Simply put, retail traders contribute only a certain percentage of market input, so naturally other factors will influence the respective market. Trading on sentiment data can help traders identify trends ig client sentiment in the market that may not be obvious to novice traders. This may seem counterintuitive, but is well-founded and will be explained in this article. It’s generally true that the combined position of big institutional traders mirrors what retail traders are doing. The broker would like to know which tools traders think should be added for Market Details onto the Client Sentiment Indicator on the IG trading platform.
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Both fundamental and other technical techniques are used to gauge trends, ranges, potential reversals, etc. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. In the above diagram, price is in a strong uptrend and sentiment is showing over three times more short traders for every long trader, therefore, this can be regarded as a bullish signal. The top section of the diagram shows how price has evolved (green and red candles) and the blue/red sentiment line shows when traders are net long/net short. If there is a large distance between the sentiment line and price, this can be considered as a signal to trade in the direction of the trend. Trading on client sentiment data can help you identify where other traders are positioned, which can often act as a contrarian signal.
Key UK highlights from IG Group Client Sentiment Survey
We have shown how sentiment/IGCS can be a unique, proprietary and potentially helpful addition to a trader’s approach. In subsequent IGCS articles in this market sentiment sub-module, we will go through the implementation and flexibility of this tool in varying trading circumstances. While sentiment is a crucial factor in market movements, it should be just one aspect of a broader trading strategy. Combining sentiment analysis with solid technical and fundamental analysis typically yields the best results.
- Most retail traders tend to ‘fade momentum’ or ‘pick tops and bottoms’ by essentially trading in the opposite direction of the predominant trend.
- Staying informed about news and developments that could shift market mood is also essential for sentiment-based trading.
- In its help and support center, you can find answers to most of your questions related to the platform, instruments, or markets on offer.
- For individuals trading individual stocks, it is often beneficial to apply indicators to the stock index in which that share belongs to get a holistic view of the larger market as a whole.
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IG Client Sentiment (IGCS)
Consequently, you should consider the information in light of your objectives, financial situation and needs. The value of shares, ETFs and ETCs bought through an IG share trading account can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. At this stage, we know which market to trade and know the direction to trade it but there are further factors to consider and these are explored in the remainder of the article.
In 2023, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the introduction of chatbots like Chat GPT based on large language models have played a transformative role in most industries. Germany has the highest percentage of usage with 16 % and is therefore 4 % above the global average. The Energy sector is the most popular choice (29%) for achieving the highest growth among UK traders and globally.
Most traders are well-inclined with technical and fundamental analysis as the two strands of speculating in currencies. IG’s client sentiment indicator is still, by far, one of the most frequently used and has proven to provide some accurate data translatable to real market movements. While the IG’s sentiment index is free of charge and a lot easier to comprehend than other indicators of this nature, it only provides a microcosmic view of the entire forex market. To understand why this type of indicator can be powerful, one needs to grasp the sentiment concept. In any tradable financial market, the two most common strands of analysis are technical and fundamental. Most CFD and spread bet traders tend to fade momentum – selling in an upward-trending market and buying into a downward-trending market.
The independent factors (support in uptrend & sentiment) have merit on their own, but together they can combine for a more rounded approach that provides a stronger trading edge. Because of the tendency for retail traders to fade price swings, when the price action in a currency pair becomes choppy there can be false signals as the price quickly reverses direction after only short periods of time. The IG Client Sentiment tool uses real-time retail trading data provided exclusively by IG, one of the world‘s largest FX brokers. It is calculated by counting how many traders are long versus how many are short, creating a ratio or percentage representing the aggregate level of bullishness or bearishness in a currency pair.
Client sentiment data is derived from a brokerage’s execution desk data, measuring live retail client trades to determine possible directional biases in the market. When sentiment is approaching extreme levels, stock traders may begin to see a reversal as more likely which is why it is seen as both a contrarian indicator as well as potentially having a leading component. Using IG’s Client Sentiment tool as a contrarian indicator can be viewed as ‘fading the crowd’ – in other words taking the opposite direction of retail traders. All of this is made possible with IG’s real-time data on the most frequently traded markets, which can be used in any sentiment trading strategy. IG also highlights on its website exactly how it makes its money, alleviating concerns that the online broker could potentially trade against its clients. Additionally, a section of its website outlines the company’s corporate structure, as well as its status with different regulators.
- For example, the EUR/USD chart below shows the projectible nature that can occur with IGCS.
- If there is a large distance between the sentiment line and price, this can be considered as a signal to trade in the direction of the trend.
- In subsequent IGCS articles in this market sentiment sub-module, we will go through the implementation and flexibility of this tool in varying trading circumstances.
- Welcome to our guide on IG Client Sentiment—an excellent tool to gauge trader positioning and sentiment in the FX and CFD-trading market.
- When the traders net-long outnumber those short the centre line is a thick blue, and if traders net-short outnumber longs the line is red.
Along with IG client sentiment data, this would have given extra confirmation to look for buying opportunities going forward. Red readings indicate net short positions in a currency pair, while readings in blue show that traders are net long the pair. Simply put, retail traders contribute only a certain percentage of market input so naturally other factors will have influence on the respective market. But these reports are most often on a delay, may require expensive licensing fees, and/or give an uneven view of how the majority of traders are actually positioned in a given market. The effectiveness of the IG Client Sentiment indicator can also be seen in the profitability numbers of retail traders. Taking a look at the GBP/JPY chart below, it’s clear to see an overall uptrend, confirmed with price trading well above the red 200 DMA, despite retail traders remaining strongly net short.
IG Client Sentiment is viewed as ‘fading the crowd’ or going in the opposite direction of retail traders. All of this is made possible with IG’s accurate, real-time data on the most frequently traded markets – which can be used in any sentiment trading strategy. IG Client Sentiment, or IG CS, uses data derived from IG retail traders with live positions.
We need to emphasize that past performance is not indicative of future results , but going against ‘the crowd’ in this instance could have produced approximately 600 points in gains. IG’s Client Sentiment data helps fill this gap, and you can access to data in real-time on DailyFX.com and via our client-exclusive site, DailyFX PLUS. Trade over 15,000+ markets on our award-winning platform, with low spreads on indices, shares, commodities and more. Another example of a thriving tech business is Northamber, the UK-founded and -based company, one of the nation’s longest-established independent trade-only IT distributors. Northamber grew its revenue year on year by 4.1% while maintaining gross margins of 13.0% despite challenging market conditions in the last six months of 2022.
How To Use IG Client Sentiment
Unless there is good reason for sterling to have broken through a new high, the drive upward is likely to have been spurred on by emotion and, eventually, will fall back down to the $1.00-$1.10 range it was accustomed to. Most CFD and spread bet traders tend to fade momentum – selling in an upward-trending market and buying into a downward-trending market. It’s human nature to try and look for relative bargains, and thus we might look at a market which has fallen sharply in value and buy. Welcome to our guide on IG Client Sentiment-an excellent tool to gauge trader positioning and sentiment in the FX and CFD-trading market.

