Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aboutthisguide
IfthisisyourfirsttimecomingacrosstheonlineForexmarket,thenyouvecometotheright
place.
Thisguidewillprovideyouwiththebasicknowledge,toolsandtechniquesanoviceForex
tradershouldhaveasyoutakeyourfirststepsinthefascinatingworldofForex.
Manyofthetradingconceptsintroducedhereareexplainedingreaterdetailinlater
chaptersoftheguide.
IfyouareunclearaboutanyForextermyoucomeacrosshere,besuretorefertothe
glossaryofterms
Publishedby
www.eToro.comTradingPlatform
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 2
Index
Usethefollowingindextonavigateyourwayaroundtheguide.
Intro:WhyForex? ............................................................................................. 3
Profitability........................................................................................................ 4
CashinginonPriceMovements ......................................................................... 5
TheTrendisYourFriend .................................................................................... 7
TacticalusageofLeverage................................................................................ 10
ASimpleTradeExample................................................................................... 12
HedgingRisksandRewards.............................................................................. 14
TheQuestforVolatility ................................................................................... 15
MoneyManagement........................................................................................ 16
OpenfreePracticeeToroaccount!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 3
Intro:WhyForex?
Ifyouarereadingthisguide,youhavemostlikelytakensomesortofinterestin
theForexmarket.ButwhatdoestheForexmarkethavetoofferyou?
AccessibilityItsnowonderthattheForexmarkethasthetrading
volumeof3trillionadayallanyoneneedstotakepartintheactionisa
computerwithaninternetconnection.
24HourMarketTheForexmarketisopen24hoursaday,sothatyoucan
berighttheretradingwheneveryouhearafinancialscoop.Noneedto
biteyourfingernailswaitingfortheopeningbell.
NarrowFocusUnlikethestockmarket,asmallermarketwithtensof
thousandsofstockstochoosefrom,theForexmarketrevolvesaround
moreorlesseightmajorcurrencies.Anarrowchoicemeansnoroomsfor
confusion,soeventhoughthemarketishuge,itsquiteeasytogetaclear
pictureofwhatshappening.
LiquidityTheforeignexchangemarketisthelargestfinancialmarketin
theworldwithadailyturnoverofjustover$3trillion!Nowapartfrom
beingareallycoolstatistic,thesheermassivescopeoftheForexmarketis
alsooneofitsbiggestadvantages.Theenormousvolumeofdailytrades
makesitthemostliquidmarketintheworld,whichbasicallymeansthat
undernormalmarketconditionsyoucanbuyandsellcurrencyasyou
please.Youcanneverbeinajamforcurrencytobuyorstuckwith
currencythatyoucantunload.
TheMarketCantBeCorneredThecolossalsizeoftheForexmarketalso
makessurethatnoonecancornerthemarket.Evenbanksdonthave
enoughpulltoreallycontrolthemarketforalongperiodoftime,which
makesitagreatplaceforthelittleguytomakeamove.
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroPracticeaccountandjointheForex
markettoday!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 4
Profitability
Itdoesnttakeafinancialgeniustofigureoutthatthebiggestattractionofany
market,oranyfinancialventureforthatmatter,istheopportunityofprofit.Inthe
Forexmarket,profitabilityisexpressedinanumberofways.
Firstofall,justtosettherecordstraight,youdonthavetobeamillionaireto
tradeForex.Unlikemostfinancialmarkets,theForexmarketallowsyoutostart
tradingwithrelativelylowinitialcapital.AteToro,youcanstarttradingForexwith
aslittleas$25!
Rightaboutnowyoureprobablyaskingyourself:WhatchancedoIhaveof
profitingwithsuchalowinitialinvestment?TheForexmarketdoesntrequire
largeinitialinvestmentsbecauseitallowsyoutouseleveragedtrading.Leveraged
tradingletsyouopenpositionsfortensofthousandsofdollarswhileinvesting
sumsassmallas$25.ThismeansthatForextradinghastheprofit(andloss)
potentialoftensandevenhundredsofpercentaday!
WhatisalsouniqueabouttheForexmarketisthatanysortofmovementisan
opportunitytotrade.Whetheracurrencyiscrashingorsoaring,thereisalways
roomforspeculation,sinceyoualwayshavetheoptionofbuyingorsellingthe
currencyofyourchoice.Unlikethestockmarket,youarenotlimitedto
speculatingonrisingstocks,andafallingmarketisjustasgoodforbusinessasa
risingmarket.
Havingsaidallthat,itisimportanttorememberthatasprofitableastheForex
marketis,itstillcarriesalltherisksinvolvedwithfinancialtrading.Youshould
alwaysbeawareoftherisk,andneverriskmoneythatyoucantaffordtolose.
Havingsaidallthat,itisimportanttorememberthatasprofitableastheForex
marketis,itstillcarriesalltherisksinvolvedwithfinancialtrading.Youshould
alwaysbeawareoftherisk,andneverriskmoneythatyoucantaffordtolose.
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroPracticeaccountandjointheForex
markettoday!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 5
CashinginonPriceMovements
TradingForexisexcitingbusiness.Themarketisalwaysonthemove,andevery
tinyshiftincurrencyratescanmeanprofitsandlossesofhundredsandeven
thousandsofdollars!
Letsdemonstratehowthatcanhappen:
Ingeneral,theeightmosttradedcurrenciesontheForexmarketare:
USD U.S.Dollar
EUR Euro
GBP BritishPound
JPY
JapaneseYen
CAD CanadianDollar
CHF SwissFranc
NZD NewZealandDollar
AUD AustralianDollar
Forextradingisalwaysdoneinpairs,sinceanytradeinvolvesthesimultaneous
buyingofacurrencyandsellingofanothercurrency.Thetradingrevolvesaround
18maincurrencypairs.Thesepairsare:
USD/CAD
EUR/JPY
EUR/USD
EUR/CHF
USD/CHF
EUR/GBP
GBP/USD
AUD/CAD
NZD/USD
GBP/CHF
AUD/USD
GBP/JPY
USD/JPY
CHF/JPY
EUR/CAD
AUD/JPY
EUR/AUD
AUD/NZD
Whenbuyingorsellingacurrencypair,eachpairhasitsownBid/Askrate,for
example:
Pair
Bid
Ask
EUR/USD
1.5420 1.5422
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 6
Thismeansyoucouldeither:
BuythepairattheAskrate
or
SellthepairattheBidrate
Whichmeans:
Whichmeans:
Buy1EUR/Sell$1.5422
Sell1EUR/Buy$1.5420
OK,butwherestheopportunityforprofit?
Thecurrencypairratesarevolatileandconstantlychanging.
Onewaytoprofitisbybuyingapair,thensellingitatahigherrate.
Thesecondwayisbysellingthepair,thenbuyingitatalowerrate.
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroPracticeaccountandjointheForex
markettoday!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 7
TheTrendisYourFriend
Trendanalysisisbasedontheideathatwhathashappenedinthepastgives
tradersanideaofwhatwillhappeninthefuture.
Althoughthismayseemprettybasic,beingabletoidentifywhenapairisina
trendandwhenitisn'twillhelpyoutoincreaseyourchancestoprofit
consistentlyintheForexmarket.
Whenyoucanidentifyatrend,youcanestimatewhatdirectiontherateofa
currencypairisgoingtogoin.Youshouldexploitthedirectionofthetrendyou
identifybyplacingatradeinthatdirection.
Ifitsanuptrend,meaningthattherateisincreasing,buyingthecurrencypairwill
giveyouabetterprobabilityforprofit.Ifitsadowntrend,meaningthattherate
isdecreasing,sellingthecurrencypairwillgiveyouabetterchanceofmaking
money.
HowdoIidentifyatrend?Whatarethecharacteristicsofatrend?
Thesimplestwaytoidentifyatrendisthroughthedistinctpatternsthattheprice
forms.Thesecantellyouifthemarketismovinginanuptrendordowntrend.
IdentifyingaForexTrend
WhenatrendistakingplaceinaForexpair,thepricemovementsstarttoform
peaksandvalleysinthechartofthatpair,whichareeasilyidentified.
Inanuptrend,thepricemovementsformaseriesofhigherpeaksandhigher
valleys.
(HigherHighsandHigherLows.)
Sinceapicturesworthathousandwords,letslookatthefollowingchart:
Thischartsuggeststhatthetradershouldbuythecurrencypair(andclosethe
tradebysellingatprofitaftertheraterises).
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 8
Inadowntrend,thepricemovementsformaseriesoflowerpeaksandlower
valleys:
(LowerHighsandLowerLows)
Thischartsuggeststhatthetradershouldsellthecurrencypair(andclosethe
tradebybuyingatprofitaftertheratedeclines)
Itsimportanttonotethatduringsometradingdaysthetrendishardto
spot,sometradingdaysshownotrend(thepricemovementsforma
Range),andofcourseyoureboundtorunintotheoccasionalreversal,so
thisisnotaperfectlyaccurateor100%reliableindicatorfortrading.
HereiswhatatradingRangelookslike:
Itiseasiertomakepredictionswithatrendthanwithatradingrange.Whileyou
canstillprofitintradingranges,youhavetobemorenimbleonyourfeet,and
readytojumpinandoutofthemarketsatalltimes.Needlesstosay,thismakes
thetraderslifealottougherandtheriskforlossgreater.
Tradingrangescanbereallymessyandunpredictable,whichiswhyyoushould
alwayslookfortradingtrends.Itsagoodideatostayoutalltogetherduringa
range,andgetbackinonlywhenthemarketsstarttotrendagain.
Asageneralstrategy,itisbesttotradewiththetrendratherthanagainstit,
meaningthatifthegeneraltrendofthemarketisheadedup,youshouldbevery
cautiousabouttakinganypositionsthatrelyonthetrendgoingintheopposite
direction.
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 9
Thetrendspottingstrategyassumesthatthepresentdirectionofthepricerate
willcontinueintothefuture.Itcanbeusedinthreemaintimeframes:short,
intermediateandlongterm,withthetrendsbeingdifferentforeach.
Forexample,heresapossiblescenariointheForexmarket:
Overthelast12monthsthetrendfortheEUR/USDisanuptrend,overthelast30
daysthetrendisadowntrend,andoverthelast24Hours(intraday)trendisan
uptrend.
Regardlessofthechosentimeframe,traderswillremainintheirpositionuntil
theybelievethetrendhasreversed.
Sothegoalistospotatrendthatyoubelieveinandtradeaccordingtoit.
Needlesstosay,youwillneedtomonitorthetrade,incaseyouweremistaken
andthetrendvanishesorreverses.Thenit'stimetocutyourlossesbyclosingthe
losingtradeorbyreversingclosingthetradeandopeningafollowing,opposite
trade.
Warning:SpeculatingonForexratesinvolvesgreatamountofrisk.Beadvisedthat
eventhemostsophisticatedtraderscan'talwayspredictmarketmovements'
directions.
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroPracticeaccountandjointheForex
markettoday!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 10
TacticalusageofLeverage
IfyouvebeenatallexposedtotheworldofForexyouveprobablyheardthe
wordLeveragebeingtossedaround.ButwhatexactlyisLeverage?
LeverageisaveryimportantpartofForextrading,anditscriticalthatyouknow
exactlyhowitworksandhowtouseit.ItisthetermForextradersusetoreferto
theratioofinvestedamountrelatedtothetrade'sactualvalue.
Forexbrokersusuallyprovidetheircustomerswiththeoptiontotradeon
borrowedcapital,sothattradersdonthavetoinvesttensofthousandsofdollars
forthechancetomakeanyrealprofit.Whenyoutradeataleverageof1:100,or
X100,itmeansthatforevery$1thatyouinvestinthemarket,thebrokerinvests
$100.Asaresult,youcancontrolanamountof$10,000byinvesting$100.eToro
providestraderswiththeopportunityoftradingatupto1:400leverage.
Itprobablywontsurpriseyouwhenwesaythatwithgreateropportunityfor
profitcomesgreaterrisk.Justlikeslightfluctuationsincurrencyratescanmake
yousignificantamountsofmoney,itcanalsocauseyoutoloseyourmoneyvery
quickly.Thehighertheleverage,thelargertheprofitthatyoustandtomakeand
thequickeryoumightloseyourinvestment.Aleverageof1:400canmakeyou
moremoneythanaleverageof1:100,butitalsoputsyourinitialinvestmentat
morerisk.
Ifyoutradewithaleverageof1:100themarketwouldhavetomove100pips
againstyouforyourpositiontobewipedout.Ontheotherhand,ifyoutradewith
aleverageof1:400themarketwouldonlyhavetomove25pointsagainstyoufor
yourpositiontobewipedout.
Werecommendfirstopeningapositionwithalow1:100Leverage,andonlyonce
youseethatyouvehitastrongtrend,consideropeningonewitha1:400
leverage.
TheRatiobetweenMinimalLotSize,TradeSizeandLeverage
Fundamentally,theminimallotsizeforatradeis$10,000,thustheleverage
limitationsaresetaccordingtotheamountyouchoosetotrade:
Trade
Size
25
50
100
Minimal
Leverage
400
200
100
Lot
10,000
10,000
10,000
TheadvantageoftradingwithLeverageisthatwhileyourprofitspotentialis
virtuallyinfinite,ateToroyourlossislimitedtotheamountofyourinitial
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 11
investment.Oncetheratedropsbelowtheratecoveredbyyourinvestment,the
tradeisautomaticallyclosed.ThatisdonethroughanautomaticStopLoss
explainedinthenextchapter.
Remember,Leveragecanbeatradersbestfriendwhenusedcarefully,
andhisworstenemywhenusedrecklessly.Itisagreattoolforincreasing
profits,infactprivatetradersrarelytradewithoutit,butyoushould
alwayskeepinmindthatthehighertheleverageisthehighertherisk
levelinvolved.
Nowthatyoureequippedwithmostofthebasictools,youcanopenyourfirst
trade!
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroPracticeaccountandenjoyleverages
rangingfromx10tox400today!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 12
ASimpleTradeExample
Areyouready?It'stimetotrade!
Hereisatodolistofactionstobetakenasyouopenatrade:
Identifythepairtobuy/sell
Decideontheinitialinvestmentamount
Choosetheappropriateleverage
Considerapplyingtradelimits(coveredinthenextchapter)
Opentrade
Letssaythatafterspendingsomequalitytimeongazingatthechartsofseveral
currencies,youveconcludedthat:
1) TheEURistrendingup
2) TheUSDistrendingdown
Now,whatisthereasonabledecisionbasedonthisconclusion?
ClearlyyoucanprofitbyfirstsellingUSDandbuyingEUR,andthenbuying
cheaperUSDandsellexpensiveEUR.
WecoulddothisbybuyingandthensellingtheEUR/USDcurrencypair.
Areminderbuyingisdoneat'Ask'price,whilesellingisdoneattheBidprice.
Imaginethatyoubought$100worthofEUR/USDwithaleverageof1:100atthe
exchangerateof1.5461.Thedetailsofyourtradeare:
Investment
$100
Leverage
1:100
Unitssold
10,000
EUR/USD(Ask)
1.5461
InplainEnglish,whatyouvejustdoneisbought(100X100=)10,000UnitsofEUR
/USD,whichatthatspecificraterepresents1.5461USDper1EUR.
Now,letsassumethatattheendoftheday,orpossiblyevenafewminuteslater,
theEUR/USDratehasrisento1.5538.Yousellthose10,000Euro/USDUnitsat
thenewrateof1.5538andget$177back.
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 13
Thismeansthatthisseeminglyinsignificantfluctuationintherateallowsyouto
cashin$77fromaninitialinvestmentof$100.
Inotherwordsyoujustmade77%profitonyourinvestment,thankstothe
movementinthepair'squote.
Ontheexampletradethatwevejustseen,yourriskandrewardwasunlimited,
andtheriskwaslimitedwhichisgoodifyouareverycertainregardingyour
decisions.
However,asabeginneryoushouldn'ttrustyourselftoomuch,asyouarebound
tomakemistakes.Bylearningaboutspecialtradeorderfeatures,youwillbeable
tohedgeyourrisks.rephrase
ClickheretogetafreeeToroaccountandopenyourfirsttrade
today!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 14
HedgingRisksandRewards
Forextradingisariskybusiness.ThischapterwillexplaintheusageofStopLoss
(SL)andTakeProfit(TP)orders.Theseareusedforhedgingyourrisksand
rewards,realizingyourprofitsandminimizingyourlosses.
eToroplacesanautomaticStopLossorderonallyourtradestopreventyoufrom
losingmorethanyouveinvested.Iftherateofyouropentradedropsbelow
whatscoveredbyyourinvestment,thetradeisclosedbytheautomaticStop
Loss.This means the maximum amount you can lose on a trade is almost
always limited to the initial investment of the trade.
Still,thereisnoreasonwhyyoushouldwaituntilyouloseyourentireinvestment
toclosethetrade.BysettingaStopLossorderyoumakesurethatthevalueof
yourtradedoesntdropbelowacertainlevel.Thiswayyoucontrolthemaximum
amountthatyouarewillingtoloseonatrade,withouthavingtomonitoreach
tradearoundtheclock.
TakeProfitordersaresimilartostoplossorders,onlyreferringtoprofits.Take
Profitordersmakesurethatonceyourtradereachesacertainlevelofprofititwill
beclosed.
Forinstance,imaginethatyouveopenedaLongEUR/USDtradeforattherateof
1.5400.Afterafewhourstheraterisesto1.5500,butanhourlaterdropsto
1.5300.WithoutaTakeProfitorder,youmightmisstheriseintherate,andend
upwithalossonyourhands.
IfyouhadsetaTakeProfitorder,thepotentialprofitofthetradewouldhave
beenrealized,withoutyouhavingtomonitorthetradearoundtheclock.
Remember,StopLossandTakeProfitordersareverysimpletoolsthatcan
makethedifferencebetweenasuccessfultradingcareerandabigholein
yourpocket.Considerusingtheseorderswitheverytradethatyoumake.
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroaccountandpracticehedgingyour
riskstoday!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 15
TheQuestforVolatility
TheForexmarketisopen24hoursaday,butwhatarethebesttimestomakea
profit?
EventhoughtheForexmarketisopen24hoursadaywiththeexceptionof
weekends,notallhoursareasequallygoodfortrading.ThereasonthattheForex
marketisopen24hoursadayisthatitismadeupofdifferentsessionsaround
theglobethatbetweenthemcover24hours.
Themoremarketsareactiveatthesametime,themoretradesarebeing
executed,andthemoreactionforyoutocashinon.
TradingSessions(GMT):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Sydney
Tokyo
London
NewYork
SincetheLondonsessionisthebusiestoutofthefour,thebesttimesfortrading
are8am9am(GMT)and13pm17pm(GMT),becausethatswhentheLondon
sessionoverlapswithothersessions.
Abusethenews.
Asfornewsreports,thesearetimestobecareful.Manyprofitabletradesare
mademomentspriortoorshortlyaftermajoreconomicalannouncements.You
cangainafortuneaswellasloseoneifyourenotsureofwhatyouredoing.This
iswhyitsimportanttostayontopofwhatshappeningintheinternational
financearena.Marketsentimentbecomescrucialatthesetimes,sincetraders
basicallystampedetothemarketaroundthetimeofthereport.eToromakessure
togiveyouaheadsupwheneveranythingmajorisgoingdown.
Remember,eventhoughyoureabletotrade24hoursaday,itsbettertoplan
yourtradingactivityinordertocatchthebestactionforachancetomaximize
yourprofitsandminimizeyourlosses
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroPracticeaccountandjoin
theForexmarkettoday!
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 16
MoneyManagement
Isthereasecrettobecomingasuccessfultrader?
Thereisamethodthatallsuccessfultradersuse,anditsnosecret.Itscalled
moneymanagement.
Moneymanagementisnotsomevagueindustrylingoitsimplymeansthe
knowledgeandskillofmanagingyourForextradingaccount.Assimpleasthat
mayseem,itsthekeytoalongandsuccessfultradingcareer.Andyetitisoften
forgottenorneglectedinthethrillofthetrade.Wedliketotakethisopportunity
tolayoutsomegroundrulesbywhichyoucaneffectivelymanageyouraccount.
DontgolookingfortheBigWin;itwillmostlikelyresultinabigloss.Successful
tradingmeansconsistenttrading,wheresmallwinsamounttolargelongterm
profits.Neverassumethatallyourtradeswillbeprofitable,andplanonlosses.
Youshouldonlyriskasmallpercentageofyourtotalaccountbalanceoneach
trade.Thissimplyminimizesyourrisk,sothatevenifyouenduplosingyour
entireinvestmentonatrade,itdoesnthaveacriticaleffectonyouraccount
balance.Therecommendedamountis2%ofyouraccountbalancepertrade.
Moreaggressivetradersgoashighas5%,butneverhigherthanthat.Itisavery
importantruletokeep,sincetheloweryouraccountbalancedrops,theharderit
istorebuildit.
UsingLimitOrders
LearntousetheStopLossandTakeProfitorderseffectively.Theseordersprotect
yourinvestmentandrealizeyourprofits.Theyareverysimpletoolsthatcanmake
allthedifferencetoyouraccountbalance.
SizeofTrades
Youaresuggestedtoopensmalltrades,becauseinthecaseofalosingtrade,you
canthenopentheoppositetradewithabiggerinvestmentorhigherleverage,
thuscompensatingforlosses.
PracticewithVirtualMoney
Usevirtualmoneymodeforpractice.OneoftheuniquefeaturesofeToroisthat
ourplatformprovidesyouwithapracticeenvironment.Virtualmoneymode
worksexactlythesameasrealtradingmodeandusesthesamerealtimerates,
withthesmalldifferenceofnoriskinvolved.Werecommendusingthepractice
modetogettoknowtheplatformandgainForextradingexperience.
Andevenafteryouvebeguntradingwithrealmoney,itistheperfectplacetotry
outyourtradingstrategies.Thereisnopointinriskingyourmoneytotestouta
possibletheory,whenyoucandosowiththesamesuccessminustherisk.After
BASICFOREXTRADINGGUIDE 17
seeingthatyourstrategyisconsistentlysuccessfulwithvirtualmoney,youcantry
itoutforreal.
Remember,moneymanagementisverysimpletomaster,butnotassimpleto
keepup.Onceyouvedevelopedthemoneymanagementsystemthatworksfor
you,makesuretostickwithitanddontletyouremotionsgetinthewayoflong
termprofit,evenifitmeansabsorbingshorttermlosses.
Nowthatyoureequippedfortrading,takeyourtimeandstartpracticingyour
tradingskills.
ClickheretoopenafreeeToroPracticeaccountandjoin
theForexmarkettoday!