Friday’s results: Neither trade triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No tradeable levels today. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) dips from +36 to +21 with most major world markets modestly Bullish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: NY Fed Inflation Expectations @ 11:00. 

Quick Tip: Synergy

Earnings season is almost over. Generally, stocks that beat expectations will rise and vice versa. Your portfolio will likely have winners and losers. If all you look at is the total value you’re missing opportunity. 

You should be asking yourself how you’re going to manage each position. Being proactive and planning will get you the calm confidence to execute without doubt. 

Most skilled traders will have profit targets and stop losses for each position. You can be more sophisticated though. Do you have “time” stops? Add-on price levels? Are you selling puts to buy more, or calls to capture extra income? 

If you don’t know what to do or how to do it, consider advice from Dr. Brett S...

Yesterday’s results: Buying 6100 stopped out. The short didn’t trigger. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6065.00 stop 6061.25. Short 6062.00 stop 6065.75 if price retraces from below (filtered out during the Non-Farm Payrolls release).  

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from +7 to +36 with most major world markets somewhat Bullish. 

Catalysts: Employment Situation @ 8:30. Fed’s Bowman @ 9:15, Goolsbee @ 10:30, Hammack @ 12:00, Daly @ 13:00. UofM Consumer Sentiment @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: Discipline

Three celebrated authors on trading success, Mark Douglas, Van Tharp, and Alexander Elder, all agree that one aspect of trading is crucially important: 

"The key to trading success is emotional discipline. If intelligence were the key, there would be a lot more people making money trading." - Mark Douglas

"Successful trading is not about being right; it’s about being disciplined. Discipline is the ability to follow one's trading plan, regardless of emotions or external inf...

Yesterday’s results: Neither trade idea triggered.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6100.00 stop 6096.25 if price retraces down from above. Short 6079.50 stop 6083.75 if price retraces up from below. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) remains at +7 with sentiment mixed on low volatility. 

Catalysts: Trade Balance & Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Fed’s Barkin @ 11:30 and 12:15. 

Quick Tip: Outperformance

If you search for the “best mutual fund manager in history” you’ll find an article listing the top 5. On this list is Peter Lynch, famous for making Fidelity a household name by growing the Magellan fund to $13 Billion in assets while simultaneously doubling the S&P return. 

Clearly Lynch was a talented stock picker. Part of his research involved Insider trades. He commissioned a research firm to collect and analyze all the filings with the SEC. This was before the internet, so you can imagine how time-consuming the task was. 

To this day Insider buys of a certain type remain a ke...

Yesterday’s results: Neither trade idea triggered, and they remain on the chart today.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6017.25 stop 6012.25. Short 6013.00 stop 6018.00 if price retraces up from below. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from +14 to +57 with all major world markets Bullish on increasing volatility. The S&P Futures are not participating yet. 

Catalysts: JOLTS @ 10:00. Fed’s Kugler @ 12:35, Goolsbee @ 3:45. 

Quick Tip: One Tough Lesson

If you’re a discretionary trader intuitively making entry and exit decisions and you’re successful, congratulations! You are a rare breed. It’s not that discretionary trading doesn’t work, it’s that to succeed takes years to hone your skills. 

This leaves rule-based trading as the best alternative for developing trading skills and success for the vast majority. It seems so simple. Find a proven strategy with edge. Follow the rules. What can go wrong? 

Here’s the tough lesson you need to learn: You think you know what’s g...

Friday’s results: Neither trade idea triggered and they remain on the chart today.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6017.25 stop 6012.25. Short 6013.00 stop 6018.00 if price retraces up from below. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -7 to +14 with most major world markets mildly Bullish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: S&P Global MFG PMI Final @ 9:45. ISM MFG PMI & Prices @ 10:00. Fed’s Waller @ 15:15 and Williams @ 16:30. 

Quick Tip: Abundance Mindset

You probably noticed that the Turning Points shared here frequently don’t trigger. Sometimes a few days can go by without a trade. 

You may be thinking, “This is not enough action for me.” 

On the contrary, this strategy provides far more setups than are freely shared, we’re just trying to get acquainted! Add in the reversal and momentum strategies and there are dozens of opportunities every day in our live futures trading room.

Now you may be thinking “That is too much action for me.” 

It’s all about your mindse...

Yesterday’s results: No suggestions offered.  

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6017.25 stop 6012.25. Short 6013.00 stop 6018.00 if price retraces up from below. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps -7 to +21 with sentiment mixed on low volatility. 

Catalysts: No known catalysts today. 

Quick Tip: Confront Reality

How is your trading going? That’s a question you should be asking yourself on a regular basis. Think hard, be critical, answer honestly. And don’t worry about talking to yourself, we all learned that it’s OK during Covid lockdown. 

What you’ll find when you question your results critically are some trailheads for improvement. It might be as subtle as the quality of your record keeping or the consistency of your pre-trading routine. 

Or it could be as important as the quality of your strategies. Are they firing on all cylinders? Are you in a drawdown, or close to one? What did you do differently during your last solid performance? 

The only way to improve is...

Yesterday’s results: No suggestions offered.  

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No great levels today. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -29 to -7 with China/HK the only Bulls. 

Catalysts: GDP, Jobless Claims, Durable Goods, Trade Balance @ 8:30. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. PCE, Personal Income/Spending, Pending Home Sales @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. 

Quick Tip: Being Grateful

Thanksgiving is the holiday that reminds all of us to practice gratitude. However, plenty of research has been done that proves we should be grateful more often. Like daily. 

The list of benefits is long and in all cases will improve your trading performance!

1. Reduced anxiety.

2. Improves your ability to handle stress.

3. Increase happiness. 

4. Improve relationships. 

5. Boost productivity and goal achievement. 

6. Increase positive emotions. 

That’s an incredible list! How does it work? 

Gratitude shifts attention away from negative emotions and fosters a sense of abundance, w...

Yesterday’s results: Shorting 6035.50 stopped out. Buying 5988.00 offered 8.25 points before reversing. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No great levels today. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) falls from +21 to -29 with most major world markets mildly Bearish on low volatility. S&P futures slightly higher. 

Catalysts: S&P Home Price Index @ 9:00. Consumer Confidence, New Home Sales & Richmond MFG Index @ 10:00. FOMC Minutes @ 14:00.  

Quick Tip: Big Picture 

Regardless of your trading timeframe, daily, swing, or position, using a “big picture” analysis to your entry decision adds edge. It’s the higher timeframe. 

Traditional technical analysis suggests that a multiple of 3 to 6 is appropriate. For example, if you’re a day trader using a 5-minute chart for your entry, aligning with the trend of the 15- or 30-minute chart will help. A swing trader using a daily chart would align with the weekly chart. 

Consider this: if you’re using your entry timeframe trend change to exit ...

Yesterday’s results: Neither trade idea triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5988.00 stop 5982.75. Short 6035.00 stop 6038.25. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from zero to +21 with world markets neutral and the US firmly Bullish. 

Catalysts: Dallas Fed MFG Index @ 10:30. The market welcomes Bessent as Treasury Secretary. 

Quick Tip: Consistency

Here’s an important quote from Dr. Brett Steenbarger, author of many books on trader psychology and an accomplished S&P futures day trader. 

“You are most likely to become consistent IN your trading if you are consistent in working ON your trading.” 

How? Preparation and review. Sports teams do this. Prepare for the opponent, play the game, watch the game videos 

Are you preparing enough for your trading session? Are you assessing current market conditions and adjusting your expectations to what is probable? 

Steenbarger focuses on volume, percentage moves, and the VIX to prepare his day. There are other metrics ...