Skip to main content

Identifying Trade Entry and Exit Timing Using Mathematical Technical Indicators in XCS

  • Conference paper
Learning Classifier Systems (IWLCS 2009, IWLCS 2008)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 6471))

  • 648 Accesses

Abstract

This paper extends current LCS research into financial time series forecasting by analysing the performance of agents utilising mathematical technical indicators for both environment classification and in selecting actions to be executed. It compares these agents with traditional models which only use such indicators to classify the environment and exit at the close of the next day. It is proposed that XCS agents utilising mathematical technical indicators for exit conditions will not only outperform similar agents which close the trade at the end of the next day, but also result in fewer trades and consequently lower commissions paid. The results show that in four of five assets, agents using indicator exit conditions outperformed those exiting at the close of the next day, before commissions were factored in. After commissions are factored in, the performance gap between the two agent classes further widens.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Allen, F., Karjalainen, R.: Using Genetic Algorithms to find technical trading rules. Journal of Financial Economics 51(2), 245–271 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Beltrametti, L., Fiorentini, R., Marengo, L., Tamborini, R.: A learning-to-forecast experiment on the foreign exchange market with a Classifier System. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 21(8&9), 1543–1575 (1997)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Butz, M., Sastry, K., Goldberg, D.: Strong, Stable, and Reliable Fitness Pressure in XCS due to Tournament Selection. Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines 6(1), 53–77 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Brock, W., Lakonishock, J., LeBaron, B.: Simple Technical Trading Rules and the Stochastic Properties of Stock Returns. Journal of Finance 47, 1731–1764 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Chen, S.-H.: Genetic Algorithms and Genetic Programming in Computational Finance. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell (2002)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Detry, P.J., Grégoire, P.: Other evidences of the predictive power of technical analysis: the moving average rules on European indexes, CeReFiM, Belgium, pp. 1–25 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Dewachter, H.: Can Markov switching models replicate chartist profits in the foreign exchange market? Journal of International Money and Finance 20(1), 25–41 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Dooley, M., Schaffer, J.: Analysis of Short-Run Exchange Rate Behavior: March 1973 to November 1981. In: Bigman, D., Taya, T. (eds.) Floating Exchange Rates and State of World Trade and Payments, pp. 43–70. Ballinger Publishing Company, Cambridge (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gershoff, M.: An investigation of HXCS Traders. School of Informatics. Vol. Master of Sciences Edinburgh. University of Edinburgh (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Holland, J.: Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems. University of Michigan Press (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Kalyvas, E.: Using Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms to Predict Stock Market Returns. University of Manchester Master of Science thesis (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Levich, R., Thomas, L.: The Merits of Active Currency Management: Evidence from International Bond Portfolios. Financial Analysts Journal 49(5), 63–70 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Liu, S., Nagao, T.: HXCS and its Application to Financial Time Series Forecasting. IEEJ Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Engineering 1, 417–425 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mahfoud, S., Mani, G.: Financial forecasting using Genetic Algorithms. Applied Artificial Intelligence 10(6), 543–565 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Neely, C., Weller, P., Dittmar, R.: Is Technical Analysis in the Foreign Exchange Market Profitable? A Genetic Programming Approach. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 32(4), 405–426 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Okunev, J., White, D.: Do momentum-based strategies still work in foreign currency markets? Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 38, 425–447 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Olson, D.: Have trading rule profits in the currency market declined over time? Journal of Banking and Finance 28, 85–105 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Schulenburg, S., Ross, P.: An Adaptive Agent Based Economic Model. In: Lanzi, P.L., et al. (eds.) IWLCS 1999. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 1996, pp. 265–284. Springer, Heidelberg (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Schulenburg, S., Ross, P.: Strength and money: An LCS approach to increasing returns. In: Lanzi, P.L. (ed.) IWLCS 2000. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 1996, pp. 114–137. Springer, Heidelberg (2001)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  20. Schulenburg, S., Ross, P.: Explorations in LCS models of stock trading. In: Lanzi, P.L., Stolzmann, W., Wilson, S.W. (eds.) IWLCS 2001. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 2321, pp. 151–180. Springer, Heidelberg (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Schulenburg, S., Wong, S.Y.: Portfolio allocation using XCS experts in technical analysis, market conditions and options market. In: Proceedings of the 2007 GECCO Conference Companion on Genetic and Evolutionary Computation, pp. 2965–2972. ACM, New York (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Srinivasa, K.G., Venugopal, K.R., Patnaik, L.M.: An efficient fuzzy based neuro: genetic algorithm for stock market prediction. International Journal of Hybrid Intelligent Systems 3(2), 63–81, (2006)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  23. Steiner, M., Wittkemper, H.G.: Neural networks as an alternative stock market model. In: Refenes, A.P. (ed.) Neural networks in the capital markets, pp. 137–149. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Stone, C., Bull, L.: Foreign Exchange Trading using a Learning Classifier System. In: Bull, L., Bernado-Mansilla, E., Holmes, J. (eds.) Learning Classifier Systems in Data Mining, pp. 169–190. Springer, Heidelberg (2008)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  25. Sweeney, R.J.: Beating the foreign exchange market. Journal of Finance 41, 163–182 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Tsibouris, G., Zeidenberg, M.: Testing the Efficient Market Hypothesis with Gradient Descent Algorithms, pp. 127–136. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Wilson, S.W.: ZCS: A Zeroth Level Classifier. Evolutionary Computation 2, 1–18 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Wilson, S.W.: Classifier Fitness Based on Accuracy. Evolutionary Computation 3(2), 149–175 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Preen, R. (2010). Identifying Trade Entry and Exit Timing Using Mathematical Technical Indicators in XCS. In: Bacardit, J., Browne, W., Drugowitsch, J., Bernadó-Mansilla, E., Butz, M.V. (eds) Learning Classifier Systems. IWLCS IWLCS 2009 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 6471. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17508-4_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17508-4_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-17507-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-17508-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics