Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor made the move to trading the stock market with his own capital on a full time basis in December 2016. As well as ShareScope, Michael contributes to Investors Chronicle and other online publications. He has also written a free book on getting started in the UK stock market, along with a stock trading handbook – both of which are available to download from his website at www.shiftingshares.com

I believe that anyone can learn to trade if they are able to remain objective and are willing to put the hours in. I lost a lot of money early on by not having a proper strategy and following the crowd. If you want to make money then you need to generate your own ideas – I use SharePad to find and plan my trades, and ShareScope to run on my trading screens.

The Trader: The importance of high beta stocks

Michael looks at two examples of high-beta stocks offering news to trade. For anyone wanting to trade intraday then high beta stocks – stocks that move more than the market – are ideal stocks to trade. Especially when it comes to news that can move those stocks. Here are some examples this week. Gulf Keystone

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The Trader: Does Arm’s success mean the IPO market is back?

The market saw a boom in new listings in 2020 and 2021 as companies were greedy to slurp on the capital market teat that provided fertile ground for rocketing IPOs. Companies would list and there would be a huge secondary market in order to lap up the stock and push the price to closing highs.

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The Trader: The hour between 8am and 9am

Michael looks at the first two hours of the trading day and how to view potential mispricing. The hour between 8am and 9am is just as important to the intraday trader as 7am to 8am. Whilst 7am to 8am is the time to meticulously work through RNSs and come up with a shortlist to dig

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social media trading

The Trader: Social Media’s Impact on Stock Trading

In this article Michael Taylor looks at the trading impact of rumours, overloads and spikes from Social Media. What to be aware of and how to navigate them to your advantage. The influence of social media platforms on various aspects of our lives is undeniable. One area where this impact has been particularly pronounced is

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The Trader: Greatest Trades 2

Michael looks at 7 more of the greatest trades of all time. In my last article, we looked at the best trades you’ve never heard of. And now that’ve read it, you have heard of them. But here are seven more… 1. John Templeton’s World War II capitulation trade Back in 1939, Germany invaded Poland

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The Trader: Greatest Trades

In this article, Michael looks at some of the greatest trades in history. The markets have always offered opportunities for those who either do the work and think differently. Most of my trades are systematic, however, every now and again opportunities open up. It’s important to log your trades in a trading journal (I am

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The Trader: The Importance of After Hours

In this article, Michael looks at the importance of checking RNSs when management thinks you’re not looking. Last Friday was a nice summer evening (at least it was for me, I can’t assume that it was for you), and a company decided to slip out an RNS at 17:56. The market has been shut for

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The Trader: Pouring fuel on the fire of shorters

Michael talks shorting and specifically – using this weeks news story on Ocado as an example – when the shorters get squeezed. Let’s be honest. Everyone loves a short squeeze. Unless, of course, you’re the shorter being squeezed. Then it’s like being nailed to a chair that’s set on fire. But shorting is an active

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The Trader: The two best trades of the 20th century?

In this article, Michael looks at two of the best trades of the 20th Century by Sir John Templeton. Sir John Templeton was an American-born British investor, philanthropist, and fund manager. He was born in 1912 in Tennessee in the United States and passed away in 2008 in Nassau, Bahamas. American-born British because he gave

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The Trader: Another Intraday Play

Michael looks at the overall market and another intraday play in this article. AI will be the growth driver for the next bull run. At least that’s what everyone is saying. Here’s Nvidia’s chart. The stock gapped up more than 25% on earnings. Not something you see on mega caps every day. Or even every

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The Trader: Two intraday trading rules

I’m often asked about my strategies on intraday trading. Intraday trading is fun but incredibly difficult. And whilst it often looks cool in films with all the screens and flashing lights and plenty of action, the reality is somewhat different. The failure rate of intraday traders (individuals who engage in short-term trading within a single

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The Trader: Three breakout plays

I’ve written extensively about breakouts. Breakouts are a popular strategy used by traders in the financial markets. It involves identifying a price level at which the market is expected to break out from its current range, and then entering a trade when that level is breached. Why does this work? Because the price breakout from

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