Placed a few ICT Sniper style trades off higher time frame charts but unfortunately with mixed results – a few losers and a couple of wins which helped balance the books. The idea behind this kind of setup is to wait for a pullback following a break in market structure, and to identify key level to trade off using the ICT 70.5% Fibonacci level.

I’ve traded this way before, identifying levels and placing set and forget style limit orders in the evening, then in the morning, checking to see if trades were triggered and if not, re-evaluating the setup and re-adjusting if required. Unfortunately results have not been great so far and I’ve decided to add some additional elements to improve the basic concept.

Sorry had a hectic weekend and was unable to post … Going to add this rogue entry in here out of sequence, but better late than never!

FTSE 100 fell through the 5700 level at one stage and has formed the ICT Market Maker Sell model. I’m expecting it to fall further to flush out the stops and break the 5600-level lows from last month.

Didn’t get to trade much last week due to the change in job (putting in some killer hours) and only managed a couple of swing trades based on H1 & H4 charts which I hindsight I closed out too soon.

I’m going to start looking at daily charts this week and will be sharing more forex charts based on a variety of ICT methods incorporating Sniper style fib setups, Power of 3, Market Maker Buy & Sell models, and stop raids.

Here’s a chart of Cable to whet your appetite …

It’s been a crazy week and as you may have noticed, I haven’t been able to trade throughout the week nor have I been able to post my usual commentary on the FTSE in the morning or the evenings …

I have had a lot going on in my personal and professional life, and have recently taken up a new opportunity based in Canary Wharf which means I will not be able to trade the FTSE during the day! I have a one and a half hour journey to work each way which has resulted in a longer working day; as well as the fact that I’ll be travelling daily by tube (underground) which means I have no access to the internet during the open.

However, I will still continue to trade but off longer time frame charts (weekly, daily and 4-hourly) using price action strategies (no indicators, no MACD, etc.) and will continue to post my thoughts on this blog. I’ve also decided it might be an appropriate time to widen my list of markets to include other indicies and foreign exchange markets which is something that I’ve traded in the past.

As for this weekend I’ll give you a quick analysis of the FTSE looking at the HTF chart:

The FTSE resumed the upward move following the bounce we witnessed last week and posted a bullish looking hammer. I think 6235 will be a key level next week and will be looking to see if the FTSE can break through the downward sloping trendline shown on the chart, and possibly take out the stops indicated above (stops are located where you see the slim pink horizontal zones).

Looking at the 4H chart, the FTSE had formed a rather messy looking inverted head and (multiple) shoulders formation, before breaking beyond the 6000 level. I expect price to pullback to re-test the 6010 level as shown below, before resuming its upward momentum next week.

The FTSE started off the week positively and pushed up from the 5800 level, it got up as high as 5900 before changing direction on Tuesday, fell heavily down to the 5600 level by Wednesday afternoon, from where it rebounded to finish up above the 5900 level again by the end of the week. So in summary we had both the bulls and bears satisfied to some degree this week with the market oscillating in within a 300 point range.

The 4H chart of the FTSE is shown below, clearly indicating  a sharp fall followed by the breakout from the downward channel that the FTSE had been moving in for the last few weeks. It’ll be interesting to see if we can push on up above the 6000 level once again.

My personal performance was far from ‘optimal’ and I found myself chasing the market to some extent. The larger moves last week happened out of hours (due to FTSE futures reacting to the Asian markets) and I found that I was placing counter-trend trades as a result, anticipating the ‘air’ to fill. In future, I think I have to consider placing trades outside of market hours if price happens to reach key support and resistance levels.

The chart below shows the large moves that occurred on Wednesday early hours (before markets opened) and in the evening (once markets closed), and then again on Thursday in the early hours. I’m kicking myself for not trading the 5770 level, although on Wednesday the market tanked straight off the open and it would have been hard to catch that. Also missed out on the 5600 level, the weekly low which was hit on Wednesday after hours.

Unfortunately, there were some of the same old habits creeping in such as trading against the trend, mis-timing certain trades which went in the direction anticipated after stopping me out, as well as closing out winners too soon and not cutting loses early enough. Will have to keep working on my game …