SigmaForex Expectations

What are PIPS ?

Currencies are traded on a price/ point (pip) system. Each currency pair has its own pip value.

When you see a FOREX price quote, you'll see something listed like this:

EUR/USD 1.2210/13

Explanation:

A) If you want to BUY the EUR/USD ( meaning you BUY EUROS and SELL US$ ) you buy 100,000 EUROS and you SELL 122,130 US$, or in other words you receive
122,130 US$ for 100,000 EUROS.

B) If you want to SELL the EUR/USD (meaning you SELL EUROS and BUY US$ ) you buy 122,100 US$ and sell 100,000 EUROS, or in other words you receive 100,000 EUROS for 122,100 US$.

The difference between the bid and the ask price is referred to as the spread. In the example above, the spread is 3 or 3 pips.

Since the US dollar is the centerpiece of the FOREX market, it is normally considered the 'base' currency for quotes. In the "Majors", this includes USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD. For these currencies and many others, quotes are expressed as a unit of $1 USD per the second currency quoted in the pair.

For example a quote of USD/CHF 1.3000 means that fore one U.S. dollar you receive 1.30 Swiss Francs. or in other words, you receive 1.30 Swiss Franc for each 1 US$.

When the U.S. dollar is the base unit and a currency quote goes up, it means the dollar has appreciated in value and the other currency has weakened. If the USD/CHF quote above increases to 1.3050 the dollar is stronger because it will now buy more Swiss Franc than before.

The three exceptions to this rule are the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Euro (EUR). In these cases, you might see a quote such as EUR/USD 1.2080, meaning that for EURO you receive 1.2080 U.S. Dollars.

In these three currency pairs, where the U.S. dollar is not the base rate, a rising quote means a weakening dollar, as it now takes more U.S. dollars to equal one Euro, British pound or an Australian dollar.

In other words, if a currency quote goes higher, that increases the value of the base currency. A lower quote means the base currency is weakening.

Currency pairs that do not involve the U.S. dollar are called cross currencies, but the calculation is the same. For example, a quote of EUR/JPY 134.50 signifies that one Euro is equal to 134.50 Japanese yen.

HOW TO BUY ( going “ LONG ”)and SELL ( going “ SHORT ”) in the FOREX Market?

Keep in mind 2 very important rules:

RULE # 1) Cut your LOOSING trades and let your WINNING trades RUN

YOU WILL HAVE LOSING TRADES. Every FOREX trader has. The secret is, that a consistent, disciplined trader, at the end of the day, adds up more winning trades than losing trades.

When you and see on your charts, without any doubt, that you are in a losing trade, don't keep losing money. Most of the novice traders are lowering their stop loss just to “prove they are right” or “hoping that the market will reverse”. 99% of these trades, are ending up with more losses. Most of the profitable trades are usually "right" immediately.

Remember, smart traders know there are many other opportunities. CUT your losses short and compound those winning positions.

RULE 2) NEVER EVER trade FOREX without placing a Stop Loss Order.

PLACE a STOP order, right along with your ENTRY order, via your online trading station, to prevent potential losses.

Before initiating any trade, you have to calculate at what point ( price) you would be wrong, because the market changed direction, and would want to cut your losses.

To make profits, in the FOREX, a trader can enter the market with a buy position (known as going "long") or a sell position (known as going "short").

As an example let's assume you've been studying the EURO. The EURO is paired first with the U.S. dollar or USD.

Your trading methods, rules, strategies, etc., tell you that the EURO will rice in the next 2 weeks, So you buy the EUR/USD pair meaning you will simultaneously buy EUROS, and SELL dollars).
EUR/USD: 1.2010/1.2013

As you you believe that the market price for the EUR/USD pair will go higher, you will enter a buy position in the market.

As an example, lets say you bought one lot EUR/USD at 1.2013. As long as you sell back the pair at a higher price, then you make money.

To illustrate a typical FX SELL trade, consider this scenario involving the USD/JPY currency pair:

REMEMBER Selling ("going short") the currency pair implies selling the first, base currency, and buying the second, quote currency. You sell the currency pair if you believe the base currency (USD) will go down relative to the quote currency (JPY), or equivalently, that the quote currency (JPY) will go up relative to the base currency (USD).

SigmaForex Practice Competition

Sigma Forex Ultimate Forex Monthly Champion

Interested clients who wish to take part in this competition shall send a request via email at Contest@sigmaForex.com

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Attached with the following information:

    * Full name

    * Phone number

    * Current valid passport or government issued photo ID

It begins at the beginning of each month.

After recieving your request we will provide you with further details and with your Practice account login information which will be used in the trading contest.

Also you have to download Sigma Forex Platform to login with the account number and password after receiving them.

Forex Price Charts, what DO they mean and HOW to use them?

Important numerous facts as discipline, trading rules, not being greedy etc., but one of the most important things is:

LEARN to read the charts as Charts represent the lifeblood of the market.

I admit that reading charts, and interpreting patterns, are more an art than a skill. Base and apply your entry and exit decisions on YOUR OWN combined methods of technical and fundamental analysis.

FOREX charts, are easier to interpret and to use. They reflect a slower moving, stable economy of a country, compared to the stock market, with its daily drama of company reports, Wall Street Analysts and shareholder demands.

Unlike stocks, currency charts do not spend much time in trading ranges and have the tendency to develop strong trends. Furthermore, Forex with its 4 Mayor currencies is easier to analyze than tens of thousands of stocks.

(Mayor currencies are: USD/JPY, EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/CHF)

Pricing -

Price reflects the perceptions and action taken by the market participants. It is the dealing between buyers and sellers in the Over-The-Counter (OTC) or “interbank” market that creates price movement. Therefore, all fundamental factors are quickly discounted in price. By studying the price charts, you are indirectly seeing the fundamental and market psychology all at once , after all the market is fed by two emotions - Greed and Fear – and once you understand that, then you begin to understand the psychology of the market and how it relates to the chart patterns.

H = Highest Price
L = Lowest Price
O = Opening Price
C = Close Price (or Last Price)

The most common types of price bars, used in FOREX trading, are the Bar Chart and the Candlestick chart:

Bars Charts -

Price bars are a linear representation (a line) of a period of time. This enables the viewer to see a graphic representation summarizing the activity of a specific time frame. As an example, I use 10 minutes, 60 minutes and daily time interval for my systems. Each bar has similar characteristics and tells the viewer several important pieces of information.

First, the highest point of the bar represents the highest price that was achieved during that time period. The lowest point of the bar represents the lowest price during the same period. Regular bars display a small dot on the left side of the bar which represents the opening price of the period and the small dot on the right side represents the closing price of the period.

Candlesticks -

Japanese Candlesticks, or simply Candlesticks as they are now known, are used to represent the same information as Price bars. The only difference is that the difference between the open and close form the body of a box which is displayed with a color inside. A red color means that the close was lower than the open, and the blue color represents that the close was higher than the open.

If the box has a line going up from the box it represents the high and is called the wick. If the box has a line going down from the box, it represents the low and is called the tail.

Many interpretations can be made from these "candlesticks" and many books have been written on the art of interpreting these bars.

Chart Intervals & Time Frames:

A chart Time Scale & Period, or time frame, basically refers to the duration of time that passes between the OPEN and the CLOSE of a bar or candlestick.

Sigma Forex is  leading European professional online trading Brokers registered in the Switzerland and most of the EU countries. It was founded by professional private investors including (banks, traders, brokers, and software developers), which enabled Sigma to identify the essential needs of the Forex participants from the start.

Since 2003, Sigma’s aim has been to provide the best, powerful and most suitable currency trading technology along with superiority in execution, competitive services, and dependable customer service. Over the past years, Sigma has quickly become one of the world’s leading online retail currency trading institutions, providing integrated global trading systems, analysis techniques and the most reliable and sophisticated online trading software. We offer internet trading through Meta Trader. This trading platform is very stable and reliable. It is highly regarded and very popular among traders.