Results of Wednesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither level triggered.

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

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4543.75 stop 4548.25 (and if failed, buy the breakout at 4547.00 stop 4543.00). 

The World Index: (+100/-100) reverses from -43 to +43 in a return to Bullish sentiment.   

Catalysts: PPI, Retail Sales and Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Tech should get a boost from the chip maker ARM’s IPO. 

Quick Tip: Night Moves 

If you’re working days and wish you could day trade here’s some great news. 

The result of a significant study on market returns done by Haghani, Ragulin & Dewey called “Night Moves: Is the Overnight Drift the Grandmother of All Market Anomalies” will solve your dilemma.  

In a nutshell, nearly all the return earned in the S&P over...

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

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (watch for slippage potential @ 8:30 when CPI releases): 

Buy 4467.00 stop 4463.00. Short 4543.75 stop 4548.25. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from -21 to -43 with all major world markets Bearish. Europe will still be open when CPI releases so this outlook may change.  

Catalysts: CPI (core will have the greater impact) @ 8:30. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. 30-Year Bond Auction @ 13:01. Federal Budget Balance @ 14:00.     

Quick Tip: Ask Yourself

Today is a big day for the stock market. The CPI (inflation) results come out at 8:30 ET. We’ve seen relatively narrow range days lately. It’s almost a certainty price will break out into a trend. Up or down.

You should be asking yourself how you’re going to respond. Being proactive and planning will get you the calm...

Results of Monday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither level triggered, both levels stay on the chart. 

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

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4598.50 stop 4604.25. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) reverses from +21 to -21 in a world of mixed sentiment and lower volatility. 

Catalysts: Nothing on the economic calendar. Waiting on CPI tomorrow.    

Quick Tip: Time Horizon

More importantly for swing and position trading than day trading, knowing your time horizon in advance is critical. The decision on how long to hold a trade is your “expectation management.” 

One strategy our team trades uses significant insider buying (stocks) to forecast price direction. Plenty of research has been done to back up this thesis. No one knows more about the likely future performance of a company than those...

Results of Friday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither level triggered as the rollover to the December contract gapped above the suggested short @ 4496.25 last night. The breakout from that level is still open with 18 points of gain currently. 

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

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4598.50 stop 4604.25. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) reverses from -64 to +21 with most major world markets mildly Bullish. 

Catalysts: Nothing on the economic calendar. Waiting on CPI Wednesday.   

Quick Tip: Bulls > Bears on 9/11

It’s hard to believe the 9/11 attacks were 22 years ago. I still have vivid memories of “not” trading that day. 

Sitting on a 100% long swing trading portfolio of stocks and watching the news would seem doubly bothersome. Truth is I didn’t think much about the money or...

Results of Thursday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither level triggered and both remain on the chart. 

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

Buy 4405.00 stop 4400.25. Short 4496.25 stop 4499.75.

The World Index: (+100/-100) dumps from -21 to -64 with all major world markets Bearish. 

Catalysts: Not much. Maybe Fed’s Barr @ 9:00.  

Quick Tip: Be Adaptable

One trait of successful traders is being adaptable to changing conditions. It’s a golden quality but not an easy one to master. The reason is that like many things, adaptability is not a black or white issue. There are all those shades of gray!

Think about your view on the market this morning. Are you Bullish or Bearish? The world markets are leaning bearish, the charts are suggesting bearish, and there are no obvious catalysts that could reverse those facts. So, ...

Results of Wednesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 4475.25 offered a 7-point bounce but the breakout joining the trend offered 24.75 points. 

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

Buy 4405.00 stop 4400.25. Short 4496.25 stop 4499.75.

The World Index: (+100/-100) eases from -29 to -21 in a world of mixed sentiment. 

Catalysts: Jobless Claims & Non-Farm Payroll Revisions @ 8:30. Fed-Speak @ 10:00, 11:45 & 15:30. Crude Oil Inventories @ 11:00. 

Quick Tip: Joining the Trend

Wait. What? This is supposed to be the best S&P futures turning points. These are reversal trades. How does the trend fit in? 

Look at the bigger picture, the higher time frame. Your probability of success is greater if you’re trading in harmony with the bigger picture. 

The high-volume price levels presented here can be...

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 4499.00 filled in the Globex session last night and stopped out after bouncing 4.75-points. 

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

Buy 4475.25 stop 4471.00. Short 4543.75 stop 4548.50.

The World Index: (+100/-100) remains at -29 with most major world markets leaning Bearish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: International Trade @ 8:30. Final Services PMI @ 9:45. ISM Services PMI @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: No Scarcity

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. Add in our reversal and momentum strategies and team members...

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

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

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4543.75 stop 4548.50.

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from +29 to -29 with most major world markets leaning Bearish. 

Catalysts: Factory Orders @ 10:00. USD jumps. 

Quick Tip: On Losing

I’m in a losing streak… and I’m unconcerned. 

Losing should not affect you financially or psychologically. You’ve determined how much you can lose before you react emotionally, and you’re disciplined to limit your loss to that number on every trade. If not, you’re destined to fail. 

That risk number can change though. You can increase it when you’re doing well and decrease it when not.

But what if you do get anxious or upset during a...

Results of Thursday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither suggested trade level triggered and remain on the chart. 

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

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4598.50 stop 4604.25.

The World Index: (+100/-100) improves from -7 to +29 with most major world markets mildly Bullish. 

Catalysts: Non-Farm Payrolls @ 8:30. Final MFG PMI @ 9:45. ISM MFG PMI & Construction Spending @ 10:00. China boosts economic stimulus.

Quick Tip: Choices are Good

How do you feel when you have no choice? It’s probably a rare situation. Most situations offer you choice. Long or short. More or less. Exit or stay. You almost always have a choice. I’ll bet if you think back to when you had no choice you felt uncomfortable. Maybe even upset!

In trading one choice you always have is whether to take the trade...

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

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

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4598.50 stop 4604.25

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

Catalysts: PCE Price Index, Personal Income/Spending & Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. 

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 the skills. 

This leaves rule-based trading the best alternative for developing trading skills and success for the vast majority. It seems so...