I have been trading with eToro for the last 3 years and have found eToro to be great way to scratch the trading itch without having to risk large amounts of capital - thanks to its finely-tuned trade ticket. Details on how best to get the most out of eToro trade ticket I have outlined below. At the end of this article I have included a list of (low-key) performers on eToro you should consider following or copying. You can start by registering with eToro. I recommend starting with the minimum deposit of $200 and using the 1% risk rule of available capital; this means if your starting capital is $200, then your first trade will risk $2. So in risking $2, what is the initial position size to use? The eToro Trade ticket will default to a standard $25 lot, with a 50%(!) stop, usually on x100 leverage. You will not want to enter your first trade this way . First thing will be to change the leverage to x1, then change your stop loss to $1 just to avoid any errors. The ...
After any sustained period of gains in markets, talk often cycles towards market tops and potentially, the “C” word. From 2022 lows to its highs in March 2024, the S&P gained over 50% - a considerable gain for any index over a relatively short period. Given that, what can we look forward to in the months ahead? The first thing I wanted to look at was the level of ‘chatter’ around the term “Market Crash” in search engine results. Searches like these are often counterintuitive, when everyone thinks markets are crashing, the worst is often behind it. For example, when we look at the Google search results for “Market Crash” over the last five years, there was a big spike for the search term in March 2020, but since then, very little. And what happened to the market when the spike occurred? No surprise to know it appeared in the month when markets marked a bottom. And we haven’t looked back since. So, while there may be an inclination towards a marke...
In April last year I took a look at the market potential for a downturn that ultimately, never materialized. That scenario was negated by the break of the March high during the summer, followed by a sequence of higher highs and higher lows as part of a bull market cycle. So what will 2025 bring? First off, I took a look at search-sentiment. How many people have searched for the term "market crash" in the United States? More often than not, these spikes - when they occur - are more often associated with major market bottoms than market tops. When we match the search spikes to a chart of the S&P we can see how nearby market lows turn into major market lows. The odd one out could be the June 2024 search spike as there was barely a pause in the advance, not something we have seen during other search-spikes, with the possibe exception of the February 2018 spike. However, what I do like about the 2024 spike is how it occurred around a solid psychological suppo...