Skip to main content

DAY TRADING MIND


The following are ten most important rules of technical trading: 

1. Map the Trends Study long-term charts. Begin a chart analysis with monthly and weekly charts spanning several years. A larger scale map of the market provides more visibility and a better long-term perspective on a market. Once the long-term has been established, then consult daily and intra-day charts.A short-term market view alone can often be deceptive. Even if you only trade the very short term, you will do better if you’re trading in the same direction as the intermediate and longer term trends. 

2. Spot the Trend and Go With It Determine the trend and follow it. Market trends come in many sizes – long-term, intermediate-term and short-term. First, determine which one you’re going to trade and use the appropriate chart. Make sure you trade in the direction of that trend. Buy dips if the trend is up. Sell rallies if the trend is down.If you’re trading the intermediate trend, use daily and weekly charts. If you’re day trading, use daily and intra-day charts. But in each case, let the longer range chart determine the trend, and then use the shorter term chart for timing. 

3. Find the Low and High of It Find support and resistance levels. The best place to buy a market is near support levels. That support is usually a previous reaction low. The best place to sell a market is near resistance levels. Resistance is usually a previous peak. After a resistance peak has been broken, it will usually provide support on subsequent pullbacks. In other words, the old “high” becomes the new low. In the same way, when a support level has been broken, it will usually produce selling on subsequent rallies – the old “low” can become the new “high.” 

4. Know How Far to Backtrack
Measure percentage retracements. Market corrections up or down usually retrace a significant portion of the previous trend. You can measure the corrections in an existing trend in simple percentages. A fifty percent retracement of a prior trend is most common. A minimum retracement is usually one-third of the prior trend. The maximum retracement is usually two-thirds. Fibonacci retracements of 38% and 62% are also worth watching. During a pullback in an uptrend, therefore, initial buy points are in the 33-38% retracement area. 

5. Draw the Line Draw trend lines. Trend lines are one of the simplest and most effective charting tools. All you need is a straight edge and two points on the chart. Up trend lines are drawn along two successive lows. Down trend lines are drawn along two successive peaks. Prices will often pull back to trend lines before resuming their trend. The breaking of trend lines usually signals a change in trend. A valid trend line should be touched at least three times. The longer a trend line has been in effect, and the more times it has been tested, the more important it becomes. 

6. Follow that Average Follow moving averages. Moving averages provide objective buy and sell signals. They tell you if existing trend is still in motion and help confirm a trend change. Moving averages do not tell you in advance, however, that a trend change is imminent. A combination chart of two moving averages is the most popular way of finding trading signals. Some popular futures combinations are 4- and 9-day moving averages, 9- and 18-day, 5- and 20-day. Signals are given when the shorter average line crosses the longer. Price crossings above and below a 40-day moving average also provide good trading signals. Since moving average chart lines are trend-following indicators,they work best in a trending market. 

7. Learn the Turns
Track oscillators. Oscillators help identify overbought and oversold markets. While moving averages offer confirmation of a market trend change, oscillators often help warn us in advance that a market has rallied or fallen too far and will soon turn. Two of the most popular are the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastics. They both work on a scale of 0 to 100. With the RSI, readings over 70 are overbought while readings below 30 are oversold. The overbought and oversold values for Stochastics are 80 and 20.Most traders use 14-days or weeks for stochastics and either 9 or 14 days or weeks for RSI. Oscillator divergences often warn of market turns. These tools work best in a trading market range. Weekly signals can be used as filters on daily signals.Daily signals can be used as filters for intra-day charts. 


8. Know the Warning Signs Trade MACD. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator (developed by Gerald Appel) combines a moving average crossover system with the overbought/oversold elements of an oscillator. A buy signal occurs when the faster line crosses above the slower and both lines are below zero. A sell signal takes place when the faster line crosses below the slower from above the zero line. Weekly signals take precedence over daily signals. An MACD histogram plots the difference between the two lines and gives even earlier warnings of trend changes. It’s called a “histogram” because vertical bars are used to show the difference between the two lines on the chart.


 9. Trend or Not a Trend Use ADX. The Average Directional Movement Index (ADX) line helps determine whether a market is in a trending or a trading phase. It measures the degree of trend or direction in the market. A rising ADX line suggests the presence of a strong trend. A falling ADX line suggests the presence of a trading market and the absence of a trend. A rising ADX line favors moving averages; a falling ADX favors oscillators. By
plotting the direction of the ADX line, the trader is able to determine which trading style and which set of indicators are most suitable for the current market environment. 


10. Know the Confirming Signs Include volume and open interest. Volume and open interest are important confirming indicators in futures markets. Volume precedes price. It’s important to ensure that heavier volume is taking place in the direction of the prevailing trend. In an uptrend, heavier volume should be seen on up days. Rising open interest confirms that new money is supporting the prevailing trend. Declining open interest is often a warning that the trend is near completion. A solid price uptrend should be accompanied by rising volume and rising open interest.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Markets at a Glance Indian indices are likely to open lower today, tracking weakness in the Asian markets, as disap-pointing China’s PMI data raised concern over domestic economic slowdown. Meanwhile Asian shares falters on Wednesday on fading hopes of stimulus action this week by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The Chinese manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.1 in July from 50.2 in June, the weakest since November 2011, and reflects three consecutive months of decline. However, the Shanghai Composite index edged up ~1% following the comments from Premier Wen Jiabao's that China will step up policy fine-tuning in the second half to support economic growth. The SGX Nifty, Aug’12 contract last traded at 5,239, down by 10.00 points from previous session. Wall Street Update The US markets ended lower after trading in a tight range throughout the day as investors re-mained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank releasing monetary...

COMMODITY RESEARCH NEWS

August 9, 2012 News Highlights:  The Energy Information Administration said that U.S. Crude Oil Inventories fell more than expected to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -3.729M, from -6.522M in the preceding month indicating that demand for the fuel in US, world’s largest consumer of crude oil is strong.  The German industrial production fell 0.9 per cent in June, more than forecasts for a 0.8 per cent decline, following an upwardly revised 1.7 per cent gain in May indicating a weakening euro zone crisis and further dampening demand prospects for copper and crude oil.  China's annual consumer inflation fell to a 30-month low of 1.8 percent in July from June's 2.2 percent creating more room for policy easing to support economic growth which in turn curbed losses in copper by improving demand outlook for industrial metal.  The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, ended 0.22 per cent higher ...
.. It is your trading methodology that will ultimately determine whether you win or lose in the markets. While, it is vital that you have the discipline to stick to your plan, it is equally vital that you have one to stick to in the first place. EVERY SUCCESSFUL TRADER HAS A WINNING TRADING SYSTEM and there are as many successful systems as there are traders. Some systems get you to buy on strength and sell on weakness; others do the opposite. Some investors succeed as value investors, such as Warren Buffet; others make their millions in momentum trading. I have even heard of an astrologist who is said to trade profitably using the stars. Although there are a variety of methods, the point I am trying to illustrate here is this: there are many ways to profit from the markets. Despite their differences, TECHNO TRADES TRADING SYSTEMS FOR ALL MARKETS MASTER THE ART OF TRADING HIGH ACCURACY MAKE DAILY PROFITS FROM MARKETS THERE IS ONE COMMON ELEMENT AMONGST ALL SUCCESSFUL TRADERS: THE...