Slim Pickings
Slim pickings post-open
this morning as one had to be alert to capture the immediate post-gap
Q move up which likely reflected some additional short covering from those
caught shorting last night’s post-close low-volume futures drop. Add one trend
entry on a 13-minute pullback confirmed by a one- and three-minute 5/15 MA
cross, and you have about the only high % opportunities of the morning. Most
traders find gap-up days the most difficult to trade as much of the volatility
and movement has already occurred prior to open, and ranges have been tight so
far.
Also, be on the lookout
for internet outages today gang as I’m
hearing reports and seeing firsthand that one of the major carriers is having
significant challenges with its backbone this morning. If you’re having data
problems, sit back and don’t do anything foolish (he says to himself).
It always helps when one has
multiple signals on a trade. In yesterday’s column, I mentioned considering
shorting any approach to the 13-minute 15MA, which also happened to fit nicely
with Carolyn Boroden’s discussion on intraday clusters hovering in the same
neighborhood and would have led to a nice $0.50 – $1.00 gain on the Qs. (I’m
even learning a bit about clusters myself thanks to CB’s articles).Â
As with any entry or method, it’s
probability and sufficient statistical trade sample size that does the heavy
lifting and generates an income stream over time. Yet, a combination of signals
can skew probability for one particular trade even farther in one’s favor, so
please take advantage of the synergies which are abundant on the TM site.
Good trading.
For
a more in-depth look at how Don trades the QQQs, click here.