Foreign Exchange —
The Fastest-Growing Market
of Our Time
The foreign exchange market is the generic term for the worldwide institutions
that exist to exchange or trade currencies. Foreign exchange is often referred to as
“forex” or “FX.” The foreign exchange market is an over-the-counter (OTC) market,
which means that there is no central exchange and clearinghouse where orders are
matched. FX dealers and market makers around the world are linked to each other
around the clock via telephone, computer, and fax, creating one cohesive market.
Over the past few years, currencies have become one of the most popular
products to trade. No other market can claim a 57 percent surge in volume over a
three-year time frame. According to the Triennial Central Bank Survey of the foreign
exchange market conducted by the Bank for International Settlements and published
in September 2004, daily trading volume hit a record of $1.9 trillion, up from $1.2
trillion (or $1.4 trillion at constant exchange rates) in 2001. This is estimated to be
approximately 20 times larger than the daily trading volume of the New York Stock
Exchange and the Nasdaq combined. Although there are many reasons that can be
used to explain this surge in activity, one of the most interesting is that the timing of
the surge in volume coincides fairly well with the emergence of online currency
trading for the individual investor.
EFFECTS OF CURRENCIES ON STOCKS AND BONDS
It is not the advent of online currency trading alone that has helped to increase
the overall market’s volume. With the volatility in the currency markets over the past
few years, many traders are also becoming more aware of the fact that currency
movements also impact the stock and bond markets. Therefore, if stocks, bonds, and
commodities traders want to make more educated trading decisions, it is important
for them to follow the currency markets as well. The following are some of the
examples of how currency movements impacted stock and bond market movements
in the past.
EUR/USD and Corporate Profitability
For stock market traders, particularly those who invest in European corporations
that export a tremendous amount of goods to the United States, monitoring exchange
rates are essential to predicting earnings and corporate profitability. Throughout 2003
and 2004, European manufacturers complained extensively about the rapid rise in the
euro and the weakness in the U.S. dollar. The main culprit for the dollar’s sell-off at
the time was the country’s rapidly growing trade and budget deficits. This caused the
EUR/USD (euro-to-dollar) exchange rate to surge, which took a significant toll on
the profitability of European corporations because a higher exchange rate makes the
goods of European exporters more expensive to U.S. consumers. In 2003, inadequate
hedging shaved approximately 1 billion euros from Volkswagen’s profits, while
Dutch State Mines (DSM), a chemicals group, warned that a 1 percent move in the
EUR/USD rate would reduce profits by between 7 million and 11 million euros.
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Unfortunately, inadequate hedging is still a reality in Europe, which makes monitoring
the EUR/USD exchange rate even more important in forecasting the earnings
and profitability of European exporters.
Nikkei and U.S. Dollar
Traders exposed to Japanese equities also need to be aware of the developments
that are occurring in the U.S. dollar and how they affect the Nikkei rally. Japan has
recently come out of 10 years of stagnation. During this time, U.S. mutual funds and
hedge funds were grossly underweight Japanese equities. When the economy began
to rebound, these funds rushed in to make changes to their portfolios for fear of
missing a great opportunity to take advantage of Japan’s recovery. Hedge funds
borrowed a lot of dollars in order to pay for increased exposure, but the problem was
that their borrowings are very sensitive to U.S. interest rates and the Federal Reserve’s
monetary policy tightening cycle. Increased borrowing costs for the dollar
could derail the Nikkei’s rally because higher rates will raise the dollar’s financing
costs. Yet with the huge current account deficit, the Fed might need to continue
raising rates to increase the attractiveness of dollar-denominated assets. Therefore,
continual rate hikes coupled with slowing growth in Japan may make it less
profitable for funds to be overleveraged and overly exposed to Japanese stocks. As a
result, how the U.S. dollar moves also plays a role in the future direction of the
Nikkei.
George Soros
In terms of bonds, one of the most talked-about men in the history of the FX
markets is George Soros. He is notorious for being “the man who broke the Bank of
England.” This is covered in more detail in our history section (Chapter 2), but in a
nutshell, in 1990 the U.K. decided to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of
the European Monetary System in order to take part in the low-inflationary yet stable
economy generated by the Germany’s central bank, which is also known as the
Bundesbank. This alliance tied the pound to the deutsche mark, which meant that the
U.K. was subject to the monetary policies enforced by the Bundesbank. In the early
1990s, Germany aggressively increased interest rates to avoid the inflationary effects
related to German reunification. However, national pride and the commitment of
fixing exchange rates within the ERM prevented the U.K. from devaluing the pound.
On Wednesday, September 16, 1992, also known as Black Wednesday, George Soros
leveraged the entire value of his fund ($1 billion) and sold $10 billion worth of
pounds to bet against the Exchange Rate Mechanism. This essentially “broke” the
Bank of England and forced the devaluation of its currency. In a matter of 24 hours,
the British pound fell approximately 5 percent or 5,000 pips. The Bank of England
promised to raise rates in order to tempt speculators to buy pounds. As a result, the
bond markets also experienced tremendous volatility, with the one-month U.K.
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) increasing 1 percent and then retracing the
gain over the next 24 hours. If bond traders were completely oblivious to what was
going on in the currency markets, they probably would have found themselves dumbstruck
in the face of such a rapid gyration in yields.
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Chinese Yuan Revaluation and Bonds
For U.S. government bond traders, there has also been a brewing issue that has
made it imperative to learn to monitor the developments in the currency markets.
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of speculation about the possible
revaluation of the Chinese yuan. Despite strong economic growth and a trade surplus
with many countries, China has artificially maintained its currency within a tight
trading band in order to ensure the continuation of rapid growth and modernization.
This has caused extreme opposition from manufacturers and government officials
from countries around the world, including the United States and Japan. It is
estimated that China’s fixed exchange rate regime has artificially kept the yuan 15
percent to 40 percent below its true value. In order to maintain a weak currency and
keep the exchange rate within a tight band, the Chinese government has to sell the
yuan and buy U.S. dollars each time its currency appreciates above the band’s upper
limit. China then uses these dollars to purchase U.S. Treasuries. This practice has
earned China the status of being the world’s second largest holder of U.S. Treasuries.
Its demand has kept U.S. interest rates at historical lows. Even though China has
made some changes to their currency regime, since then, the overall revaluation was
modest, which means more is set to come. More revaluation spells trouble for the
U.S. bond market, since it means that a big buyer may be pulling away. An
announcement of this sort could send yields soaring and prices tumbling. Therefore,
in order for bond traders to effectively manage risk, it is also important for them to
follow the developments in the currency markets so that a shock of this type does not
catch them by surprise.
COMPARING THE FX MARKET WITH FUTURES AND
EQUITIES
Traditionally FX has not been the most popular market to trade because access
to the foreign exchange market was primarily restricted to hedge funds, Commodity
Trading Advisors who manage large amounts of capital, major corporations, and
institutional investors due to regulation, capital requirements, and technology. One of
the primary reasons why the foreign exchange market has traditionally been the
market of choice for these large players is because the risk that a trader takes is fully
customizable. That is, one trader could use a hundred times leverage while another
may choose to not be leveraged at all. However, in recent years many firms have
opened up the foreign exchange market to retail traders, providing leveraged trading
as well as free instantaneous execution platforms, charts, and real-time news. As a
result, foreign exchange trading has surged in popularity, increasing its attractiveness
as an alternative asset class to trade.
Many equity and futures traders have begun to add currencies into the mix of
products that they trade or have even switched to trading currencies exclusively. The
reason why this trend is emerging is because these traders are beginning to realize
that there are many attractive attributes to trading FX over equities or futures.
FX versus Equities
Here are some of the key attributes of trading spot foreign exchange compared
to the equities market.
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FX Market Key Attributes
• Foreign exchange is the largest market in the world and has growing
liquidity.
• There is 24-hour around-the-clock trading.
• Traders can profit in both bull and bear markets.
• Short selling is permitted without an uptick, and there are no trading curbs.
• Instant executable trading platform minimizes slippage and errors.
• Even though higher leverage increases risk, many traders see trading the
FX market as getting more bang for the buck.
Equities Market Attributes
• There is decent market liquidity, but it depends mainly on the stock’s daily
volume.
• The market is available for trading only from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. New York
time with limited after-hours trading.
• The existence of exchange fees results in higher costs and commissions.
• There is an uptick rule to short stocks, which many day traders find frustrating.
• The number of steps involved in completing a trade increases slippage and
error.
The volume and liquidity present in the FX market, one of the most liquid
markets in the world, have allowed traders to access a 24-hour market with low
transaction costs, high leverage, the ability to profit in both bull and bear markets,
minimized error rates, limited slippage, and no trading curbs or uptick rules. Traders
can implement in the FX market the same strategies that they use in analyzing the
equity markets. For fundamental traders, countries can be analyzed like stocks. For
technical traders, the FX market is perfect for technical analysis, since it is already
the most commonly used analysis tool by professional traders. It is therefore
important to take a closer look at the individual attributes of the FX market to really
understand why this is such an attractive market to trade.
Around-the-Clock 24-Hour Market One of the primary reasons why the FX
market is popular is because for active traders it is the ideal market to trade. Its 24-
hour nature offers traders instant access to the markets at all hours of the day for
immediate response to global developments. This characteristic also gives traders the
added flexibility of determining their trading day. Active day traders no longer have
to wait for the equities market to open at 9:30 a.m. New York time to begin trading.
If there is a significant announcement or development either domestically or overseas
between 4:00 p.m. New York time and 9:30 a.m. New York time, most day traders
will have to wait for the exchanges to open at 9:30 a.m. to place trades. By that time,
in all likelihood, unless you have access to electronic communication networks
(ECNs) such as Instinet for premarket trading, the market would have gapped up or
gapped down against you. All of the professionals would have already priced in the
event before the average trader can even access the market.
In addition, most people who want to trade also have a full-time job during the
day. The ability to trade after hours makes the FX market a much more convenient
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market for all traders. Different times of the day will offer different trading
opportunities as the global financial centers around the world are all actively
involved in foreign exchange. With the FX market, trading after hours with a large
online FX broker provides the same liquidity and spread as at any other time of day.
As a guideline, at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, New York time, trading begins as the
markets open in Sydney, Australia. Then the Tokyo markets open at 7:00 p.m. New
York time. Next, Singapore and Hong Kong open at 9:00 p.m. EST, followed by the
European markets in Frankfurt (2:00 a.m.) and then London (3:00 a.m.). By 4:00 a.m.
the European markets are in full swing, and Asia has concluded its trading day. The
U.S. markets open first in New York around 8:00 a.m. Monday as Europe winds
down. By 5:00 p.m., Sydney is set to reopen once again.
The most active trading hours are when the markets overlap; for example, Asia
and Europe trading overlaps between 2:00 a.m. and approximately 4:00 a.m., Europe
and the United States overlap between 8:00 a.m. and approximately 11:00 a.m., while
the United States and Asia overlap between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.. During New
York and London hours all of the currency pairs trade actively, whereas during the
Asian hours the trading activity for pairs such as the GBP/JPY and AUD/JPY tend to
peak.
Lower Transaction Costs The existence of much lower transaction costs also
makes the FX market particularly attractive. In the equities market, traders must pay
a spread (i.e., the difference between the buy and sell price) and/or a commission.
With online equity brokers, commissions can run upwards of $20 per trade. With
positions of $100,000, average round-trip commissions could be as high as $120. The
over-the-counter structure of the FX market eliminates exchange and clearing fees,
which in turn lowers transaction costs. Costs are further reduced by the efficiencies
created by a purely electronic marketplace that allows clients to deal directly with the
market maker, eliminating both ticket costs and middlemen. Because the currency
market offers around-the-clock liquidity, traders receive tight competitive spreads
both intraday and at night. Equities traders are more vulnerable to liquidity risk and
typically receive wider dealing spreads, especially during after-hours trading.
Low transaction costs make online FX trading the best market to trade for shortterm
traders. For an active equity trader who typically places 30 trades a day, at a $20
commission per trade you would have to pay up to $600 in daily transaction costs.
This is a significant amount of money that would definitely take a large cut out of
profits or deepen losses. The reason why costs are so high is because there are several
people involved in an equity transaction. More specifically, for each trade there is a
broker, the exchange, and the specialist. All of these parties need to be paid, and their
payment comes in the form of commission and clearing fees. In the FX market,
because it is decentralized with no exchange or clearinghouse (everything is taken
care of by the market maker), these fees are not applicable.
Customizable Leverage Even though many people realize that higher leverage
comes with risks, traders are humans and few of them find it easy to turn away the
opportunity to trade on someone else’s money. The FX market caters perfectly to
these traders by offering the highest leverage available for any market. Most online
currency firms offer 100 times leverage on regular-sized accounts and up to 200
times leverage on the miniature accounts. Compare that to the 2 times leverage
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offered to the average equity investor and the 10 times capital that is typically offered
to the professional trader, and you can see why many traders have turned to the
foreign exchange market. The margin deposit for leverage in the FX market is not
seen as a down payment on a purchase of equity, as many perceive margins to be in
the stock markets. Rather, the margin is a performance bond, or good faith deposit, to
ensure against trading losses. This is very useful to short-term day traders who need
the enhancement in capital to generate quick returns. Leverage is actually
customizable, which means that the more risk-averse investor who feels comfortable
using only 10 or 20 times leverage or no leverage at all can elect to do so. However,
leverage is really a double-edged sword. Without proper risk management a high
degree of leverage can lead to large losses as well.
Profit in Both Bull and Bear Markets In the FX market, profit potentials
exist in both bull and bear markets. Since currency trading always involves buying
one currency and selling another, there is no structural bias to the market. Therefore,
if you are long one currency, you are also short another. As a result, profit potentials
exist equally in both upward-trending and downward-trending markets. This is
different from the equities market, where most traders go long instead of short stocks,
so the general equity investment community tends to suffer in a bear market.
No Trading Curbs or Uptick Rule The FX market is the largest market in the
world, forcing market makers to offer very competitive prices. Unlike the equities
market, there is never a time in the FX markets when trading curbs would take effect
and trading would be halted, only to gap when reopened. This eliminates missed
profits due to archaic exchange regulations. In the FX market, traders would be able
to place trades 24 hours a day with virtually no disruptions.
One of the biggest annoyances for day traders in the equity market is the fact
that traders are prohibited from shorting a stock in a downtrend unless there is an
uptick. This can be very frustrating as traders wait to join short sellers but are only
left with continually watching the stock trend down before an uptick occurs. In the
FX market, there is no such rule. If you want to short a currency pair, you can do so
immediately; this allows for instant and efficient execution.
Online Trading Reduces Error Rates In general, a shorter trade process
minimizes errors. Online currency trading is typically a three-step process. A trader
would place an order on the platform, the FX dealing desk would automatically
execute it electronically, and the order confirmation would be posted or logged on the
trader’s trading station. Typically, these three steps would be completed in a matter
of seconds. For an equities trade, on the other hand, there is generally a five-step
process. The client would call his or her broker to place an order, the broker sends the
order to the exchange floor, the specialist on the floor tries to match up orders (the
broker competes with other brokers to get the best fill for the client), the specialist
executes the trade, and the client receives a confirmation from the broker. As a result,
in currency trades the elimination of a middleman minimizes the error rates and
increases the efficiency of each transaction.
Limited Slippage Unlike the equity markets, many online FX market makers
provide instantaneous execution from real-time, two-way quotes. These quotes are
the prices at which the firms are willing to buy or sell the quoted currency, rather
than vague indications of where the market is trading, which aren’t honored. Orders
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are executed and confirmed within seconds. Robust systems would never request the
size of a trader’s potential order, or which side of the market he’s trading, before
giving a bid/offer quote. Inefficient dealers determine whether the investor is a buyer
or a seller, and shade the price to increase their own profit on the transaction.
The equity market typically operates under a “next best order” system, under
which you may not get executed at the price you wish, but rather at the next best
price available. For example, let’s say Microsoft is trading at $52.50. If you enter a
buy order at this price, by the time it reaches the specialist on the exchange floor the
price may have risen to $53.25. In this case, you will not get executed at $52.50; you
will get executed at $53.25, which is essentially a loss of three-quarters of a point.
The price transparency provided by some of the better market makers ensures that
traders always receive a fair price.
Perfect Market for Technical Analysis For technical analysts, currencies
rarely spend much time in tight trading ranges and have the tendency to develop
strong trends. Over 80 percent of volume is speculative in nature, and as a result the
market frequently overshoots and then corrects itself. Technical analysis works well
for the FX market and a technically trained trader can easily identify new trends and
breakouts, which provide multiple opportunities to enter and exit positions. Charts
and indicators are used by all professional FX traders, and candlestick charts are
available in most charting packages. In addition, the most commonly used
indicators—such as Fibonacci retracements, stochastics, moving average
convergence/divergence (MACD), moving averages, (RSI), and support/resistance
levels—have proven valid in many instances.
