Technical Charting With TraderConnect PR

Transcription

1 1 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PR RO TM

2 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 2 Information in this document is deemed accurate at the time of publishing. However, the information and features elaborated in this user guide is subject to change without prior notice. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of N2N Connect Bhd. N2N Connect may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you the license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from N2N Connect. For enquires, please contact our Customer Service Department at: Help Desk: (60) Fax: (60) helpdesk@n2nconnect.com Version 4.0 Build 570 Date: 03 March 2010 N2N Connect Bhd All Rights Reserved.

3 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 3 Executive Summary The TraderConnect PRO is a Multi-Asset Class Trading Terminal which can trade equities, derivatives, commodities, bonds and interest rate across multiple exchanges. It is an excellent system for reporting and trade analysis. Explore the various analysis tools and trading strategies that TraderConnect PRO has to offer to create trade charts and analyze the stock market or other investment products. TraderConnect PRO enables you to simulate your investment ideas and optimize your potential returns.

4 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 4 Operating Pre-requisites I. Software Requirements The following are recommended software requirements: TraderConnect PRO application Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista (to run on minimum hardware requirements) or Microsoft Windows 7 (to run on recommended hardware requirements) II. Hardware Requirements The following are minimal and optimal hardware requirements: No. Hardware Minimum Recommended 1 Processor Pentium IV 2 RAM 1 GB 2 GB Available Hard Disk Space Digital Color Monitor Monitor Resolution 15 MB and above x 768 Core2Dua with 2GB RAM 30 MB and above 1280 X 800 or higher Apart from the above, Microsoft Windows Regional Setting should be set to English.

5 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 5 CONTENTS WORKING WITH CHARTS How To Create A Chart Getting To Know Your Chart Window Formatting the Chart Window Formatting Price Data Creating and Maintaining a Multi-Symbol Chart Creating and Maintaining a Chart Subgraph USING THE SYNCHRONIZATION FEATURE Synchronizing By Chart Synchronizing By Time WORKING WITH DRAWING OBJECTS Getting To Know The Drawing Objects How To Add A Drawing Object Manipulating A Drawing Object Formatting a Drawing Object... 39

6 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 6 WORKING WITH A LAYOUT Creating And Saving A New Layout Opening A Layout Renaming A Layout Deleting A Layout WORKING WITH A TECHNICAL INDICATOR How To Add An Indicator Formatting An Indicator Overlapping Indicators Deleting an Indicator Applying Price Simulation WORKING WITH A TEMPLATE Saving A Template Assigning A Template Applying A Template Saving A Template Assigning a Template Applying a Template... 60

7 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 7 USING THE TRADING STRATEGY Building a Trading Strategy Back testing a Trading Strategy How to Plot a Strategy on a Price Chart and Delete it The Strategy Advisor USING THE CANDLESTICK EXPERT Activating And Deactivating The Candlestick Expert Getting To Know Your Candlestick Expert Setting The Candlestick Expert Preferences USER SETTINGS Configuring Your Working Environment Applying Default Settings Resetting Data Range PRINTING A SYMBOL CHART Setting The Print Properties Previewing And Sending A Chart To The Printer INDEX... 95

8 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 8 C H A P T E R 1 Working With Charts This topic focuses on the creating and managing charts. The following sub-topics have been covered: 1.1. How To Create A Chart 1.2. Getting To Know Your Chart Window 1.3. Formatting The Chart Window 1.4. Formatting Price Data 1.5. Creating And Maintaining A Multi-Symbol Chart 1.6. Creating And Maintaining A Chart Subgraph

9 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM How To Create A Chart 1. To create a chart, go to the File menu, click Open and choose Chart. (Short-cut key : CTRL O) Figure 1.1 Open Chart Window 2. The Open Chart window displays a list of symbols (as shown in Figure 1.1). Scroll down the list and select a symbol or type in the stock code/name in the Search textbox. Then click the OK button to open the chart window (as shown in Figure 1.2).

10 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 10 Figure 1.2 Chart Window 3. To set a specific data range for the chosen chart, click the Option button. This will launch the Data Range window. Figure1.3 - Data Range Window 4. The default range of data is as shown in Figure 1.3. To change this range, key in the Last period and Display period. Then click the OK button to save the changes. To abort, click the Cancel button. 5. Selecting the Prompt when open new Chart checkbox would enable the Data Range window to be automatically prompted whenever the Open Chart command is activated. 6. To create a chart on another chart window, access the File menu, click New and select Chart.

11 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Getting To Know Your Chart Window Figure 1.4 Chart Window (default setting) 1. The status bar (highlighted in red) at the chart window (Figure 1.4) displays the data values used in plotting the graph. The values i.e. Value of pointer, Open, High, Low, Close, Volume and Change are displayed accordingly as the mouse is rolled over the graph. Figure 1.5 Data Window

12 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM The data values may be analyzed in detail at the Data Window. To open the Data Window (Figure 1.5), click the View menu and select Data Window. 3. To change the background color of the Data Window, click the Format menu and select Data Window Color. Then choose a color and click the OK button. 4. To insert or remove the price movement (highlighted in red at Figure 1.6), click the View menu and select Price Movement. The price movement consists of time-sales section, bid/ask section and volume-price statistical plot. Figure 1.6 Chart Window with Price Movement 5. By default, the following settings are applied to the price movement : Daily Movement View as Closing Price

13 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 13 To change the settings, right-click on the price movement section and select the preferred option(s) from the short-cut menu (Figure 2.7). (Note: The Median Price is the average price of the days high and low whereas the Typical Price is the average price of the days high, low and close.) Figure 1.7 Short-cut Menu 6. To customize the properties of a chart, select Display Properties from the short-cut menu above and make the necessary changes. 7. To compress the data scale, access the Edit menu and click Data Compression. (Note: An alternative method for data compression is to right-click on the chart window to display the short-cut menu) A sub-menu containing the following options will appear: Daily (each bar in the chart represent the daily trading activity) Weekly (each bar in the chart represents the weekly trading activity) Monthly (each bar in the chart represents the monthly trading activity) Yearly (each bar in the chart represents the yearly trading activity) 01 Min (each bar in the chart represents per minute of trading activity) 05 Min (each bar in the chart represents per 5 minutes of trading activity) 15 Min (each bar in the chart represents per 15 minutes of trading activity) 30 Min (each bar in the chart represents per 30 minutes of trading activity)

14 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Min (each bar in the chart represents per 60 minutes of trading activity) Minute (each bar in the chart represents the number of minutes, of trading activity, selected by the user) Tick (each bar in the chart represents the number of ticks (trading activity) selected by the user) Click the required scale and the chart will be compressed instantly. If the Minute option is selected, the Specify Minute window (Figure 1.8) will appear. Specify the number of minutes per bar and click the OK button to compress. Similarly, if the Tick option is selected, the Specify Tick window (Figure 1.9) will appear. Specify the number of ticks per bar and click the OK button to compress. Figure 1.8 Specify Minute Window Figure 1.9 Specify Tick Window 8. To specify the chart type, click the View menu and select the preferred chart type from the choices below : Line Chart The price data (close) is presented as lines over a specified period of time. Bar Chart The price data (open, high, low and close) is presented as bar chart over a specified period of time.

15 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 15 Candlestick (default chart type) The price data (open, high, low and close) is presented as Japanese candlestick over a period of time. An alternative method to specify the chart type is to click on the Chart Type icon at the chart toolbar. 9. In order to scroll through the chart window when the data loaded exceeds one screen, follow the guidelines below using the keyboard: To move one bar to the left - press left arrow key To move one bar to the right - press the right arrow key To move 10 bars to the right - press Ctrl + Shift + right arrow keys To move 10 bars to the left - press Ctrl + Shift + left arrow keys To move 50 bars to the right - press Ctrl + right arrow keys To move 50 bars to the left - press Ctrl + left arrow keys 10. The zoom feature enables a user to magnify a portion of a chart for analysis purpose. The following Zoom options are available: Zoom (Ctrl Z) Go to View menu and click Zoom to activate the zoom tool. Next position the zoom tool at the upper left corner of the zoom area. Click and hold down the left mouse button. Then drag the mouse to the bottom right hand corner of the zoom area. Finally, release the mouse button. Repeat these steps to zoom even further.

16 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 16 Reset Y-Scale (F7) Go to View menu and click Reset Y-Scale (price) to reset the zoom area after the zoom operation. Reset Zoom Go to View menu and click Reset Zoom to reset to the default x-scale (period) and y-scale (price). This will enable all the data loaded into the active chart. Zoom In Go to View menu and click Zoom In to increase the current scaling level by level. Repeat this step to zoom further. (Note: User may also use the + key at the numeric keypad) Zoom Out Go to View menu and click Zoom Out to undo the Zoom In operation. 11. To specify the amount of data to be loaded to the screen, click the Edit menu and choose Data Range (Ctrl R). The Data Range window will appear as shown in Figure Figure 1.10 Data Range Window Define the range for Last Period, Display Period and/or From date and To date. The dates can be defined by clicking the calendar icons. Then click the OK button to accept the changes. 12. To specify the price scaling, click the Edit menu and choose Selected Scaling. Alternatively, right-click on the chart and select Edit Scaling from the short-cut menu. The Scaling window, as shown in Figure 1.11, offers 3 options for price scaling:

17 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 17 Figure 1.11 Scaling Window Screen Scale to the lowest and highest data values on the screen. As user scrolls left or right, the scale s high and low values change accordingly. Entire Data Scale to the highest and lowest price of the entire data. Therefore, as user scrolls left or right, the scaling of the chart does not change. Range User needs to specify the Max (high) and Min (low) values for the scale. User may also choose to apply data scaling to one or both the following: All sub-series Re-scaling will be applied to those symbols and indicators in the same chart window only when an overlapping of price and/or indicator exists. All sub-windows Re-scaling will be applied to all sub-windows, inclusive of all symbols and indicators in the sub-windows. If neither All sub-series nor All sub-windows is selected, then scaling applies only to the selected symbol or indicator.

18 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To open a chart instantly, the QuickSearch function is available. To use the QuickSearch function, first, open a chart window, then perform the following steps: Start typing a stock name/code. The Search entry box will appear at the bottom left corner of the window, as shown in Figure Figure 1.12 QuickSearch entry box After typing the full or partial stock name/code, press the Enter key. If the name exists in the active folder, a new chart will be opened else the Open Chart window pops-up with the nearest matches highlighted, as shown in Figure Select the required chart and click the OK button. Figure 1.13 Open Chart Window 14. To delete a symbol/chart, follow the steps below: Select the plot of the chart. Click the Edit menu and select Delete Selected Object or press the DELETE key at the keyboard. Alternatively, right-click on the plot and select Delete (stock name) from the short-cut menu. This will launch the Confirm window, as shown in Figure 1.14.

19 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 19 Figure 1.14 Confirmation Window Click the OK button to confirm the deletion. 15. To refresh the screen, click the View menu and select Refresh Screen. This function is used to reload the active chart on your screen, removing any fragments left over from deleting or moving drawing objects.

20 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Formatting the Chart Window 1. The chart window can be formatted at the Format Chart window as shown in Figure The following methods are available to generate this window : Main Menu Select the symbol plot first, then click the Format menu and choose Selected Chart Window. Short-cut Menu Select the symbol plot first, then right-click on the chart window and select Format Chart Window from the shortcut menu. Figure 1.15 Format Chart Window 2. The following elements of the chart window can be formatted : Grid Color & Style Horizontal Grid Vertical Grid Axis Color

21 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 21 Background Color Font All sub windows (click this checkbox to apply the above settings to all sub-graphs, else the settings will only be applied to the active sub-graph) Extension (enter a number in percentage to set the width of the empty space on the right of the chart window) Default (click this checkbox to apply the above settings as default) 3. The figures shown below (Figure 1.16 and Figure 1.17) are examples of theme set chart windows. Figure 1.16 Chart Window (user defined theme)

22 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 22 Figure 1.17 Chart Window (user defined theme)

23 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Formatting Price Data 1. The price data can be formatted at the Format Price Data window as shown in Figure The following methods are available to generate this window : Main Menu Select the symbol first, then click the Format menu and choose Selected Object. Short-cut Menu Select the symbol first, then right-click and select Format (Symbol Name) from the short-cut menu. Double-click on the symbol. Figure 1.18 Format Price Data Window 2. The Compression, Chart Type & Color elements may be formatted. To do so, first choose the desired compression type, chart type and price color. Then click the OK button to apply the changes to the chart window. 3. To apply the specified settings as the default, select the Default checkbox.

24 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Creating and Maintaining a Multi-Symbol Chart 1. To create a multi-symbol chart as shown in Figure 1.19, first, open a chart window, then add more symbol(s) to the window using any of the methods below : Main Menu Go to Insert menu and select Price Data. Then select the required symbol and click the OK button (same procedure as opening a chart). Short-cut Menu Right-click at the chart window and select Insert Price Data from the short-cut menu. Then select the required symbol and click the OK button. Figure 1.19 Multi-Symbol Chart

25 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM For comparison purpose, a multi-symbol chart may be overlapped using a drag and drop technique. However, only the charts that have been added on to the base symbol can be dragged. To overlap a multi-symbol chart, follow the steps below: Click on the required symbol. Hold down the left mouse button and start to drag. (As you drag, you will find an empty box at the mouse pointer. When the mouse is dragged to the sub graph divider, the pointer becomes solid with a small cross within the box.) Drag it onto another symbol until the box turns empty again. Then release the mouse button to drop the symbol. 3. To remove the overlapping, follow the steps below : Click and hold the overlapping symbol. Then drag and drop the pointer to any subgraph divider area, where the solid box pointer appears. 4. Similarly, the order of multi-symbols charts can be rearranged by using the drag and drop method. It should be dropped on the subgraph divider area where the box pointer turns solid. 5. To make one of the opened windows active, follow the steps below : Go to Window menu and choose Select Window (Alt O). The Select Window is prompted (as shown in Figure 1.20). This window displays the list of charts that are currently open.

26 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 26 Figure 1.20 Select Window Select the required chart from this list and click the OK button. 6. Another method to activate a chart window is to use the Window menu. The second section of the Window menu lists all the windows that are currently open. The active window has a tick next to it. To make another window active, simply click the relevant window on the list. However, the number of windows displayed on this Window menu list is limited to nine (9) only. To view other windows (if available), click on More Windows and choose Select Window, then select the window that is not on the list.

27 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Creating and Maintaining a Chart Subgraph 1. A subgraph divider is a horizontal line drawn between sub graphs, to make it easier to spot where one subgraph ends and another begins. 2. By default, the subgraph divider is hidden. To show this divider on a chart window, follow these steps : Click the Tool menu and select Option. Figure 1.21 Option Window The Option window pops-up as shown in Figure At the Subgraph Divider section, click the Color dropdown list and select a color (different from the background color) for the sub-graph divider. Then click the OK button. 3. To hide this divider, use the same color as the background color. 4. To show the subgraph using the 3D effect, click the 3D checkbox. Deselect it to return to the 2D default setting.

28 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To resize the Y-scale of any subgraph, follow the steps below : Place the mouse pointer on top of the subgraph divider. (If the divider is hidden, the resize pointer will appear when the subgraph area is invaded. This resize pointer will enable the user to resize the subgraph) Click and hold down the mouse button, then drag the subgraph divider up or down until the subgraph reaches the desired size. Release the mouse button. 6. To restore the original y-scale for all subgraph windows, click the View menu and select Reset I-Scale.

29 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 29 C H A P T E R 2 Using The Synchronization Feature Synchronization is one of the major innovative functions of the TraderConnect system. The synchronization function allows the user to synchronize two or more charts to compare a symbol over a specific period of time. This chapter contains the following sub-topics: 2.1. Synchronizing By Chart 2.2. Synchronizing By Time

30 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Synchronizing By Chart 1. At least 2 charts are needed in order to synchronize charts. To open the charts, follow the steps below : First, open a chart using the Open Chart window. Subsequently, recreate a new chart of the same symbol using the New Chart window. Next, change the data scaling for each chart. For example, set 1 to daily and the other to weekly to make comparison over different time scale. Then, go to the Window menu and select Tile Vertically to arrange the charts adjacently. 2. To synchronize the charts, click on one of the charts to make the chart window active. 3. Then, go to the View menu, click Synchronize and choose Chart. The <C> on the title bar of the window indicates a chart synchronization. 4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until all the other charts have been synchronized. 5. When you scroll the charts left and right, the time period of the charts move in parallel. Figure 2.1 is an example of chart synchronization on BURSA weekly and daily chart. 6. When you change symbol using QuickSearch, all other synchronized charts are changed to the same symbol.

31 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 31 Figure 2.1 An example of chart synchronization

32 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Synchronizing By Time 1. In order to perform synchronization, at least 2 charts need to be opened and arranged adjacently. To do to that, follow the steps below : First, open a chart using the Open Chart window. Subsequently, recreate a new chart of the same symbol using the New Chart window. Next, change the data scaling for each chart. For example, set 1 to daily and the other to weekly to make comparison over different time scale. Then, go to the Window menu and select Tile Vertically to arrange the charts adjacently. 2. To synchronize the charts, click on one of the charts to make the chart window active. 3. Then, go to the View menu, click Synchronize and choose Time. The <T> symbol on the title bar of the window indicates time synchronization. 4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until all the other charts have been synchronized. Figure 2.2 is an example of time synchronization on CONNECT, AEON, ARBIC and BURSA charts.

33 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 33 Figure 2.2 An example of time synchronization

34 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 34 C H A P T E R 3 Working With Drawing Objects A drawing object is a price analysis tool that is drawn directly on a symbol chart. The drawing objects are categorized into nonanalytical and analytical. The following topics will show you how to add and manipulate a drawing object: 3.1. Getting To Know The Drawing Objects 3.2. How To Add A Drawing Object 3.3. Manipulating A Drawing Object 3.4. Formatting A Drawing Object

35 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Getting To Know The Drawing Objects 1. The non-analytical drawing objects can be used to draw attention to a certain part of the chart. The following are non-analytical drawing objects : Vertical line Ellipse Rectangular Arrow Text 2. The analytical drawing objects can be used to aide the market analysis. The following are analytical drawing objects : Trendline (Ctrl T) A trendline is a line drawn along the top or bottom of prices in the direction of a prevailing trend. Those who follow trend, by definition, do not attempt to forecast the market. They simply follow a trend that has already been developed. Parallel Line A parallel line is group of 2 trendlines in parallel. This parallel line is usually drawn along the top and bottom of prices in the direction of a prevailing trend. Cycle Line A cycle line drawing object is used to visually identify or detect the existence of a time-based cycle in the market. The theory behind tracking cycles is that the market acts cyclically i.e. cycle tops or cycle bottoms occurring at certain equal intervals of months, weeks or number of days. Horizontal Line (Ctrl H) A horizontal line is used to visually represent support and resistance lines on a chart. Experts believe that when a high price is attained, during a market fall, that

36 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 36 high price is the resistance line, thus it will be difficult for the market to rise above a previously defined resistance line. Similarly, if a low price is reached, during a market rise, that low price is the support line, thus it will be difficult for the market to fall below the support line. Once a support or resistance line is penetrated, it is common to see the broken line become the new resistance line or support line unless there is a false breakout or breakdown. Fibonacci Retracement A Fibonacci retracement is used to mathematically determine how much the market has retracted from a price fall and vice versa. Fibonacci Time Zone A Fibonacci time zone is used to detect the Fibonacci cycle on screen. The theory behind tracking cycles is that the market acts cyclically. Thus the cycles occur at intervals from a major market bottom or top and, these intervals correspond to the Fibonacci numerical series i.e. 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34 and etc. Image Reflection An image reflection is used to plot an inverse image to a selected time frame in order to forecast the target price.

37 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM How To Add A Drawing Object 1. A drawing object can be added using one these methods : Main Menu Go to the Insert menu and select the required drawing object. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the chart window and select the preferred drawing object from the short-cut menu. Icon Click the required drawing object icon. 2. Once the drawing object has been added, the mouse pointer changes into the shape of the drawing object that has been chosen. Place this pointer on the chart window and draw the object by using the single-click or drag and drop method, whichever is applicable Manipulating A Drawing Object 1. To move the position of drawing object, follow the steps below : Click and hold the particular drawing object. Drag it to the new location (within the chart window only). Release the mouse button.

38 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To adjust the size of the drawing objects, follow the steps below : Select the particular drawing object. Click and hold the mouse button on one of the selection handles of the drawing object. Drag the handle to the new location. Release the mouse button. 3. To delete a drawing object, select it first and then use any of these methods : Main Menu Go to Edit menu and select Delete All Object to remove the object from the active window. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the drawing object and select Delete (object name) from the short-cut menu. Key Stroke Press the Delete key from the keyboard. 4. To delete all the drawing objects simultaneously, use one of the methods below : Main Menu Go to Edit menu and select Delete All Objects. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the chart window and select Delete All Drawing Objects from the short-cut menu.

39 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Formatting a Drawing Object 1. The properties of a drawing object such as color, size, period, interval and font can be formatted using the format window. Each drawing object has different properties, thus the format window varies accordingly. 2. To launch the relevant format window, use one of the following methods : Main Menu Click the required drawing object, then go to the Format menu and click Selected Object. Make the necessary changes at the format window and click the OK button to save the changes. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the particular drawing object and select Format (object name) from the short-cut menu. Double-click Method Double-click on the particular drawing object to launch the format window directly. 3. The following are format windows for Trendline (Figure 3.1) and Text (Figure 3.2) drawing objects : Figure 3.1 Trendline Formatting Figure 3.2 Texts Formatting

40 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 40 C H A P T E R 4 Working With A Layout A layout is a compilation of one or more of chart windows, quote screens, drawing objects or other window types on a screen. This chapter describes how to group similar charts or other window types and the advantages involved to further boost the market trend study or price activity study. The following subtopics are included: 4.1. Creating And Saving A New Layout 4.2. Opening A Layout 4.3. Renaming A Layout 4.4. Deleting A Layout

41 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Creating And Saving A New Layout 1. To align multiple windows on a layout, use any of the methods below : Main Menu Activate the window first, then click the Format menu and select Align Window and choose the type of alignment required (top, bottom, left, right or client) from the sub-menu. By default, the window will be aligned to None whereby the window remains at its location. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the active window, select Align Window from the short-cut menu and choose the required alignment from the sub-menu. 2. To save a new layout (including indicators, the drawing objects applied to charts, Quote screen, Depth screen and Time/Sales screen), follow the steps below : Access the File menu, click Save As and choose Layout. This will launch the Save As Layout window (Figure 4.1). Figure 4.1 Save As Layout Window

42 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 42 Key in the Filename and click the Save button or press the ENTER key to save the new layout. 3. If you are working on a previously saved layout, use any of the following methods to save the changes to the layout : Main Menu Access the File menu, click Save and choose Layout. Icon Click on the Save Layout icon. Both the above methods replace and save the layout under the same filename.

43 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Opening A Layout 1. To open a layout, use any of the following methods : Main Menu Access the File menu, click Open and choose Layout. The Open Layout window (Figure 4.2) will be launched. Select the required layout from the window and click the Open button or press the ENTER key. Figure 4.2 Open Layout Window Icon Click the Open Layout icon to launch the Open Layout window, then select the required layout from the window and click the Open button or press the ENTER key. 2. Once a layout is opened, the TraderConnect system will automatically close all other windows that you have been working on at that moment. Thus, to work on two layouts, open two TraderConnect sessions to manage those layouts.

44 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Renaming A Layout 1. A layout can be renamed at the Save As Layout window or the Open Layout window. Please refer to section 4.1 and section 4.2 for guidelines on obtaining those windows. 2. To rename a layout in any of the windows mentioned above, follow these steps : Right-click on the respective layout file and select Rename from the short-cut menu. The particular filename will be highlighted in edit mode. Type the new filename ending with the ".lyt". Press ENTER key to save the changes Deleting A Layout 1. A layout can be deleted at the Save As Layout window or the Open Layout window. Please refer to section 4.1 and section 4.2 for guidelines on obtaining those windows. 2. To delete a layout in any of the windows mentioned above, follow any of these methods : Method 1 Right-click at the layout file and select Delete from the short-cut menu. The Confirm File Delete window will then be prompted for user confirmation. Click the Yes button to confirm the deletion. Method 2 Select the required layout file and press the DELETE key on the keyboard. The Confirm File Delete window will then be prompted for user confirmation. Click the Yes button to confirm the deletion.

45 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 45 C H A P T E R 5 Working With A Technical Indicator A technical indicator (herein known as an indicator), is a graphical representation of a mathematical formula that is used to analyze the market conditions. It is used to aid in forecasting the market's direction and assist the trader in making strategic trading decisions. This topic will show you how to plot and manipulate a technical indicator. The following sub-topics have been included: 5.1. How To Add An Indicator 5.2. Formatting An Indicator 5.3. Overlapping Indicators 5.4. Deleting An Indicator 5.5. Applying Price Simulation

46 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM How To Add An Indicator 1. To add an indicator to an active chart, first, open a chart window and then launch the Indicator Library (Figure 5.1) using any of these methods : Main Menu (Ctrl I) Click the Insert menu and select Indicators. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the chart window and select Insert Indicator. Icon Use the Insert Indicator icon from the toolbar. Figure 5.1 Indicator Library 2. Then select the required indicator from the Indicator Library and click the OK button. This will launch the format window for the respective indicator (Figure 5.2). Make the necessary settings and click the OK button. To make the new setting as the default setting, click the Default checkbox (highlighted in red).

47 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 47 Figure 5.2 Format Window 3. To add multiple indicators, first select an indicator from the Indicator Library, and then click the Plot button to add other indicators one at a time without exiting the Indicator Library (refer to Figure 5.1).

48 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Formatting An Indicator 1. The layout of a chart window may be changed using the indicator s Format window (Figure 5.3). Use any of the following methods to open the Format window: Main Menu First, select the required indicator. Then click the Format menu and choose Selected Object. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the required indicator and select Format (indicator name) Double-click on the required indicator Figure 5.3 Format Price Data Window 2. Each indicator s format window will have different input parameters which determine the calculation and the expression of the indicator. The period settings can be changed freely to suit the analysis purpose. 3. Define the Parameter and the Color & Style. To save the new setting as the default setting, click the Default checkbox.

49 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To view in detail the value of price data and indicators, go to the View menu and select Data Window or click the Data Window icon. (This will launch the Data Window as shown in Figure 5.4.) The values in the Data Window change accordingly as the mouse cursor is moved along the plot of the chart. Figure 5.4 Data Window 5. Each chart window has a vertical scale which reflects a symbol s price/index or an indicator s value. There are some indicators e.g. Moving Average, Bollinger Bank, and Parabolic SAR, which share the price scale of the symbol or the indicator scale of a particular indicator to which the indicator is applied to. Other indicators use individual vertical scaling and therefore, are displayed in its own subgraph. 6. The vertical scaling settings can be made at the Scaling window (Figure 5.5). To pop-up the Scaling window, apply any of the methods described below: Main Menu Select the required indicator first, then go to Edit menu and choose Selected Scaling. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the preferred indicator and select Edit Scaling from the short-cut menu.

50 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 50 Figure 5.5 Scaling Window 7. The vertical scaling may be applied to the Screen, Entire Data or a Range of data. To apply the same scaling range to all the objects in the chart window, click the Same Scaling checkbox.

51 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Overlapping Indicators 1. Indicators can be combined with a symbol or another indicator to enable technical analysis. All indicators plotted are treated as objects; therefore, they can be rearranged, removed, modified or even overlapped on one another. 2. To overlap indicators (as shown in Figure 5.6), follow the steps below : Click on an indicator and hold-down the left mouse button. (You will find a transparent box at the cursor. When the mouse is dragged into the subgraph divider, the box becomes solid, with a small cross within it.) Drag the indicator onto the symbol or another indicator until the cursor turns empty within the chart window. Drop the indicator by releasing the mouse button. Figure 5.6 Bollinger Band & Force Index indicators overlapped onto the AEON chart 3. The data scaling of the overlapping indicators are scaled to the screen.

52 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To remove the overlapping or to rearrange the indicators, follow the steps below : Click and hold-down the mouse on the overlapping indicator. Drag the mouse the subgraph divider area where the solid cursor box appears. Release the mouse to drop the indicator Deleting an Indicator 1. There are 4 methods available to delete an indicator. To delete, just apply any of the following methods: Main Menu Select the indicator, then go to Edit menu and select Delete Selected Object Short-cut Menu Select the indicator, then right-click on the chart window and select Delete Indicator Name Icon Select the indicator and click the Delete Selected Object icon. Key strokes Select the indicator and press the DELETE key on the keyboard. 2. To delete all the indicators on an active chart window, click the Edit menu and select Delete All Indicators.

53 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Applying Price Simulation 1. The price simulation function enables a user to derive in advance the possible scenarios of an anticipated price change or price shock. Price simulation is carried out using the Price Simulation window (Figure 5.7). To open the price simulation window, apply any of these methods : Main Menu Go to Edit menu and select Price Simulation. Short-cut Menu Right-click on the chart window, click Price Simulation and choose Edit from the short-cut menu. Figure 5.7 Price Simulation Window 2. To add a price simulation, follow the steps below : Make sure the required chart is active before opening the Price Simulation window. (The active symbol name will appear at the Symbol column of the Price Simulation window and the corresponding price data for the last trading day will appear on the right hand section of it) Click on the Date textbox to set the date and then edit the corresponding price data as per speculation. Click the Apply button. The symbol chart (Figure 5.8) adapts to the price data as per Price Simulation window. To aide the technical analysis on the market trend of the selected symbol for the respective date, access the Tool menu, select Strategy Advisor and then choose any one of the trading strategies available. The selected Strategy Advisor will be generated as

54 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 54 shown in Figure 5.9. However, it serves only as a recommendation against the buy or sell signal generated through the price simulation. To add another simulation, click the + icon and key in the relevant information. Figure 5.8 Symbol Chart after Applying the Price Simulation Figure 5.9 Strategy Advisor

55 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To remove a price simulation, use any of the methods below : Method 1 Select the respective price simulation from the Price Simulation window (Figure 5.10) and then click the Remove button. To remove all the simulations, click the Remove All button Method 2 Right-click on the chart window, click Price Simulation and select Remove. Figure 5.10 Price Simulation Window

56 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 56 C H A P T E R 6 Working With A Template A template is a compilation of indicator formats. The TraderConnect system enables a user to design his/her own analysis style and save it as a template. The following topics of this chapter will guide users to create and maintain a template: 6.1. Saving A Template 6.2. Assigning A Template 6.3. Applying A Template

57 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Saving A Template 1. Any combination of indicators plotted on the chart window may be saved as a template. There are 2 methods to save the format as a template i.e. main menu and icon. 2. Using the main menu, a user can save any number of templates in the hard disk. A format saved under this method requires a user input for the filename of the template. Follow the steps below to save a template using the main menu : Access the File menu, click Save As and choose Template. This will launch the Save As Template window (Figure 6.1). Figure 6.1 Save As Template Window Key in the File name. Click the Save button or press the ENTER key to save the template. (This template file does not link to any template icon, to do so, please refer to the next section.)

58 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM The templates saved using the icon method are easy to access as they are located on the Template Toolbar. A maximum of 9 template icons are available on the toolbar. Follow the steps below to save a template using the icon method : Right-click on one of the template icon and choose Save To from the short-cut menu. This will launch the Save To window (Figure 6.2). Key in the File name. Click the Save button or press the ENTER key to save the template. Figure 6.2 Short-cut Menu for Template Icon 4. If the particular template icon has already been assigned to another template file, the short-cut menu as shown in Figure 6.2 will appear. To save the new format to the same filename and replace the previous format of the template icon, skip the steps 2 to 5 and select Save To filename. 5. To make a template the default for all future charts, access the File menu, click Save and choose Default Template.

59 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Assigning a Template 1. To assign a template to a template icon, first, right-click on one of the template icons and select Assign To from the short-cut menu (Figure 6.2). Figure 6.3 Select a Template Window 2. Choose the required template file from the Select a Template window (Figure 6.3). 3. Then, click the Open button or press the Enter key.

60 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Applying a Template 1. To apply a template, follow any these methods : Main Menu (Ctrl A) Click the Format menu, choose Apply Template and select a template file from the Apply Template window (Figure 6.4). Then click the Open button or press the Enter key to apply the template. Figure 6.4 Apply Template Window Short-cut Menu Right-click on the chart window and select Apply Template from the short-cut menu to launch the Apply Template window. Then, select a template file and click the Open button to apply the template. Icon Method Click any of the template icons to apply the template to the active chart window.

61 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 61 C H A P T E R 7 Using The Trading Strategy This chapter introduces the concept of Trading Strategy and provides step by step guide on building, testing and applying a trading strategy. This Trading Strategy is able to mathematically analyze and suggest the technical indicator(s) that works best in different market conditions. However, the Trading Strategy is not a recommendation to buy or sell; rather it is learning tool that aides the user in understanding technical analysis. The following sub-topics have been included: 7.1. Building A Trading Strategy 7.2. Back testing A Trading Strategy 7.3. How To Plot A Strategy On A Price Chart And Delete It 7.4. The Strategy Advisor

62 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Building a Trading Strategy 1. The Trading Strategy consists of the following elements : Action Strategy Action Strategy is basically a Sub Strategy at the top level. Only at the top level, can you define your Action such as Buy, Sell, etc. Sub Strategy Sub Strategy is the result of a collection of conditions. Condition Condition evaluates an expression to determine whether a given criteria is accepted or rejected. Pre-condition A top level Sub Strategy can be assigned as Precondition to avoid writing a repeated criterion. 2. A Trading Strategy can accommodate several Action Strategies. Therefore, a Trading Strategy can be a complete trading system with multiple signals, for example, Buy, Sell, Stop loss, Trail Stop, etc. 3. The Trading Strategy window (Figure 7.1) has 3 pages; Summary, Builder and Result.

63 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 63 Figure 7.1 Trading Strategy Window 4. To open the Trading Strategy window, use any of the methods described below : Icon Method Click the Trading Strategy icon on the active chart window and select Trading Strategy from that menu. Menu Method Click the Tool menu and select Trading Strategy. 5. Then click the Add a new strategy icon (highlighted in Figure 7.1) to build a trading strategy. Alternatively, you may also click the Builder button at the Trading Strategy window. A blank Builder page will appear as shown in Figure 7.2.

64 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 64 Figure 7.2 Builder Page of Trading Strategy Window 6. To insert the action strategy to the new trading strategy, click the Add button and select Action Strategy from the drop-down menu. This will launch the Action Strategy window (Figure 7.3). Figure 7.3 Action Strategy Window

65 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 65 The elements in Action Strategy window and its usages are as described below: Operator is the condition that governs the operation of the strategy. Name your strategy before proceeding to the next step. Select As pre-condition to treat this Action Strategy as a pre-calculated condition rather than an Action Strategy if it repeats several time in the trading strategy. This saves time to create repeated conditions and it is eases to maintenance. Determine the Action/State, whether the strategy is to Buy, Sell or None (temporarily deactivate a strategy). You can add more actions, such as Short, Cover, etc. if necessary, modify an Action/State's properties, or delete an Action/State by clicking on the Action/State button followed by Add, Edit or Delete respectively. For more information on Action/State, please refer to the later section of this chapter. If the selected Action/State is not to be plotted on the chart window, select the Hide button next to the Action/State button. To allow the Action to be repeated, select Repeatable. Otherwise, subsequent events of the same Action will be ignored. State, by its nature, remains intact until it is changed to another State. If the Action/State can only be triggered after another Action/State, click the Only after drop-down menu and select the Action/State. For example, Sell is allowed only after Buy. The bottom part of the Action Strategy dialog as shown in Figure 7.3 is used for writing comments associated with this Action Strategy such as :

66 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 66 General Comment The description appears under all conditions. Accepted Comment The description appears only if the condition evaluation returns true. Rejected Comment The description appears only if the condition evaluation returns false. Click the function icon to list all available indicator value variables used in the trading strategy and system variables to be inserted into the commentary. These variables will be replaced with the actual value when the commentary is displayed. The indicator value variable is case sensitive whereas system variable is not. Show when Action Strategy Accepted/Rejected controls when the description is to appear. If you want the comments in Sub Strategy to appear only if the Action Strategy is accepted or rejected, select this setting. Otherwise, comments in the Sub Strategy will appear regardless of the overall result. If you do not wish the commentary to be printed on the report, click Skip when Printing. 7. Subsequently, to insert a sub strategy, click the Add menu and select Sub Strategy from the drop-down menu. The operation of Sub Strategy is similar to Action Strategy explained above except that a Sub Strategy does not have an Action. A user can add unlimited number of Sub Strategy to the trading strategy. 8. Then, click the Action/State button. This will launch the Action/State window as shown in Figure 7.4. Make the necessary changes. The elements in Action/State window and its usages are described below :

67 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 67 Figure 7.4 Action/State Window Each Action/State must have a Name which can be anything. Each Action/State must have a unique Code. There are 7 Types of Action/State signals; Long Entry, Long Exit, Short Entry, Short Exit, State Change, Bullish and Bearish. The first four Actions are used for back testing to calculate the performance of a trading strategy. The last three, as the names imply, are used to indicate a change of state when certain conditions are met. When you apply a trading strategy to a price chart, the Action/State will be plotted when the criteria evaluation is accepted, with the defined Color, Graphics and Position. 9. Next, click the Add menu and select Condition from the drop-down menu to set the condition. This will launch the Condition window as shown in Figure 7.5. The elements of this window and its usages are described below :

68 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 68 Figure 7.5 Condition Window Operator is the condition that governs the operation of the condition. Click the Indicator 1 drop-down menu and select the required indicator. This will launch the indicator parameter window for parameter definition. Make the required changes. This parameter can then be amended by clicking on Parameter 1. Select a Condition from the drop-down menu (Above, Below, Equal, CrossUp, CrossDown, HookUp, HookDown, Rising, Falling, Equal/Above, Equal or Below or Not Equal) Select Indicator 2 (similar to selecting Indicator 1). Use the xfactor to multiply the value of Indicator 2 to a factor. Change the number of period(s) ago to shift the indicator forward. Different indicators do not, for example, cross up exactly on the same day. Set During the last 2 period to accept one indicator cross up the last data period, and another indicator cross up the 2 nd last data period. 10. You may rearrange the elements of the trading strategy; Action Strategy, Sub Strategy, Condition and Precondition by just dragging and dropping the elements in the Strategy Builder.

69 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To edit a strategy, select the strategy from the left panel of the Trading Strategy window and click the Edit Strategy icon or the Builder icon on top. Alternatively, a user can also double-click a strategy in the Builder page for editing. 12. To delete a strategy, select the strategy from the left panel of the Trading Strategy window and click the Delete Strategy icon. 13. To change the name of a strategy, select the strategy from the left panel of the Trading Strategy window and click the Rename Strategy icon. 14. When improving a working strategy, a user may want to keep the original working strategy unchanged. To do this, click on the Duplicate a Strategy icon to duplicate the selected strategy for editing. You will be asked to provide a name for the duplicate strategy. 15. Click on the Lock a Strategy icon to lock or unlock a strategy. The system will prompt for the password, as shown in Figure 7.6. Type in any password to lock the strategy or leave it blank to unlock a strategy. Once a strategy is locked, it cannot be opened for viewing or editing. However, a user may still plot or back test the strategy. Click For this machine only checkbox for added security, to prevent the use of this strategy on other machines. Figure 7.6 Password Window 16. If you have changed a strategy, and want to restore it, click on the Restore Strategy icon.

70 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM When you click the Strategy Advisor icon or Trading Strategy icon, a drop- down list emerges listing the predefined strategies. You can define which strategy and the number of strategies to be included in the drop-down list. The left panel of the Trading Strategy window (Figure 7.2) lists all available strategies. To include or exclude a strategy in the drop-down list, click on the box beside it. A tick mark in the box indicates the respective strategy will be included in the drop-down list. To specify the number of strategies to be listed in the drop-down list, change the setting in Max Strategy List in the global option environment. Please refer to "Customizing Global Settings" chapter for more information.

71 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Back testing a Trading Strategy 1. Back testing is an essential method to judge how consistent and profitable your trading strategy is. With back testing, you can test your trading strategy on historical data without risking a single cent. 2. Before running the Back testing module, you must first setup the environment options using the Back Test Option window. The options will enable your strategy back testing result to be reflected in a more realistic trading environment. The Back Test Option window (Figure 7.7) can be launched using any of these methods : From the Summary page, click the Back Test -> Option button. From the Builder or Result Page, click on Option. Figure 7.7 Back Test Option Window 3. The elements of this window and its usages are as described below : Data Range Set the data periodicity to daily, weekly or monthly. Also, include any minute or tick periodicity.

72 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 72 Select the Last option and specify the number of bars to be tested, e.g. 300 OR Specify the From and To date and deselect the Last option OR If the Last option is deselected and From and To date is not specified, the system will back test the whole data range available for the specific symbol or symbols. Test Option Point Test For back testing of derivatives with settlement price calculated in number of points or ticks. Initial Equity For back testing of stocks or other market instruments calculated in monetary term, specify your initial investment amount. For example, if your initial outlay is $1000 and the number of stocks selected to be tested is 10, then the system will distribute this amount evenly among the number of stock to be tested, which is $100 investment per stock. Entry Size decides the size of investment each time. It is categorized into the following: % equity, is for backtesting stock, if your system allows only non-repeatable entry signal, then you shall specify 100 in the box on the right side meaning that 100% of your capital at the point of signal triggered will be invested. If your system allows repeatable entry signals, then you shall specify, for example, 20 in the box, of which each entry consumes equally 20% of your capital. Units, is for backtesting futures contract. You may specify the number of unit for each action triggered by system signal. However, the sum of all identical action (i.e. all long actions or all short actions) shall not exceed the number as defined in the Initial Equity.

73 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 73 Amount, is for backtesting other derivatives calculated in fix sum. You may specify the amount to be invested or divested when triggered by the system. However, the sum of all identical action (i.e., all long actions, or all short actions) shall not exceed the amount as defined in the Initial Equity. Allow partial entry size You can define whether partial entry is permissible. A tick in the box indicates that partial entry is allowed. If your system is designed to allow multiple entries, you may define the Max long entries and/or Max short entries. If your system is designed to allow only single entry, then both the Max long entries and Max short entries should be 1. Commission Define the commission payable for each transaction either in percent or point (dollar term). Slippage You may define the slippage that may be incurred for each transaction either in percent or point (dollar term). Folder To back test a list of stocks concurrently, add a QuickList or a folder by clicking on the Add button on the right and select the Folder or QuickList options. You may add several folders or QuickList. To include or exclude these folders or QuickList for backtesting, click on the box beside it. The tick mark in the box indicates the folder or QuickList is included in backtesting. You can edit the QuickList here. To do so, highlight the QuickList (start with a ':') and click the Edit button to bring up the QuickList Editor. For further details on QuickList Editor, please refer to "Working with QuickList" chapter.

74 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 74 To delete a folder or QuickList from the folder list, select the folder or QuickList followed by clicking the Delete button. 4. The TraderConnect system provides a flexible backtesting platform to perform single strategy test on single symbol, single strategy test on multiple symbols, multiple strategy test on single symbol and multiple strategy test on multi symbols. 5. To perform single strategy test on single symbol, follow the steps below : Select a strategy to be applied for backtesting from the left panel of the Trading Strategy window. Initiate backtesting from the Summary page by clicking on Back Test > Start. Alternatively, you may also click the Test drop-down menu at the Builder or Result Page and select Symbol. Select Symbol from the drop-down menu to begin backtesting. Once Backtesting is complete, Trading Strategy screen will switch to the Result page. 6. To perform single strategy test on multiple symbols, follow the steps below : Select a strategy to be applied for backtesting from the left panel of the Trading Strategy window. Initiate backtesting from the Summary page by clicking on BackTest > Start. Alternatively, you may also click the Test drop-down menu at the Builder or Result Page and select Symbol. Select Folder from the drop-down menu to begin backtesting. Once Backtesting is complete, Trading Strategy screen will switch to the Result page.

75 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To perform multiple strategy test on single symbol, follow the steps below : Press and hold the Ctrl or Shift key and select multiple strategies using the left-click button. Initiate backtesting from the Summary page by clicking on BackTest > Start. Alternatively, you may also click the Test drop-down menu at the Builder or Result Page and select Symbol. Select Symbol from the drop-down menu to begin backtesting. Once Backtesting is complete, Trading Strategy screen will switch to the Result page. 8. To perform multiple strategy test on multi symbols, follow the steps below : Press and hold the Ctrl or Shift key and select multiple strategies using the left-click button. Initiate backtesting from the Summary page by clicking on BackTest > Start. Alternatively, you may also click the Test drop-down menu at the Builder or Result Page and select Symbol. Select Folder from the drop-down menu to begin backtesting. Once Backtesting is complete, Trading Strategy screen will switch to the Result page. 9. The BackTest Result page (Figure 7.8) is presented in an informative manner, comprising of 3 sections, as stated below :

76 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 76 Figure 7.8 BackTest Result Screen Summary Summary lists down various critical data accumulated from the backtesting operation. The summary report can be tabulated in horizontal or vertical manner by choosing View1 or View2 respectively. The following are definition of field names: Initial Investment The amount of hypothetical money the system started with. Total net profit (loss) Total profit minus total loss. %Profit/loss Total net profit divided by Initial Investment %Annual Return Annualized %Profit/loss Total commission Total commission paid to execute all the trades. Total # of trades Total number of winning trades plus number of losing trades. %Profitable trades Number of winning trades divided by total number of trades. Avg profit (loss) per trade Total net profit (or loss) divided by total number of trades. %overall average profit (loss) Total net profit (or loss) divided total entry cost. Avg win/avg loss ratio average winning trades divided by average losing trades.

77 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 77 Profit of winning trades Total profit of all the winning trades. Loss of losing trades Total loss of all the losing trades. Total # of winning trades Total number of winning trades. Total # of losing trades Total number of losing trades. Largest winning trades Largest closed out winning trades. Largest losing trades Largest closed out losing trades. Average winning trades Profit of winning trades divided by total number of winning trades. Average losing trades Loss of losing trades divided by total number of losing trades. % Average profit/trade Profit of winning trades divided by total cost of winning trades. % Average loss/trade Loss of losing trades divided by total cost of losing trades. Detail The Detail page consists of the following 3 sub-pages: Rank This sub page ranks the best or worst strategy for a given symbol or group of symbols. Click on the field header to sort the result to the respective ranking. Click on the Rank Symbol at the top of the Trading Strategy screen to select a different symbol for ranking. Symbol This sub-page ranks the best or worst profitable symbol for a given strategy. Trade This sub-page list all trades executed by the system including the gain/loss of each trade in detail.

78 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 78 System Equity and Price Chart System Equity chart is the accumulated equity gained or lost by using the respective strategy in the specific period as tested. The default up arrow and down arrow indicates a buy/long action and sell/short action respectively. These arrows are plotted on the price chart. When the cross-hair is activated in the price chart, data in the Trade sub-page under the Detail section will change accordingly as the cross-hair moves. These arrows can be redefined or changed. Please refer to earlier section "Building a Trading Strategy", for details on modifying an Action/State. 10. The last BackTest result of each Strategy is saved automatically under the name of the respective Strategy. If you do not wish the particular BackTest result to be overwritten when that strategy is tested again, click the Save As button at the top of the Trading Strategy window to save it under another filename. 11. All the Back test results are listed in the Summary page of the Trading Strategy window. To recall a BackTest result, open the Summary page, and double click a Back test Result. By default, only the last 20 BackTest result are saved to avoid lengthy BackTest result loading time. You may change the number of Back test Result shown under the Summary page. For more information on changing the maximum back test result shown, please refer to "Customizing Global Settings" chapter.

79 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM How to Plot a Strategy on a Price Chart and Delete it 1. A Trading Strategy is plotted on an active price chart just like an indicator. Use any of the methods below to add a Strategy : Icon Click on the Trading Strategy icon to drop-down the Strategy list (Figure 7.9), and select a desired strategy. The list might be different depending on what you have assigned to the list. Figure 7.9 Strategy Drop-down List Short-cut Menu Right-click on the chart window and select Insert Trading Strategy to open the Trading Strategy list (as shown in Figure 9.10). Then select the required strategy and click the OK button or press the ENTER key on the keyboard. Main Menu (Ctrl S) Click the Insert menu and select Trading Strategy to open the Trading Strategy library (Figure 7.10). Then choose the required strategy and click the OK button or press the ENTER key on the keyboard.

80 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 80 Figure 7.10 Insert Trading Strategy 2. To delete a strategy that has been plotted on the chart window, any one of the methods below can be used: Main Menu Shortcut menu Icon Key Strokes The four methods used in deleting a strategy as listed above are similar to the four methods used in deleting a symbol. Please refer to the Deleting An Indicator section at Chapter 5. Apply strategy instead of symbol in the detailed directions. 3. A strategy that is plotted on a chart window is treated as an indicator. Therefore, when all the indicators are deleted using the Edit/Delete All Indicators command, any strategy applied will be removed as well.

81 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM The Strategy Advisor 1. The Strategy Advisor (Figure 7.11) shows the triggered buy or sell signal (if available), together with the comments and interpretation associated with the respective indicator. Figure 7.11 Strategy Advisor 2. The Strategy Advisor consists of the following major elements : The title bar on top shows the name of the strategy used. A price chart showing the triggered Action arrow at the left. The comment and interpretation at the right of the Strategy Advisor window. 3. To review the commentary of another date or bar, simply click or drag the pointer at the price chart, to reposition it. 4. To activate the Strategy Advisor from an active chart, click on Strategy Advisor icon and select the required strategy from the Strategy Advisor drop-down list.

82 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM If a Strategy has already been applied to the price chart, any one of these methods can be used to activate the Strategy Advisor : Icon Click on the Strategy Advisor icon to drop-down the Strategy Advisor Menu as shown in Figure Select Applied Trading Strategy to activate Strategy Advisor for the respective Strategy already applied to the price chart. You can also select to view other Strategy Advisor comment. Figure 7.12 Strategy Advisor Menu Short-cut Menu Right click on the Action arrow on the price chart to bring up the short-cut menu, select Advisor ** (Strategy Name). Double-click Simply double-click on the Action Arrow at the price chart to activate the Strategy Advisor directly. 6. To review the strategy applied through the Strategy Advisor, click on the Strategy button to open the respective strategy at the Builder page.

83 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To deactivate the Strategy Advisor, use any of these methods : Direct Method Click the cross at the top right corner of the Strategy Advisor window. Menu Method Select the Strategy Advisor pointer, then go to the Edit menu and choose Selected Object. Key Strokes Select the Strategy Advisor pointer and press the Delete key.

84 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 84 C H A P T E R 8 Using The Candlestick Expert The Candlestick Expert enables a user to identify the most common Japanese candlestick patterns (approx. 90 types) on the candlestick chart. It provides some basic information and guidelines for each pattern spotted on your chart, which may contribute to the decision-making process. However, the guidelines provided in the Candlestick Expert are by no way a recommendation to buy or sell, rather it is a tool to aid the user in learning Candlestick Analysis. This chapter guides users to activate and use the feature efficiently. The following sub-topics have been added: 8.1. Activating And Deactivating The Candlestick Expert 8.2. Getting To Know Your Candlestick Expert 8.3. Setting The Candlestick Expert Preferences

85 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Activating And Deactivating The Candlestick Expert 1. To activate the Candlestick Expert, use any of the methods below : Main Menu Click the Tool menu and choose Candlestick Expert to launch the Candlestick Expert window (Figure 8.1) Signal Interpretatio CandleStick Pattern Comment Figure 8.1 Candlestick Expert Window CandleStick Pattern List Icon Method Use the Candlestick Expert icon to launch the Candlestick Expert window.

86 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To deactivate the Candlestick Expert, follow the steps below : Main Menu Click on the Candlestick Expert pointer at the chart window, then access the Edit menu and select Delete Selected Object. Key Stroke Click on the Candlestick Expert pointer at the chart window and then press the DELETE key on the keyboard Getting To Know Your Candlestick Expert 1. When the Candlestick Expert is activated, the Candlestick Expert window pops-up with the pointer pointing to the last candlestick on the screen. To check for the candlestick pattern for another time-sales bar, move this pointer to the required position. 2. Figure 8.1 shows the elements in the Candlestick Expert window i.e. the Candlestick pattern, Candlestick Pattern List, Interpretation, Comment and Signal. According to this figure, a Four-Price Doji pattern has been developed based on the time-sales data for January 28, The Candlestick Expert window may be made up of a combination of Candlestick patterns. The number of patterns used is listed beside the Candlestick Pattern Dropdown List. A user may view any of the patterns detected by selecting the detected pattern (s) from drop-down list.

87 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Setting The Candlestick Expert Preferences 1. The Candlestick pattern preferences can be set at the Candlestick Pattern Preferences window (Figure 8.2). To launch this window, click on the Preference button at the Candlestick Expert window. Figure 8.2 Candlestick Pattern Preferences Window 2. Go to Show Patterns from section and choose the class/classes from Single Candle, Double Candle, Triple Candles and/or Multiple Candle. 3. Then, go to the Select Pattern(s) of which is section and check the Bearish, Bullish, Top Reversal, Bottom Reversal and/or Continuous checkbox (es). 4. Subsequently, select the Base Pattern and/or Confirmation Pattern at the Include section and define the Period. 5. User may also select or remove individual candlestick patterns from the Base Candlestick Patterns section. Only those selected patterns will be searched.

88 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 88 C H A P T E R 9 User Settings This chapter provides step-by-step instructions on customizing some of the most important aspects of the technical analysis features available in the TraderConnect system according to your preference. The following sub-topics have been included: 9.1. Configuring Your Working Environment 9.2. Applying Default Settings 9.3. Resetting Data Range

89 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Configuring Your Working Environment 1. TraderConnect PRO offers configuration options to users so that the environment works according to user preference. These options are located at the Option window (Figure 9.1). To access the Option window, click the Tool menu and select Option. Figure 9.1 Option Window 2. Most of the user-defined options are located at the Chart tab which consists of the following: Subgraph Divider (a horizontal line drawn between subgraphs) Select a color for the subgraph divider to make it easy to see where one subgraph ends and the other begins. To hide the subgraph divider, use the same color as the chart background color.

90 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 90 Last Value (the last price data and indicator values shown on the chart) Select Price to display closing price on the symbol chart. Select Price Highlight to include the last closing value on the right hand size of the chart window Select Use Chart Price Color to display the price data value as per chart price color settings. Deselect Use Chart Price Color to set the color of the price data according to your preference. To do so, use the color drop-down list to change the color of the price data. Select Indicator Value to display the indicator values (Note: the inserted symbols are treated as indicators, therefore, indicator value refers to the closing prices of the inserted symbols). The color of the indicator values follows the color set for the respective indicator line. Select Indicator Parameter to display the parameter of the indicator, for example, MACD 12,26,9. Indicator Choose the Top option to place the indicator chart window on top of the base symbol chart window. Choose Bottom to locate the indicator chart window at the bottom of the base symbol chart window. X Axis Choose the Price Chart option to include x-axis at the chart window. Choose the Chart Bottom option to include x-axis at the chart window. Y Axis Select the Left checkbox to include y-axis at the chart window. Select the Right checkbox to include y-axis at the chart window.

91 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 91 Smart Cache Select the Smart Cache checkbox to restore all active charts including indicators, studies and the positions on screen back to how it was when closing the chart or exiting TraderConnect. Max Charts Specify the maximum charts allowed to be loaded from the range of 1 to 999. Zoom Factor Specify the magnification range from 1 to 99. Max Strategy List Specify the number of pre-defined strategies to be included in Strategy Advisor drop-down list and Trading Strategy drop-down list. Max Strategy Result Set the maximum number of BackTest result to show in the Summary page of the Trading Strategy screen. Default is set to 20 to avoid lengthy BackTest result loading. Load Option button Use this option to set the data range or amount of data to be loaded on screen.

92 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM To prompt the Login window (for activation of trading features) at the start-up of the application, do the following: Click the Trade tab at the Option window (Figure 9.2). Figure 9.2 Option Window Next, click the Prompt Login form at Start up checkbox. Then click the OK button to save the changes. 4. The color of the order ticket is also customizable at the Trade screen. To set the color simply click the respective Buy Color and Sell Color drop-down menu at the Order Ticket Color section (highlighted in red) and select the preferred color. Once the changes are made, click the OK button. 5. To reconnect to the server automatically, select the Reconnect Login checkbox and set the number of login attempts.

93 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Applying Default Settings 1. As mentioned in Chapter 2 ("Formatting Chart Window" and "Formatting Price Data" sections), the new default settings are assigned to all future chart windows or price data only. In order to assign those settings to all chart windows (irrespective of old or new), follow the steps below : Click the File menu and select Close All to close all opened windows. Click the Tool menu and select Option to launch the Option window as shown in Figure 9.2. Then click the Clear button beside the Smart Cache option followed by the OK button to save the changes. (You will loose the latest appearance of your windows when clearing the Smart Cache) 2. The new default settings will apply to all chart windows or price data upon opening. However, the default setting is not applicable to the layouts that were created previously. You will need to change the chart window or the price data properties manually.

94 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Resetting Data Range 1. To reset the data range for previously opened windows, follow the steps below : Click the File menu and select Close All to close all opened windows. Click the Tool menu and select Option to launch the Option window as shown in Figure 104. Then click the Clear button beside the Smart Cache option followed by the OK button to save the changes. Access the File menu and select Open Chart. Subsequently, click the Option button to launch the Data Range window. At the Data Range window, edit the Load and Display period and click the Ok button to save the settings. 2. This new data range will apply to all price charts upon opening. However, by clearing the smart cache, you will not be able to recall the latest appearance of the previously opened chart.

95 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM 95 C H A P T E R 10 Printing A Symbol Chart This chapter guides users to make the best out of print function in order to get a quality printout. The following sub-topics have been included: Setting The Print Properties Previewing And Sending The Symbol Chart To The Printer

96 Technical Charting With TraderConnect PRO TM Setting The Print Properties 1. The print setup features can be defined as per user preference at the Print window (Figure 9.1). In order to do so, click the File menu and select Print to launch the Print window. The Print window consists of various user-defined features as described below : Figure 9.1 Print Window Print Destination Apart from printing to printer, you can also print to disk or clipboard. Select the printer type and communication port from the drop-down list. The paper setting has been pre-defined in your printer setup. For advanced users, you may use the Properties button to manually set the paper size and paper source. Print Layout Use the up arrow button to increase the number of print layout and the down arrow button to decrease the number of print layout. Margin Set the Top, Bottom, Left and Right margin to provide enough space for print object.