Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: This strategy remains on hold.

The World Index: (+100/-100) soars from -100 to -7 with mixed world sentiment on stabler volatility. Tokyo +10%. 

Catalysts: Trade Balance @ 8:30. Dip buyers testing the water. 

Quick Tip: See the Big Picture

Traders can often get caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations of the market, much like people who live their lives without pausing to reflect. 

In Larry Wilson’s book, Play to Win: Choosing Growth Over Fear in Work and Life, he emphasizes the importance of stepping back and seeing the bigger picture to make better-informed decisions. 

For day traders, this means taking a break from the extreme volatility yesterday and understanding the cause(s). 

Wilson also teaches us about the two life orientations that you must choose between.

1. Play to win.

2. Playing not to lose. 

What’s the difference? 

People who have a ...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: This strategy remains on hold.

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from -86 to -100 with all major world markets very Bearish on massive volatility. 

Catalysts: Final Services PMI @ 9:45. ISM Services PMI @ 10:00. Global equities selloff accelerates. Tokyo enters Bear Market. 

Quick Tip: Down Fast

In its simplest form trading is nothing more than risking money to make money. You need to be a net winner. This will happen if your losses are kept “small” (that’s a relative word) and you have…

1. More winning than losing events and/or 

2. Larger winners than losers. 

Successful traders look for asymmetrical trades. These are trades where the risk is small compared to the potential gains. 

One application for asymmetry is frequently overlooked. Trade direction. Evidence shows that prices tend to fall faster than they rise. Why is this? Fear can...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: This strategy remains on hold.

The World Index: (+100/-100) plummets from +86 to -50 with all major world markets Bearish except the USA with tech leading the way. 

Catalysts: Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Final MFG PMI @ 9:45. ISM MFG PMI and Construction Spending @ 10:00. AAPL & AMZN earnings after the bell. 

Quick Tip: Three Facts

Most of your success in trading will come from your ability to manage your psychology about winning and losing and being right or wrong. Unfortunately, we’ve all been raised to believe that winning is good, losing is bad, being right is good, being wrong is bad. The market is different. 

One of my favorite books on trading is Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom by Van Tharp. He gets this game from a psychological perspective really well. 

Here are three facts about trading success he uncovered in his research of successful traders/investors. They...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: This strategy remains on hold.

The World Index: (+100/-100) SOARS from -7 to +86 with all major world markets strongly Bullish. 

Catalysts: ADP Employment Change @ 8:15. Employment Cost Index @ 8:30. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. Pending Home Sales @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. FOMC Statement @ 14:00, Press Conference @ 14:30. META reports after the close. BOJ raises rates.

Quick Tip: Disqualifying 

Traditional work (your job) makes becoming a winning trader difficult. Not because of the time devotion, but because it instills a belief that is NOT helpful in trading. 

What is it? Always doing something. Can you imagine if you were caught doing nothing and told the boss “Now is not a good time to be working on this.” Or “Wednesdays are difficult days to get anything done, so I’m going to loaf.” 

In trading NOT entering a trade is not only OK it’s ...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: This strategy remains on hold.

The World Index: (+100/-100) remains at +36 with most world markets Bullish.

Catalysts: Nothing on the economic calendar today. Big tech earnings & FOMC later in the week promise action.  

Quick Tip: Market Diversification

Market conditions constantly change. Hopefully you’ve perfected a few different strategies that align with the different Market States (trend and volatility).

One of the most effective ways to improve your performance is to trade a diverse range of markets. Include as many as are affordable in your portfolio given your account size. You certainly won’t trade every signal so make your first pre-trade decision in your plan “Market Selection.” 

Here’s an example: Our day trading room currently focuses on the S&P, oil & gold futures markets. We have strategies for each of the market states. At any given time, the...

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

Thursday’s results: This strategy is on hold... but had a superb week of gains and may be back in business on Monday. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) soars from -71 to +36 with all most world markets mildly Bullish on fading volatility. 

Catalysts: PCE/Personal Income @ 8:30. UofM Consumer Sentiment (revised). 

Quick Tip: How Not to Confirm

Many traders use a two-step process to enter their trades. The first is called a “setup.” Certain conditions appear ripe for an entry. The second step is called “confirmation.” The final evidence says pull the trigger. 

Here’s an example: Our trend strategy will signal that a trend is starting based on a chart pattern and current volatility. But that is not when the entry occurs. We wait for confirmation by looking for additional signals, then buy on a retracement to reduce...

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

Tuesday’s results: This strategy is on hold... but is improving and likely out of the drawdown soon.

The World Index: (+100/-100) dumps from -14 to -64 with all major world markets Bearish on rising volatility. 

Catalysts: MFG & Services Flash PMI @ 9:45. New Home Sales @ 10:00. Crude Inventories @ 10:30. Bearish hangover from GOOG/TSLA earnings. 

Quick Tip: Expensive Options

Traders going long want (need) to buy low and sell high. What may be more important, if available, is a clue that something non-publicly known is about to happen forcing the stock to rise quickly. This might be an earnings release, new product, acquisition, etc. The idea is that smart money knows something the public doesn’t and trades that information. 

Following smart money buys in the options market has edge. You want this. The...