Chapter 21: A Magical Realism Drama!
To talk about "futures trading" is like dancing on a volcano – it's really exciting, but if you're not careful, you'll get burned to a crisp by the lava.
This thing comes with ten times the leverage, giving you a heart-pounding roller coaster experience in no time.
However, the market trend is extremely volatile, fluctuating like an epileptic seizure.
Yesterday's crude oil contracts were rock solid, but today, with the first shot fired in the Middle East, prices could jump three feet high.
Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve will cough twice and then fall so hard that even its own mother wouldn't recognize it.
There's a joke circulating among the people:
The futures market is a "financial version of Russian roulette." Veterans hold technical analysis charts in their left hand and margin call calculators in their right, their screens filled with stop-loss and take-profit orders, wishing they could fasten eighteen seatbelts to their accounts.
Even so, a black swan event that suddenly occurs in the middle of the night can still overturn people!
You think you've figured out the bottom?
Hmph, the market delivered a swift and decisive blow, causing the figures on the books to evaporate faster than lard on a stove.
Logically speaking, a seasoned veteran like Zhou Yi, who has been navigating the market for many years, should have noticed the signs of stabilization in the gold price trend.
As long as you keep your positions small, trade quickly, and time your trades precisely, it's not difficult to make a little money by taking risks and exiting positions rapidly.
"..."
However, on this day, Zhou Yi remained motionless and did not make a single transaction.
It's not that I'm afraid my skills are rusty and I can't handle this "quick in, quick out" trick.
What truly made him wary and prevented him from taking any action was that newcomer named Su Hao!
From the moment the opening bell rang, this kid was like he'd been injected with adrenaline, yelling and plunging headfirst into gold futures contracts.
That reckless and ruthless attitude made Zhou Yi's eyelids twitch and his heart pound with fear.
"What kind of person is this?" Zhou Yi's mind was racing with thoughts that were practically tearing his hair out.
"He just cleared out his entire position thirty seconds ago, and then went all in again in less than a minute? Is he trading with a stopwatch? What's he basing his trades on? Is he some kind of precognitive genius, calculating with his fingers?"
Is it technical analysis?
This thing sounds impressive; it's touted as the culmination of countless years of painstaking effort and continuous iteration by investment veterans and analysis masters.
Traders like them do indeed start with some fundamental analysis to lay the groundwork before diving headfirst into the vast ocean of technical analysis.
To put it simply, the foundation of technical analysis is that market prices already contain all the information.
So they stared at those red and green, flashy candlestick charts, trying to decipher the elusive "market sentiment" and "mass psychology" from them, and predicting whether the unpredictable market would soar to the heavens or plummet to the earth next.
Anyone who has been through the cutthroat world of the market knows what's going on.
Technical analysis, the theories may sound impressive, but do you really think you can perfectly predict prices with it? Dream on!
If it were really that amazing, wouldn't it be enough to just run a program on a supercomputer?
What's the point of having these salaried traders?
They should all have been laid off long ago and gone home to take care of their children.
So, don't be fooled by all those seasoned veterans who rush into the trading market full of confidence; in the end, very few of them manage to emerge unscathed.
Most people are still being played around by the candlestick chart, which is a mixture of human greed, fear and all sorts of chaotic emotions, and end up losing money and leaving the game in a sorry state.
Just look at the trading screens of the other traders in the office right now—it's all green, like a grassland, not a single account is red.
The scene was one of utter devastation, a truly heartbreaking sight.
"But... how do we explain Su Hao?"
Zhou Yi felt that his worldview was being challenged like never before.
Because, in this wailing "field of leeks," there is a towering, money-making tree standing tall!
Moreover, this guy was really going at it!
He actually poured all his principal of five million RMB into gold futures without batting an eye!
This is no longer a transaction; this is blatantly flipping the table and starting a game of dice!
What's even more chilling is that he was also engaging in ultra-short-term trading that could cause cardiac arrest!
Buying and selling are calculated in seconds, with a frequency so fast it's dizzying.
Just like that, "randomly doing it"... oh no, just like that, "divine operation"!
He was able to maintain this consistently and steadily!
Scraping away layer after layer of oil, profits accumulate rapidly, piece by piece, without interruption!
Zhou Yi looked at it again and again, rubbing his throbbing temples, feeling like his brain was about to burn out.
This is not scientific! This is not reasonable!
This was completely beyond his understanding of trading!
Was his analysis based on technical analysis?
The candlestick chart is such a mess, it looks like scribbles! What's the point of analyzing it?!
Or perhaps he possesses some secret, untold skill?
Never mind!
The most important, core, and enviable fact right now is that Su Hao is making money!
Moreover, they are frantically raking money back from the market at an almost abnormal and unbelievable speed!
"Holy crap, it's already broken 8%..."
Zhou Yi's heart pounded with each number, and his palms began to sweat.
However, 8% is clearly just an appetizer.
Before long, the number shot up like a runaway horse!
"15%...20%...25%...Holy crap! Is this kid a reincarnation of a money-printing machine?!"
Even though Zhou Yi wasn't actually operating the machine, his hands were shaking like he had Parkinson's disease, and cold sweat almost soaked through the back of his shirt.
If it were him, let alone 25%, he would be more than satisfied and overjoyed to make a 5% profit on such high-risk futures!
How could anyone dare to be as reckless as Su Hao?
Tirelessly dancing on the edge of a knife?
Besides, who the hell would dare to bet all five million yuan of capital given by the company on a highly volatile futures contract and then repeatedly trade it over and over again?
Isn't this just plain courting death?
But Su Hao, that guy, kept investing in the project with interest after making money!
That crazy energy of his was just like that of a gambler who had lost everything...
Oh no, he kept winning, like a gambling god who just couldn't stop... epilepsy combined with Parkinson's disease?
"Isn't this guy afraid of slipping his hand and making a wrong judgment? Wouldn't all the money he worked so hard to earn vanish in an instant, and he'd have to give it all back? Making a fortune or losing money is just a matter of a single thought!"
Zhou Yi even forgot that he should hurry up and make some trades; his mind was a complete mess, and he was torn between his own thoughts and his own mind.
Should I rush over and speak to him earnestly?
"Auntie, stop! It's all... no, I should tell him to quit while he's ahead! Stop being reckless! He's already made so much! Wouldn't it be better to play it safe?"
"But the problem is... what reason do I have to persuade him?"
Zhou Yi suddenly realized a despairing truth:
Several hours have passed since the market opened, and Su Hao hasn't lost a single penny!
Not a single mistake!
How can this scene be accurately described?
No, it's indescribable! "Incomprehensible!"
Or to put it more bluntly—"I saw a ghost in broad daylight!"
Today, Mr. Zhou has witnessed firsthand a magical realist drama unfolding that is enough to overturn his more than 20 years of professional experience!
"..."
Time flew by in Zhou Yi's extreme shock and self-doubt.
When he came to his senses, a number so dazzling it could almost blind a titanium alloy dog was hanging there on Su Hao's computer screen, gleaming in the sunlight:
[+40%]
"Holy crap! This beast!"
Zhou Yi couldn't hold back any longer. His churning emotions erupted like a volcano, and a curse word, which contained all his shock, jealousy, confusion, and even a little fear, slipped out uncontrollably.
He felt that he could not find any words more concise, precise, or capable of expressing his complex emotions than these few words.
In the general public, there are also some crazy people who go all in and blindly invest, and they may achieve miraculous returns in a short period of time.
But it can't last.
Over time, the mean will inevitably revert, and all the money earned will be given back without any change.
But now, in large private equity firms with complete risk control systems and legal compliance, some people are simply relying on intraday short-term trading and T+0 trading to generate a 40% return on extremely risky futures contracts...
Zhou Yi would swear to God that in all his years in the industry, he had been to so many docks and seen so many monsters, but he had never seen a monster like Su Hao before!
Everyone knows that futures trading involves high leverage and volatility; if you're lucky and time your trades right, you can indeed make a fortune.
But the risks are terrifyingly high!
Like Su Hao, who went all in with the five million yuan principal given to him by the company, and kept buying and selling like a perpetual motion machine, he actually managed to generate a 40% return...
Is this even something a human could do?
"Hmm? Finally... it stopped!"
Just as the market opened in the afternoon, while Zhou Yi was still questioning his life choices, Su Hao suddenly moved the mouse and liquidated all the positions in his account in one fell swoop!
The movements were incredibly clean and efficient!
Then, he casually closed all the trading windows!
And then... he lay down comfortably in the large armchair and closed his eyes.
"No way? They're... done? Or... asleep?! That can't be!"
Zhou Yi stared wide-eyed at the figure in disbelief.
The market hadn't even closed for the afternoon, and he'd already quit?
I thought he wouldn't be satisfied with that astonishing 40% and would continue to challenge the limits of human capability, aiming for 50%—
"Ah... I see!"
Shortly after Su Hao retreated, Zhou Yi subconsciously glanced at the gold price chart.
Notice that the curve that had been jumping up and down like it was having an epileptic fit has finally started to become "docile".
The volatility has decreased significantly, and the trend is beginning to become more "normal" and "rational".
The once-surging trading volume, which resembled a flash flood, began to shrink rapidly, and the market gradually entered a period of narrow-range consolidation.
Su Hao stopped because of this!
He accurately sensed the subtle signals that the market's "frenzy" was about to end, and without the slightest hesitation, he decisively chose to take profits and ran faster than a rabbit!
The timing of the entry was perfect!
The timing of his departure was also perfect!
This courage to retire gracefully at the height of one's career is truly awe-inspiring!
The entire operation was as clean and efficient as a textbook example...
No, it's even more amazing than textbooks! It's practically like...
"This guy must have some kind of supernatural ability, or he's practically a stock market genius reincarnated!"
Just as this absurd thought flashed through Zhou Yi's mind, a notification popped up on the company's OA system.
[ Manager Zhou Yi, the Director is looking for you. Please go to his office immediately.]
Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat.
There's still some time before the market closes this afternoon.
According to the rules, unless something catastrophic happens, the Director will not call the traders to his office at this time, especially the manager of the trading department.
Moreover, even if there is something really important, people usually go to the head of the trading department above him first. Why would they go over his head and directly ask him for help?
There's only one possibility left...
"As expected... no, it's one hundred percent, it's definitely because of that brat Su Hao!"