Results of Thursday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 5238.00 only offered a 3.50-point scalp. Shorting 5233.00 ran for 45 points. Having a good week? 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 5220.50 stop 5215.75. Short 5216.50 stop 5221.25 if prices falls below and retraces to entry. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) remains at +25 with most major world markets mildly Bullish with low volatility. 

Catalysts: Empire State MFG Index & Import Prices @ 8:30. Industrial Production @ 9:15. UofM Consumer Sentiment @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: Contract Selection

Unlike the stock market where you have thousands of stocks to choose from, the futures market has dozens of contracts. Still, diversification is good. The question becomes which contracts should you trade. Here’s a quick look at filtering for candidates: 

1. Volume. Without adequate volume you’ll experience slippage and not perform as well in the real world. 

2. Mar...

Results of Wednesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No levels suggested. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 5238.00 stop 5232.25. Short 5233.00 stop 5238.75 if prices falls below and retraces to entry. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -13 to +25 with most major world markets mildly Bullish with low volatility. 

Catalysts: PPI, Retail Sales & Jobless Claims @ 8:30. 

Quick Tip: Which Market? 

The word “market” can mean asset class: stock market, commodities market, currency market, etc. 

It can also mean “condition:” trending market, ranging market. 

Your strategy rules should be customized to a market condition. No strategy performs well in all market conditions. 

It’s commonly said that markets trend around 30% of the time. That leaves 70% for range-bound conditions. 

Trending markets offer larger profit opportunities. When you catch a trend it can persist for quite some time. However, you’ll ...

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 5183.00 picked the bottom of the session and ran 60+ points to the close. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

No qualified volume levels today. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from +31 to -13 in a world of mixed sentiment and plunging volatility. 

Catalysts: Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. 30-year Bond Auction @ 13:01.

Quick Tip: ATR Exit

Yesterday’s buy was one of the best we’ve seen in years. It ran smoothly with a few pullbacks to form price pivots for a trailing stop that was never touched. 

One open trade management tool we have is the ATR extension. The black dotted line on the chart represents the 14-period daily average true range (ATR) added to the prior day session close. You can subtract it to get the ATR extension below as well. 

Price will frequently stall and even reverse from this level. Taking a profit target this way gives up nothin...

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 5097.00 stopped out. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 5046.75 stop 5042.75. Short 5138.25 stop 5143.00. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) inverts from -31 to +31 with most major world markets mildly Bullish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: ADP Employment Change @ 8:15. JOLTS Job Openings & Powell @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. Fed’s Daly @ 12:00. Beige Book @ 14:00. 

Quick Tip: Day Trade Exits

We’ve all heard the advice to “let your winners run.” For swing and position trades that is good advice. For day trades, not necessarily.

Why not? Your day trade has a time stop. You’re out at the session close. While it’s possible to get a runner all day long and into the close, the likelihood is price will move in impulses and corrections. Day trading is a noisy environment. Intraday trends and momentum come and go. 

Imagine you’re in a trade with mul...

Results of Monday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither trade triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 5097.00 stop 5092.25. Short 5138.25 stop 5143.00. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from -19 to -31 with the major world markets leaning Bearish on very low volatility. 

Catalysts: Final Services PMI @ 9:45. ISM Services PMI @ 10:00. Fed’s Barr @ 12:00 & 15:30. 

Quick Tip: Change is Coming

Here’s a great quote from Market Wizard Ed Seykota, “The markets are the same now as they were 50 years ago because they keep changing – just like they did then.” Clever, huh? 

Lately it seems that every morning is a waiting game for price to break out of a narrow range. Trend attempts fail. Reversals get modest gains. 

What to do? 

1. Have abundance. The more strategies you’re skilled at the more opportunities. This gives you the confidence to disqualify trades that are marginal probability-wise. 

2. Be pa...

Results of Monday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: : Buying 5173.00 filled in the Globex session last night running 14+ points and still open. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 5046.75 stop 5042.75. Short 5117.50 stop 5121.00.

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -25 to +38 with all major world markets neutral to modestly Bullish. 

Catalysts: Durable Goods @ 8:30. Home Price Index @ 9:00. Fed’s Barr @ 9:05. Consumer Confidence & Richmond MFG Index @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: Set/Forget 

One of the nice features of trading the levels from this newsletter is the set/forget entry available on the reversals. 

Yesterday’s buy at 5173.00 didn’t trigger until 12:55 AM ET. Depending on your time zone you may have been sleeping. Placing the order beforehand brought you a welcome “Good Morning!” if you were filled. 

Since the price didn’t exceed the entry there is the possibility that you weren’t filled. The good news...

Results of Friday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: The trade idea never triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 5073.00 stop 5068.50. Short 5117.50 stop 5121.00.

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from +38 to -25 with most major world markets neutral to modestly Bearish on less volatility.  

Catalysts: New Home Sales @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: Bubbles

Warren Buffett is famous for his annual letter to shareholders. If you haven’t read one you should know that he’s a great writer and borderline humorist. 

Since we’re at all-time highs and the AI craze is bringing out the word “bubble” I want to share some Buffett on that topic with you. 

Feb. 25, 2012 “Over the past 15 years, both Internet stocks and houses have demonstrated the extraordinary excesses that can be created by combining an initially sensible thesis with well-publicized rising prices. In these bubbles, an army of originally skeptical investors ...

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither trade triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 5046.75 stop 5042.75. No great shorts today. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) soars from +6 to +69 with all major world markets (except India) firmly Bullish. 

Catalysts: Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Flash MFG/Services PMI @ 9:45. Existing Home Sales & Fed’s Jefferson @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 11:00. NVDA sparks worldwide rally in equities. 

Quick Tip: Hybrid Trading

There isn’t only “one way” to trade successfully. There are countless strategies and methods that can be profitable. You need to find what resonates with your trading psychology, style, and risk tolerance. 

For example, consider two popular styles of trading: trend following and mean reversion. They both can be very profitable given the right rules and discipline to follow them. But the experience of trading each is quite different. 

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 4972.75 only offered a 6.50-point bounce. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 4926.00 stop 4920.75. Short 5026.50 stop 5031.00.

The World Index: (+100/-100) inches up from zero to +6 in a world of mixed sentiment and rising volatility. 

Catalysts: Fed’s Bowman @ 13:00. FOMC Meeting Minutes @ 14:00. NVDA after the bell.

Quick Tip: Why Multi-Strat?

If you read this blog daily you know that our team trades live daily in a multi-strat environment. Focusing on multiple strategies is not for everyone. In fact, few of our team trade all the strategies. 

So why know how to trade them? 

1. Diversity. Markets change character. They’re either trending or not, volatile, or not. No single strategy works well in all those conditions. Having the choice to deploy the most appropriate strategy gives you flexibility and an edge. 

2. Abundance. If you find yourself ...

Results of Wednesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 4972.75 caught the bottom of the session and ran for 41.50 points at the close. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 4998.00 stop 4994.25. Short 5040.25 stop 5045.25. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) eases from +36 to +29 with most major world markets Bullish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: Retail Sales, Jobless Claims, Empire State MFG Index, Philly Fed MFG Index, Import Prices @ 8:30. Industrial Production @ 9:15. Business Inventories, Housing Market Index @ 10:00. Fed’s Waller @ 13:15. 

Quick Tip: No Fear

Looking at the chart above how price was approaching the buy level you might feel like you were stepping in front of a freight train. Confidence required. 

Of course, since you knew the entry well beforehand a set/forget order would have been a good solution to any fear you might have. 

The stats should help with your fear as well. This strategy h...