Client Sentiment - All on one page?

[PepperB]

At the bottom of each currency pair page is a widget box with 5 other pairs, showing client sentiment. Is there any way to show more than that at one time? I'd like to be able to see the client sentiment for 15-20 pairs at a glance. How can this be accomplished?

[PandaFace]

That would be cool! And then you can rank them by positive negative ratios... interestingidea!

[JamesIG]

we don't have that at the moment, but it would be an interesting idea! I'll pass it on - thanks for the feedback!

[Guest Jason]

Get's my vote

[Exhale_Trading]

With help of the API this is no big deal to fix.

[trade247]

29 minutes ago, Exhale_Trading said:

With help of the API this is no big deal to fix.

is this something someone outside IG could whip up and put on their own webpage?

[Exhale_Trading]

Anybody with an IG account and basic programming knowledge can do so. The client sentiment is easy to retrieve via the API. So you can program your own little tool to show all the sentiments you want to see, rank them or do whatever you desire.

[andysinclair]

I've built an Excel Add-in and have added some client sentiment formulas. What I find interesting is the much higher proportion of long positions across all asset classes. Surprisingly the FTSE100 is the least shorted of all the major stock indices. 

In the FX world, IG clients are long on all major pairs, regardless of whether they are effectively long or short the USD.

I will post this again with updated data, will be interesting to see how it changes over time (I suspect it won't actually change that much!).

[andysinclair]

I must admit I don't know exactly how IG determine the sentiment number, I presume it is based on number of global clients and how they are positioned? I also presume it gives equal weight irrespective of position size, so the £0.01 a pip trader is counted a one position, same as the £1000 a pip trader.

I think the fact that most clients are long on most markets is interesting. I also think it would be interesting to track how these numbers change over time. Perhaps you could use changes in sentiment to trigger trade decisions and track performance over time. My gut feel is that it could be a good contrary indicator....

Does anybody else look at client sentiment?

[Caseynotes]

Thanks for this @andysinclair, it's a great idea to collate all the sentiment data and present it on one page. DailyFX have long used this data, as you suspect, as a contrary indicator, firstly data input from FXCM and lately from IG.

You are right to wonder how the IG data is determined, (volume/size, number of transactions, number of traders short/long). IG specifies it is simply the number of their retail traders short/long so it is a simple vote ya or na irrespective of size of conviction.

Following this over years it is interesting that the percentages don't leap about but rather move more like the tides.

You seem to have calculated the data differently though, in the 'indices' thread I've posted DailyFX IG data previously and the latest real time on S&P 500 is the top pic showing currently 76% IG clients short while the second pic is from a post in the thread from 4th March showing 75% short. 

To be honest your data actually seems more realistic but I couldn't say why there is such a large discrepancy. 

https://www.dailyfx.com/sentiment?ref=SubNav

[RichB-Trader]

Hi,

Like the idea! But first where do you get the sentiment data from for indicies or stocks? Can’t seem to find it? Thanks.

[andysinclair]

@RichB-Trader I am getting the data from the IG Index API via my Excel Add-in, I wrote a brief tutorial about it here (there is also an example spreadsheet): IG Index Client Sentiment Analysis Using Excel

@Caseynotes I can't explain the discrepancy with the SPX sentiment data, I am simply retrieving the raw number from the API.

@TrendFollower I think the most interesting thing about the sentiment numbers I have looked at is the high bias towards long positions, perhaps influenced by traders more inclined (no matter what the market is doing, what their system signals etc.) to go long rather than short.

[Caseynotes]

ok @andysinclair, so the table you posted was just a sample taken from the web page https://www.excelpricefeed.com/tutorials/excel-igindex-client-sentiment-analysis  and is not up to date?

 

 

[andysinclair]

9 minutes ago, Caseynotes said:

ok @andysinclair, so the table you posted was just a sample taken from the web page https://www.excelpricefeed.com/tutorials/excel-igindex-client-sentiment-analysis  and is not up to date?

 

 

It was from there but I've just noticed those numbers are from the demo API, which for some reason is different from the live API....

Here's the current table, just updated from the live API:

[Caseynotes]

That's it @andysinclair, well done, got there.

[andysinclair]

Thought I would post an updated spreadsheet, interesting to see IG clients (us!) now:

• More short: major indices
• More Long: GBPUSD and EURUSD
• Very long: Bitcoin and Ether

[Caseynotes]

@andysinclair,  you've cracked it, well done.