A news squawk service literally talks the news out to you over a microphone. You then receive the spoken news on your computer’s speakers. It gives you access to a team of people looking at the markets for you. When something significant happens in terms of news flow or price movement an audible voice lets you know very quickly what is happening. So, for example, it could be that there is a sudden 25-pip move on the GBPUSD pair. The squawk will flag that move up to you very quickly. The squawk will also let you know if that move is in relation to a news piece. The squawk keeps you informed of market moves and the known causes of those moves. In addition to the ‘squawk’ element of the service, a good squawk service will also provide access to analysts that traders can talk to, as well as special reports and session summaries. All of these tools are designed to help you tune into the market mood as soon as you possibly can.

What are some of the advantages of using a squawk

Advantage #1: Speed

You don’t have to have traded for very long to know that getting the news fast is important and a squawk service does provide fast news. If something significant happens the squawk will usually let you know very quickly. The advantage of this speed is that you can act on that news quickly.

Advantage #2: You can take your eyes off data feeds

Reading data can be fine when you have scheduled events, but what about the surprise news? It is not practical to sit reading a data feed in case something market-moving comes up. A news squawk service allows you to carry on with other tasks and still have the reassurance that if anything significant does happen, you will get a heads-up.

Advantage #3: Develop a gut feeling

Having the squawk on over a trading day can help you begin to get a gut feeling for the market for that day. Just the simple fact that you are hearing what other professional traders are hearing means that you are more ‘in tune’ with what the market is thinking.

Advantage #4: Save time

When you read a session summary or some pre-session news a team of analysts has helped prepare that information. Their succinct summary saves you considerable time when you are evaluating what the latest market moves are.

It can take time to use a news squawk properly and to work out when to respond and when not to respond, but this is a great tool that professional traders would never want to be without.

Financial Source and Newsquawk are two examples of a squawk service, with Financial Source being available to HYCM clients.