Thursday, September 25, 2008

Today on the Marketbeat: The Rally at the end of the tunnel

Numbers @ Close:

DOW: +200 to 11,022
S&P: +24 to 1,209
NASDAQ: +30 to 2,186
RUS2K: +8 to 705
TSX/S&P: +33 to 12,546
VIX: -2.45 

Internals:

NYSE
BREATH: 2.5/1 Positive
TRIN: -
A/D: +1380

NASDAQ
BREATH: 3/1 Positive
TRIN: .45
A/D: +560

Core Sector: 15/1 Bulls - builders, oil, insurance, software, retail/ downside gold

ES chart (Click to enlarge):
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Today's price action was one of the first real glimpses of hope for the return to a slightly less chaotic state. The day began with a solid gap up, which didn't come close to filling (so keep today in the back of your minds in case we retest lows, because that gap will fill fast). The opening price action cleared the 200ma on the ES and YM which is a positive sign seeing how we held it through the day into the close. After that, the market just used the pivot points for guidance climbing up throughout the day. Volume was up 10% in the early session hours, and up slightly in the afternoon, giving some steam behind the rally. Reasons for the rally are coming off the news that the powers that be have come to a agreement on the principals of the bailout package, however, the ink is not dry yet. This plan proposes a 250 billion dollar immediate package wit the remaining 450 billion to come in payment packages. But like most things in life, this package will not come free, early estimates say each US tax payer will be shelling out $2300 per person, so much for those stimulus checks. 

Internals Chart (Click to enlarge):
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Under the hood the internals rode the rally in a clear fashion, with the core sector list coming in strong at 15/1 for the bulls, with Builders, oil, insurance, software and retail among the leaders and Gold sitting as the sole loser on the day. The Breathes came in strong at 2.5 and 3 to 1 Positive for the NYSE and NASDAQ respectively. While the NYSE AD line blew up +1380 ticks, while the NASDAQ tacked on a solid +560 ticks. 

Chart of GLD (Click to enlarge):
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Although Gold was the only sector in the red today, the price action on the ETF GOLD alongside the immense buying of the Dec 94 calls today is bringing my idea from yesterday together more and more. Today GLD broke though the 23/6% mark, but closed the day 2 cents over it, and put in one nice bottoming tail, watch for a break of around $88 with a stop around $86. 

Unusual Options Activity:

YHOO / ATI / JAS / GLD / CI / BX


Stocks added to no-shorting list (added Wednesday, sept 24th):

IBM / HRB / MHS / ABR / DDR / ASI / LFG / BAP / LXP
 

Food 4 Thought:

Yesterday I covered the 20 Do's of Day Trading, by Jeff Bierman. Today I'm going to finish up that lesson with the 20 Dont's of Day Trading. 


DONT'S
 
  • 1) Don't get emotional--the market is benign to your feelings
  • 2) Don't over-leverage into bad trades--reduce your risk, not increase your risk
  • 3) Don't get in all at once in a trade--build your position piece by piece
  • 4) Don't get greedy--fade the trade and book profits systematically
  • 5) Don't trade purely on technicals--fundamentals matter!!
  • 6) Don't stuff your plate--trade a manageable number of stocks at one time
  • 7) Don't trade solely on candlesticks---make sure you have a technical study set applied
  • 8) Don't catch "falling knives" or short "rocket ships"--wait until the trend is exhausted
  • 9) Don't force yourself to trade--trade when the opportunity is right, not because you have to
  • 10) Don't trade like a compulsive gambler--trade under control
  • 11) Don't get caught up in the media noise/market hype--"those who know don't tell; those who tell don't know"
  • 12) Don't trade on stock tips--be circumspect of other motives
  • 13) Don't gloat over or brag about your last trade--focus on your next trade
  • 14) Don't feel as if you have to get all your money back at one time if you sustain losses--take it one day at a time
  • 15) Don't get discouraged--even the professionals get burned
  • 16) Don't give up a gain when you have it--it's OK to make a bad trade, but inexcusable to give up a gain
  • 17) Don't get cocky--the market is bigger than all of us and can reverse your fortune at any time
  • 18) Don't think this is a way to generate "easy" income--if it were so easy, no one would ever work another job
  • 19) Don't take your trading home with you--divorce yourself from the market because it's not your whole life
  • 20) Don't put all your eggs into one basket--stay diversified with your financial wherewithal 
 
Jeffrey Bierman

Anyone who wishes to get the email that Jeff sent me, drop me a line at DaizonEnd@gmail.com and ill get that to you asap....

_________________________________________________

Important Disclaimer! This website is for entertainment purposes only. Equities, Futures, Options, and Currency Trading have large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Absolutely do not trade with money you can't afford to lose. This website is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell equities, futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed in this website. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. Absolutely consult your Registered Financial Adviser and your Risk Trading Plan before ever investing or trading any financial instrument!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Today on the Marketbeat: The Chop




Market #'s @ Close:

DOW: -29 to 10,825
S&P: -8.36 to 1,179
NASDAQ: -5.81 to 2,147
RUS2K: -10 to 698
TSX/S&P: -50 to 12,481
VIX: -0.39 to 35.33

Internals:

Corse Sector List: 11/5 Bulls builder, semi, internet leading

NYSE
Breath: 1.5/1 Neg
Trin: 1.5

NASDAQ
Breath: 1.57/1 Pos
Trin: 0.33

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Today on the Marketbeat: The Chop 

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Another day another volitile trading session. Price action was confined between two pivot points on the ES and YM, Which is a good thing from where im sitting. Chop mode was the theme of the intra day action as price action and the internals painted a confused story of the action giving =short term traders many oppertunities to scalp points between the pivots but not much other oppertunity for any other time frame trading. In the midst of all this market tom foolery, Gold has once again shown its true colors (being gold incase you dont know). The etf for Gold (GLD) has recently screamed to new highs (due to the big drop off the gap last week. Right now GLD has been quietly retracing around the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement line, with very low volume on the pullback, watch for a bounce off the $86.40 or $84 areas for a solid entry to the long side, especially if the concern and indecision in the equity markets continue. 

Chart of GLD (Click to enlarge)
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Under the Hood:
The internals gave us a lil bit of everything today, but mostly helped paint the picture of the chop mode the price action took today. The NYSE and NASDAQ breath came in around the same #'s but form different ends with the NYSE @ 1.5/1 Negative; while the NASDAQ closed @ 1.57/1 Posative. The Trins came in @ 1.5 (NYSE) and 0.33 (NASDAQ) while the TICK spent a solid 95% of the day in the noise area (between +/- 600). Volume was relativly low overall. 

Internals Chart: (Click to enlarge)
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Stocks in scope: 

VRTX / SHLD / GLD

Stocks added to no-shorting list:

IBM / HRB / MHS / ABR / DDR / ASI / LFG / BAP / LXP
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Food 4 Thought:

20 Do's & 20 Dont's For Day Trading by Jeff Bierman
Last week there was an epic class on the current status of the markets, (Click here to download the PDF, and Click here to watch it [Flash], Or here to download MP3 - Credit Thinkorswim). This class is a must see for any serious active trader. Another great piece of knowledge I picked up from this is the 20 do's and dont's from Jeff Bierman. Make no mistake I claim no rights to this, it is written by Jeff Bierman and was passed to me by him and now im just continuing the favor enjoy!!

DO'S:
 
1) Be patient--don't just dive into a trade
2) Develop a proven strategy--don't just trade blindly
3) Trade what you know and understand--if you cannot explain it, why trade it?
4) Check the daily news on your stock before you trade--stay informed on upgrades/downgrades/earnings etc...
5) Do a quick risk/reward analysis before you place the trade--put yourself in a good position to make money
6) Watch a stock's trading behavior for a while--learn its "personality"
7) Cut your losses short and let your winners run--basic, but effective
8) Get into a pairs trade if your initial trade is not working--reduce your risk
9) Trade with the markets that day--shift your deltas according to market conditions
10) Anticipate the unanticipated--always have some offsetting position just in case events reverse
11) Live to fight another day--no cash means no trading
12) If you have a hot hand then work it, if you don't then consider folding--recognize your rhythm
13) Know yourself--trade within your comfort zone
14) Stay focused--rid yourself of distractions
15) Trade with simplicity--don't overthink things
16) Stay positive--negative energy can impact your trading behavior and results
17) Learn from your mistakes--mistakes are inevitable so use them to your advantage
18) Drop your ego at the door--it's ok to take a loss, it's part of the game
19) Take a deep breath--it's going to be ok
20) Read as much material as you can on day-trading strategies--knowledge is power

Tomorrow will cover the 20 Dont's 
 
Jeffrey Bierman

Anyone who wishes to get the email that Jeff sent me, drop me a line at DaizonEnd@gmail.com and ill get that to you asap....

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Important Disclaimer! This website is for entertainment purposes only. Equities, Futures, Options, and Currency Trading have large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Absolutely do not trade with money you can't afford to lose. This website is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell equities, futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed in this website. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. Absolutely consult your Registered Financial Adviser and your Risk Trading Plan before ever investing or trading any financial instrument!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Today on the Marketbeat: Close....But no rally...



Market #'s @ Close:

SPY: -19 to 1,188
DOW: -161 to 7,785
NASDAQ: -25 to 2,153
RUS2K: -11 to 709
TSX/S&P: -105 to 12,532
VIX: +1.54 to 35.4

INTERNALS:

CORE SECTOR LIST: 15/1 Bears

NYSE
BREATH: 3.5/1 Negative
A/D LINE: -1400 Ticks
TRIN: 1.34

NASDAQ
BREATH: 2.7/1 Negative
A/D LINE: -950 Ticks
TRIN: 1.79


Chart of /ES Futures:
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The market gave investors a lil of everything today...A nice pop off the opening bell, followed by an even more impressive push down establishing new lows for the week. Then after the lunchtime laggard session, we saw a couple of good bottoming signs followed by an impressive pop back up. However, late day theatrics once again stole the show as the market sold off heavily late in the trading session due to Congressional hearings held today concerning the bailout package, establishing a new low on the day and pretty much pegging the lows at the close. 

Under the hood, the internals were going along with this story, painting a beautiful technical picture. I appreciate having access and possessing the knowledge to use internals in my everyday trading. With help from the Shadowtrader and Books like Mastering The Trade by John F. Carter (Click to buy), an investor can have an under the hood setup on their trade station in minutes. Better yet they can understand what they are looking at. Today's action under the hood painted the perfect picture in terms of examples of how they come in handy when you use them in context with your trading. 

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Above is an thumbnail (Click to enlarge) of my internal setup that I personally use, I have different setups but this one on the Thinkorswim platform is my favorite for watching volume, I setup the chart to have 4 different charts. At the top I put the Trin ($TRIN) and the NASDAQ Trin ($TRIN/Q) other platforms may list them otherwise so you may want to find out. These two indicators map out the volume of advancing or declining stocks on each owns relative index, but for a trader all you gotta watch out is how it is trending, is it trending up? then chances are its best to look for short setups, or sit out if you aren't comfortable shorting or using put options. The opposite is true if its trending down, then chances are the market is looking to push up, and you might wanna look out for long opportunities. At the bottom of the charts I have another volume indicator, The NYSE and NASDAQ Breath. The NYSE Breath (Chart: $UVOL Compared with $DVOL) and NASDAQ Breath (Chart: $UVOL/Q compared with $DVOL/Q) are very simple indicators to watch when you chart them out, and better yet provide good tools when taking notes at the end of the day. Breaking the chart down, the green lines represent advancing volume or volume pushed into stocking going up, the red line (also pink) represents the declineing volume or volume going into stocks heading down. I find it easiest to use a line chart for these as it gives a nice easy way to see where the big money is going intra day. 

Keep in mind these are just for volume, my full internal chart, which can be seen in most of my past posts, uses the $TICK and the /YM and /ES futures to give me a full idea of whats going on. 

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Important Disclaimer! This website is for entertainment purposes only. Equities, Futures, Options, and Currency Trading have large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Absolutely do not trade with money you can't afford to lose. This website is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell equities, futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed in this website. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. Absolutely consult your Registered Financial Adviser and your Risk Trading Plan before ever investing or trading any financial instrument!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Today on the Marketbeat: The Calm after the storm




Market #'s at Close: Monday

DOW: -375 to 11,014
S&P: -48 to 1,207
NASDAQ: -95 to 2,183
RUS2K: -31 to 722.25
VIX: +2 to 34.07


Internals:
(Click Thumbnail to enlarge)
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

NYSE
Breath: 5/1 neg
TRIN: 0.94
A/D: -2000 ticks

NASDAQ
Breath: 5.5/1 neg
TRIN: 1.82
A/D: -1534 ticks

Core Sector List: 15/1 to the Bears

ES E-Mini S&P 500 Futures Chart:
(Click to enlarge)
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After last weeks action packed, news driven, price action bonanza; Many of us took some time over the weekend to #1: Count our blessings knowing we would live to trade another day, and #2: Try to figure out where to go from here. Resting dangerously close to the S2 Support pivot on the ES' we could easily see the markets break the second level of support with an early morning gap down, so that point (S2=1205) remains an important level to watch. With another day filled with seas of red, the trend bucker today was Gold, which if anything gives more ammo to the bear argument as Gold has been and continues to be a hedge for finicky financial times. 

Under the hood internals didn't have much to say for the bulls today, as evidence of a huge governmental bailout would require some help from Horatio's CSI Miami team to gather any proof that it even happened. The core sector list came in at 15/1 to the bears, with Gold as the only sector shining green. The Breaths came in at 5/1 negative with the Trins closing at 0.94 (NYSE) and 1.82 (NASDAQ), with the A/D Lines coming in at -2000 on the NYSE and -1534 on the NASDAQ.

Unusual Option Activity:

AKAM (Oct Calls) / QSFT (Oct 15 calls) / MLNX (Dec) / ALXN (Nov 32.5 Puts) / ERIC (Oct 8.75 puts)


_______________________________________________

Important Disclaimer! This website is for entertainment purposes only. Equities, Futures, Options, and Currency Trading have large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Absolutely do not trade with money you can't afford to lose. This website is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell equities, futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed in this website. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. Absolutely consult your Registered Financial Adviser and your Risk Trading Plan before ever investing or trading any financial instrument!