Remain Flexible
The Qs are once again testing
intraday lows as we approach midday and
remain unable to establish an hourly uptrend. The current intraday momentum is
down, and the Nasdaq continues to lag the broader markets as was the case
yesterday — as tech buyers remain unwilling to commit at higher price levels.
Yesterday afternoon’s action reminded us all to remain flexible in terms of
trend and trade opportunities. While the inverse cup-and-handle pattern would
have been good initially for a $0.25 play, the change in 13-minute trend
combined with the sharp reversal and curl of the 15MA trend support
rendered the initial premise null and would have triggered stops on any
remaining short position while the focused and flexible traders began looking to
the long side. As I’ve been saying in the column over the last few days, I
continue to favor tight stops on any short positions.
Thursday May 2,
2002 12:00 P.M. ET
Nasdaq Futures
Reminder
A reminder to newer readers that 100% of my Q trading focus intraday is based on
the Nasdaq E-Mini (NQ) futures market. I don’t use or advocate the use of Q
charts for many reasons as I explain in
my course, and the Q charts shown in this column are simply to provide price
reference points. In addition to trading off NQ charts, I strongly recommend
that Q traders learn the ins and outs of the futures market, which will improve
your trading. For example, the bid/ask size and depth — or lack thereof which
has been the case lately — in the futures market will help you better
understand and trade the strong Q intraday price moves when news and other
events move an illiquid and jittery futures market.
In response to the many who ask if my Q concepts, video
and/or course can apply to NQ traders (probably the #1 question I receive), my
response is "absolutely," the only differences reflecting order
routing and platform. In Friday’s upcoming column, I plan on sharing my
observations on the differences between Q and NQ trading (the #2 question I get)
based on my experience, addressing advantages and disadvantages to both. As a
teaser, the Qs have a clear advantage in one critical area which becomes
apparent only to those who have traded both markets extensively.
Good Trading!