Perseverance Pays Off
Cliché time at the Q corner
today in the context of “If you first don’t
succeed…” After spending much of yesterday afternoon looking for the
change in tide from the post-MSFT-halt dump, perseverance paid off this morning
as my favorite one-minute MA cross combined with a base of three-minute 15-MA
support more than made up for yesterday’s feeble attempts as the Qs rallied a
full point off their early lows. Going to trade very lightly throughout this
last day in the quarter and keep my eye on the 13-minute 15-period MA which was
pivotal yesterday (more on that below).
The Right Stuff
I talk a lot with struggling traders
about getting on the “right side of the trade.” Many of the early
charts I’ve shared reflect typical intraday supports and resistance in the
context of 15-Period MAs and Bollinger Bands. Quick aside: There
are, of course, many methods, indicators and studies that define similar support
and resistance points…I’ve simply grown comfortable with this particular
combination. Anyway, we should remind ourselves that support and resistance
points, however defined, largely reflect peak market emotion (emotion with which
all of us traded at one time) where the scared and unprofitable distribute to
the objective and profitable. Much has been written on this topic, yet it
deserves reinforcing…even for myself. If you’re in a losing streak, you may
have inadvertently wandered onto on the “other” side.
As we head for the weekend
and holiday, yesterday’s market action
reminded me about the common phrase “the trend is your friend.”
As I said the other day, I’m a card-carrying member of the intraday trend-following-moron
club, yet I sometimes wonder if an accompanying industry-wide surgeon general’s
type footnote would be appropriate. The accompanying pamphlet might look
something like this:
Thanks for the
continued strong reaction to the new Q column. I do read and respond to each
e-mail and always welcome comments, suggestions or questions.
Have a great weekend.
For
a more in-depth look at how Don trades the QQQs, click here.