Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Thursday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) plummets from +21 to -43 with mosrt major world markets Bearish on increasing volatility. 

Catalysts: Flash MFG & Services PMI @ 9:45. Existing Home Sales @ 10:00.

Quick Tip: Being Different

Here’s a great quote from Earl Nightingale: “If you set out to be successful at something and you don’t know how to do it, look around at what everybody else is doing, and don’t do that…”

This is especially true with trading. If everyone traded the same way there would be no counter parties. We need plenty of different styles and opposing viewpoints for the markets to exist. 

If you’re still struggling it’s a good idea to stop trading live money and start looking at alternative trading styles. Be open-minded. I’ve met too...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Tuesday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

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

Catalysts: Jobless Claims, Building Permits/Housing Starts, Philly Fed MFG Index @ 8:30. Crude Oil Inventories @ 11:00. Fed’s Barkin @ 15:30. 

Quick Tip: Overbought is Tricky.

Price soars way up, it’s overbought. Price plunges way down, it’s oversold. There are many indicators and chart patterns for identifying these conditions. The rub is these conditions can persist. Exiting too soon isn’t all that bad. All you did was make a little less profit. Entering the reversal too soon is usually trouble. 

The S&P once again is at an all-time high. Interest rates are still high along with inflation. Geopolitical stress remains. Gravity will prevail one...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Monday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) rises from -7 to +36 with most major world markets mildly Bullish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: Retail Sales @ 8:30. Industrial Production @ 9:15. Business Inventories & Fed’s Barkin @ 10:00. Fed’s Collins @ 11:40, Logan & Kugler @ 13:00. 20-year Bond Auction @ 13:00. Fed’s Musalem @ 13:20, Goolsbee @ 14:00. 

Quick Tip: Time to Change?

All traders experience losing streaks and drawdowns in their trading account. Market conditions change. Some strategies stop working and others start working. It can appear cyclical.

Handling this is tricky. One voice in your head says, “stay the course, it’ll come back.” The other voice says, “dump this strategy and find one that is working.” 

But it doesn’t have to be a...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Friday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) rises from -36 to -7 in a world of mixed sentiment and low volatility. 

Catalysts: G7 Meetings (all day). Empire State MFG Index @ 8:30. Fed’s Williams @ 12:00, Harker @ 13:00. 

Quick Tip: How Are You? 

We all have financial goals we’re working toward. The retirement “number” which eliminates our dependence on a shaky social security system. The short-term trading cash flow profits that pay for the fun stuff. 

When you progress toward these goals you’ll notice that it’s not a smooth path. You’ll have ups and downs. The downs are your signal to investigate why and find a potential solution. Failing to reach a goal is nothing more than a learning experience. 

In his fantastic book Atomic Habits, James Clear...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Thursday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) rises from -43 to -36 with the Western world the most Bearish.   

Catalysts: Import/Export Prices @ Fed’s Mester @ 8:30. UofM Consumer Sentiment @ 10:00. Fed’s Mester @ 13:15, Goolsbee @ 14:00.  

Quick Tip: Position Trading

If you’re too busy to trade short term, or simply don’t prefer that style, buy-and-hold is probably how you’re invested. You can potentially improve your results by treating those positions as trades, hence the name Position Trading. 

The stock market is an excellent source of position trade ideas. The selection is second to none. The returns over time can be incredible. The capital efficiency is not great though. You can do better by substituting options for stocks. 

...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Wednesday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) plummets from +7 to -43 with most major world markets Bearish.  

Catalysts: PPI & Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Yellen & Fed’s Williams @ 12:00. 30-year Bond Auction @ 13:00. 

Quick Tip: Your Niche

Dr. Brett Steenbarger, in his book Enhancing Trader Performance (must read), writes about the importance of FIRST finding your niche in trading. 

Too many new traders spend their time and money trying to find a strategy or indicator that makes money. They think that’s all there is to trading successfully. 

The more important aspect is style. What style of trading resonates with you. There are so many different markets, timeframes, and styles of trading. If you could experiment with several different “niches” you’d be way...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Tuesday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -43 to +7 with sentiment mixed. 

Catalysts: CPI @ 8:30. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. FOMC Announcement @ 14:00. FOMC Press Conference @ 14:30. 

Quick Tip: FOMC Moves

Everyone knows the pattern on FOMC day tends to be range-bound before the announcement and spiky afterward. This should help your trade selection and planning. 

In fact, if you have solid historical data on your strategy’s performance on FOMC day you might not trade at all. It’s always better to have some probabilities at hand. Keep accurate records whether you took the trades or not. 

The Federal Funds Rate announcement releases at 2PM ET. You might think the highest volatility is within the 30-minute interval afterward. Historically, it’s the next 30-minute interval,...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Friday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) dips from -36 to -43 with most major world markets Bearish. 

Catalysts: Nothing obvious today, waiting on FOMC Wednesday. 

Quick Tip: Entries are Exits?

Exiting your trades is when all the money is made or lost. The loss is a simple decision, where your stop order rests. The profit decision is trickier. 

Imagine you’re long and price is behaving well, moving up firmly. The only certainty you have is that it won’t go up forever. There will be stalls, corrections, bases, and reversals within the move. 

When do you take profit? 

Some traders make this an arbitrary decision. A dollar amount. But that may not be optimal. 

Other traders will use a trailing stop. If you do, make sure you’re adjusting the stop distance for current volatility. And...