Chen Wei was unaware of the drama unfolding upstairs. It was just past 3 PM, with two hours remaining until the market closed.
While everyone else had wrapped up their trading for the day, indulging in games or reading novels, Chen Wei decided to shut down his computer, hail a cab, and head home for a nap.
He slept until noon the next day, had a leisurely lunch downstairs, and returned to check the morning market trends.
Copper prices remained stable with no significant fluctuations, but the stock market saw considerable volatility. The index rose by over twenty points before dropping back down, forming an M-shaped double-top pattern, with a notable dip just before the midday close.
This pattern caught Chen Wei's attention.
At first glance, the chart suggested a continuation of the downward trend in the afternoon. However, Chen Wei noticed that the morning's closing price was not the lowest point—the lowest point was actually just before the M-shaped pattern began. This small detail was crucial for predicting the afternoon's movement.
He anticipated a potential upward trend in the afternoon market. Of course, the exact timing and extent of the rise were uncertain, so he would have to observe the market closely to make accurate judgments.
Chen Wei then switched his focus to stock index futures. If an opportunity arose in the afternoon, he planned to capitalize on it. The stock index market opened at 1 PM, while the copper market opened at 1:30 PM, giving him a chance to observe the stock index first.
At 1 PM sharp, the stock market opened. Chen Wei watched the China Securities 500 Index Futures, which, contrary to expectations, did not decline. Instead, it surged immediately, forming a red candlestick. However, the rise was modest, starting at 4950.2 and fluctuating around 4960, displaying a pattern of higher lows.
With the price oscillating rapidly within a narrow range, Chen Wei didn't rush to enter a position, choosing to watch the market instead.
By 1:30 PM, the copper market had opened, and the index had just dropped two green candlesticks, hitting the channel bottom.
Chen Wei, initially considering switching to copper, decided to wait a bit longer.
After the two green candlesticks, a small red doji appeared, signaling a potential bottom.
Chen Wei entered ten lots at the 4960 level.
As expected, the price began to rise, forming five consecutive red candlesticks and reaching a high of 4980. However, the sixth candlestick turned green, forming a bearish engulfing pattern.
Without hesitation, Chen Wei exited his position at 4976, earning 48,000 dollars. He then shorted ten lots at 4975.
Immediately after entering, the price dropped to 4960. Chen Wei waited for a further decline, exiting when a doji reappeared, earning an additional 60,000 dollars from this trade.
After closing this position, the price fluctuated for a while without any significant opportunities. Chen Wei quickly switched to copper.
Copper had been open for over ten minutes, rising from an opening price of 47,200 to 47,250. Observing the upward channel, Chen Wei placed a buy order for 100 lots at 47,240.
Once the order was filled, he placed a sell order for 50 lots at 47,250. This strategy, commonly used in scalping, allowed him to hold half his position while trading the other half for quick profits.
After three or four rounds, he had made 7,000 to 8,000 dollars. The price then moved up another level, oscillating between 47,250 and 47,260.
Chen Wei continued to hold 50 lots while trading the other 50, but this time, the price broke through, showing signs of acceleration. He bought an additional 50 lots at 47,260, anticipating a rise to around 47,300, and placed a sell order at that level for 100 lots.
He then quickly switched back to stock index futures.
Upon returning, he saw a large red candlestick pushing the index from 4960 to 4985, and it continued to rise. Chen Wei activated his skill, rewinding time by thirty seconds.
With his skill usage from the previous night, he had twenty seconds remaining. This time, he used thirty seconds, leaving ten seconds for later use.
This skill's cooldown began immediately after use, with a twelve-hour recovery period. Since his first use was around 2:30 AM, he had to wait until the same time tonight for a full reset. Until then, he only had ten seconds left.
Returning to thirty seconds prior, the copper price had just broken, and his 50-lot order at 47,260 hadn't been placed yet.
Chen Wei disregarded copper for now, focusing on the stock index. He quickly entered nine lots at the current level of 4958.
Due to his copper position occupying significant funds, he only had enough capital left for nine lots in the index.
As soon as he entered, the index surged again.
In the meantime, he placed a sell order for 50 lots of copper at 47,300.
With no more funds to enter new positions, he returned to the stock index.
Juggling multiple trades was chaotic, making Chen Wei realize he needed a trading assistant. Managing everything alone was unsustainable.
The stock index formed three large red candlesticks in a row, reaching 4995 before a small green candlestick appeared—a bullish engulfing pattern.
Unlike a bearish engulfing pattern, a bullish engulfing pattern indicates a strong uptrend with only a short-term pullback.
Sure enough, after two minor green candlesticks, the price surged again, reaching 5010.
At this point, a bearish engulfing candlestick appeared. Chen Wei exited at 5010 and shorted nine lots.
This long position earned him nearly 140,000 dollars.
After shorting, the price fell to 4975 and fluctuated briefly. Chen Wei exited at 4975, earning another 90,000 dollars.
It was now 2:30 PM, and his copper position had long since exited.
Switching back to copper, he saw it had peaked at 47,310 and fallen to 47,260.
Seeing copper stabilize, he scalped a few more times between 47,260 and 47,280, earning an additional 30,000 dollars.
He wrapped up his trading for the day, having earned over 400,000 dollars. Of this, copper contributed over 50,000 dollars, while stock indices accounted for more than 340,000 dollars.
The significant earnings from stock indices were due to high volatility and favorable opportunities. However, this didn't necessarily mean stock indices were always better than copper trading.