order. Trends

Trends
The first trend theory holds that an uptrend remains intact as long as each successive intermediate high is higher than those preceding it and each reaction stops at a higher point than earlier reactions. Conversely, a downtrend prevails when each intermediate decline is lower than the preceding lows and at a lower point than earlier rallies.

Uptrend - series of successively higher peaks and troughs

Downtrend - series of declining peaks and troughs

Sideways - horizontal peaks and troughs

Basic: Support & Resistance Support and resistance levels are unquestionably among the most important of all technical considerations. They are areas, at which prices are expected to have difficulty moving beyond, and they therefore deserve careful considerations in buying and selling decisions. Support and resistance levels on bar chart can be divided into three basic categories: 1. congestion areas; 2. areas at which previous advances and declines failed; and 3. transformed support and resistance levels. i.e., former highs that have been penetrated and thereby turned into support levels. The basic idea behind resistance and support theory is simply that price levels that were significant in the past will have significant impact on price action in the future. Major Support (troughs) Price levels or areas on a chart where buyer interest is sufficiently strong enough to overcome any selling pressures and the price decline is halted. Major Resistance (peak) Price levels or areas on a chart where selling interest is sufficiently strong enough to overcome any buying pressure and the price rise is halted. Significance of a Trendline 1. The longer the trendline has been intact, the more significant the trendline. 2. The more the number of times the trendline has been tested, the stronger the trendline. Validity of Trendline Violation 1. The price filter used is a 1% or 3% penetration criteria to eliminate false breaks. A closing price penetration beyond the trendline is more significant than just an intra-day penetration. 2. The time filter requires that prices close beyond the trendline for 2 successive days.

Chart Configuration
Flag and Pennant The parallelogram and triangle formations that sometimes form after a rapid vertical move indicate that another similar move is likely to follow. Technical analysts often feel that flags mark the halfway point of a price move, measuring the level of decisive break away from the previous formation. Many chartists believe that flags and pennants are among the most dependable signals, particularly in reference to the direction of an impending move.

Triangles Triangles can be continuation or reversal patterns, but seem to fall in the former category more often than the later. They appear when simultaneous short-term uptrend and downtrend lines intersect. The conventional chart interpretation holds that triangles signal an impending large move with the direction of the move likely to be in the direction of the steeper trendline. An Ascending Triangle is likely to breakout in either direction. Subjectively, triangles appear to be fairly

reliable indicators, especially when no more than three of four oscillations occur before the breakout.

Gaps Gaps are simply areas within the boundary of activities where no actual trading has occurred. Technical analysts generally place gaps into one of four categories: Common Gaps are blank areas between two consecutive days trading ranges, within which activity has taken place within the recent past. The area from where the gap occurred normally becomes a support or resistance area. Break Away Gaps occur when prices suddenly burst out of a lengthy, range bound market. Run Away Gaps appear following an already substantial price movement, while Exhaustion Gaps are supposed to signal the final stages of a major move.

Reversal Formations
Reversal The reversal on either a daily or weekly chart is the simplest of trend change formations. A downside reversal occurs when the price registers a new high during the course of a day (or week) and then closes the day (or week) sharply lower. Price action immediately following a daily or weekly reversal varies considerably. In some cases key reversals make the beginning of dramatic retracements of the preceding move, while in others the reversals simply mark the beginning of a more gradual trend change. Island Reversal These are small top or bottom formations set apart by gaps on either side. The island consists of a single day or several days, and the entire formation is closely related to the daily or weekly reversal phenomena. The key difference is simply that following the gap on the island area, prices hold on for several days before the buying (or selling) momentum disappear between trading sessions. Double Top or Bottom These patterns form when successive intermediate term highs or lows stop approximately at the same level. A double top is considered complete only if the decline from the second peak carries prices below the first stopping point. Double tops are frequently associated with support and resistance and a reluctance to buy or sell above or below levels that have proved to be previous barriers. For psychological reasons, round numbers are often likely areas for longer-range double tops.

Head and Shoulder Formation The head and shoulder top (as well as the inverted head and shoulder bottom) is historically one of the most popular and widely followed chart formations. The left shoulder results from an advance followed by a relatively similar decline, and the head is formed by a large rally falling short of the top of the head and subsequent decline that carries prices below the line connecting the body joints of the head called the neckline. Several ideas concerning head and shoulder formation have gained widespread acceptance by technical analysts. First, the pattern is not complete until the neckline is decisively penetrated. Unless and until this occurs no reversal is considered given. Second, after this confirming penetration, prices frequently rally back to the vicinity of the neckline before the final movement begins. Third, the vertical distance from the top of the head to the neckline provides a measure of the extent of the decline likely to occur from the neckline before the final begins. The existence of this concrete measuring rule perhaps accounts for part of this studys popularity among chartists. Fourth, a market is considered extremely vulnerable to a steep decline if the rally forming the right shoulder is unable to carry as far as the top of the left shoulder.

Technical Studies
Relative Strength Index The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator calculates a value based on the cumulative strength and weakness of price, specified in the input Price, over the period specified in the input Length. For that number of bars, RSI accumulates the points gained on bars with higher closes and the points lost on bars with lower closes. These two sums are indexed, with the index plotted on the chart. The RSI plots as an oscillator with a value from 0 to 100. The direction of RSI will confirm price movement. For example, a rising RSI confirms rising prices. RSI can also help identify turning points when there are non-confirmations or divergences. For example, a new high in price without a new high in RSI may indicate a false breakout. RSI is also used to identify overbought and oversold conditions when the RSI value reaches extreme highs or lows.

Stochastic The Stochastic Slow indicator calculates the location of a current price in relation to its range over a period of bars. The default settings are to use the most recent 14 bars (input StochLength), the high and low of that period to establish a range (input PriceH and PriceL) and the close as the current price (input PriceC). This calculation is then indexed, smoothed and plotted as SlowK. A smoothed average of SlowK, known as SlowD, is also plotted. SlowK and SlowD plot as oscillators with values from 0 to 100. The direction of the Stochastics will confirm price movement. For example, rising Stochastics confirm rising prices.

Stochastics can also help identify turning points when there are nonconfirmations or divergences. For example, a new high in price without a new high in Stochastics may indicate a false breakout. Stochastics are also used to identify overbought and oversold conditions when the Stochastics reach extreme highs or lows. Additionally, SlowK crossing above the smoother SlowD can be a buy signal and vice versa.

Moving Average The moving average may be the most widely used indicator. The Moving Average 2 line indicator calculates and plots two simple arithmetic averages of the same prices, specified by the Price input, from each of the most recent number of bars specified by the Length inputs. For example, the default setting is to calculate and plot a simple average of the closing prices of the last 9 bars and a simple average of the closing prices of the last 18 bars. The average of shorter length (also known as the fast average) will be more sensitive to current price changes than the average of greater length (also known as the slow average). Moving averages are generally used for trend identification. Attention is given to the direction in which the averages are moving and to the relative position of prices and the averages. Rising moving average values (direction) and prices above the short moving average and the short moving average above the long moving average (position) will indicate an uptrend. Declining moving average values and prices below the short moving average and the short moving average below the long moving average would indicate a downtrend. Displaced moving averages plot the moving average values of a previous bar or later bar on the current bar.

Momentum The Momentum indicator calculates and plots the net change of the prices between bars. The Input Length parameter specifies the number of the bars, or the time interval used for the net change plot. In the default setting, the indicator is set to plot the net change of ten bars. Measuring current prices versus earlier prices sheds light on the pace of a trend and possible trend reversals. It may also be useful in identifying overbought and oversold conditions when the Momentum becomes extremely strong or weak.