My Portfolio summary

Last week my portfolio value is $97174.32 with a negative profit. But this week I achieved a changeover. My portfolio value ends at $101,215.42 with a 1.22% return. Staying defensive is my main strategy for this week because of the uncertainty of the market.

After a long watching and analysis, I made some trades at the end of this week.

Market analysis for this week

Wheat

Wheat prices rose Friday for a fifth-straight day, as traders focused on the unfavorable weather impacting crop.

The price of December wheat rose 4.75 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $6.83 a bushel. Wheat prices are at their highest level since mid-July. The last time wheat prices rose five-straight days was early March.

I bought wheat last week and keep it to get profit this week. It contributed to my total value to balance the loss on the other two commodities. At the end of this week, I stop buy more wheat at the price $6.38.

Corn

The analysis about corn seems wrong by this week. December corn prices fell 2.75 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $4.54 a bushel. I thought it is at the low price for these few months, but I got some information that the price may still drop for a few days. So I did nothing on corn and keep watching.

Soybeans

According to the weather condition and the rising yield of soybeans. Many people who shout the soybeans this week suffer a loss. But I think the influence will continue to have an impact on the price of soybeans. I short 10 units of soybeans for the next week.

Points 

portfolio investment is really important.

The trading game gives me a chance to operate the funding like a real investor. I have participated in a trading game which was limited to the stock exchanges during my undergraduate study. But futures, which is different from the stock, is a totally fresh field for me.

OBJECTIVES

The trading game will last for more than 6 weeks, and I have $100,000 as my initial funds. Firstly, I made a schedule for the game and I have clear objectives for each week. For the first week, I just need to get start with futures and make several attempts.

DEFINITIONS

The most important step is to know the transaction rules of futures. It is a kind of financial contract obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or the seller to sell an asset. After knowing the basic rule, I figured out the definitions of Market Order, Limit Order, Stop Order and Stop Limit Order. The four trading instructions are divided into GTD (Good-till-Date) and GTC (Good-till-Cancelled).

ATTEMPTS

Our purchase objects are limited to grain and oil seeds including corn, soybeans and wheat. I analyzed the recent trends of these three kinds of futures and attempted to open position.

Corn:

The price of corn peaked in Sep. last year and decrease consistently. It shows a fluctuation trend at the low price. I think there will be a rally within a narrow range in these days. So I only buy 2 units and then observe for a period to make further decisions.

Soybean:

The price of soybeans is undergoing a descending process. So I just buy 1 unit. Unfortunately, the price fell the next day after opening position. Maybe I will close position next week.

Wheat:

The price seems to hit the bottom recently. I forecast that the price will rise in a few weeks. So I buy 2 units and maybe short covering next week.

The transactions seem a little haste in the first week. But as with anything, the most important and hard step is to just get started. I think I achieved my first-week goal of understanding the futures and making some attempts.

Everything will be better~ Just go ahead without hesitation.

Lina