You can find solid setups in the S&Ps today — Here’s your triggers
Sessions ahead of FOMC meetings are
usually directional and potentially profitable as well. Once the September
contract option-expiry settlement gyrations sift out this morning, we should
have solid opportunities to profit from today.
ES (+$50 per index point)
S&P 500 held a gap-up open move on Friday and
lifted into the afternoon toward recent resistance levels. 1239.50 is initial
support while 1236.50 marks lowest level of support for continued upside
potential. Sideways churn has not been thwarted yet… index(es) are merely
marking time to the next directional decision.
MD (+$100 per index point)
S&P 400 held inside another muted range last
Friday: contracting price action is fixing for a big break soon. The 12-point
swing from recent high to low and 50% retrace of that may be the near-term top
for now.
YM (+$5 per index point)
Dow Industrial futures are sticking near the
daily pivot = 38% retrace dual support as we await cash-market session to begin.
10620 should hold any tests today if upside has further potential ahead.
ER (+$100 per index point)
Russell 2000 futures see 672.40 and then 670.10
as the well-watched lines on a chart today. Bullish above and bearish below as
the overall bias for this session.
{Price levels posted in charts above are
compiled from a number of different measurements. Over the course of time we
will see these varying levels magnetize = repel price action consistently}
Simply Profitable
I get a lot of email questions from prospective customers asking
about what I consider the most aggressive methods of trading. How many index
points’ profit per day = week are expected from scalp-trade tactics, what the
biggest point-gain profit sessions are, etc.
It is natural for human logic to assume the
most active trading methods using smallest possible stops have best potential
for success. After all, if we take enough trade signals using tight stops,
eventually the breakout moves will erase cumulative small losses.
As the email conversation wears on, we usually
discover said trader is barely profitable or not yet profitable overall. There
are likely holes in all aspects of their trading, i.e. poor money management,
irregular trade entry decisions, impulse trades, several methods = approaches
mixed together, lack of confidence due to previous trading experiences, etc.
Aspiring and/or struggling traders usually
gravitate to the most active, therefore most aggressive methods of trading. This
group mostly fixates on max potential performance of a system or method while
ignoring degree of difficulty involved with operating the method in question.
Instead, I always suggest it is far more important to concentrate on being
profitable, period.
First Things First
Before a trader can average +5 points daily profit in the ER or ES,
they must be able to average +2 points. Before that can happen, averaging +1
point per day is the goal. Before that occurs, breaking even and keeping losses
small are previous steps to take.
Impatience for success prompts too many traders
toward chasing intermediate-level goals rather than base-level goals. Those who
are already profitable overall can focus on honing skills to improve efficiency
of performance. Those who are not yet profitable on a sustained basis CANNOT
have the same performance goals of traders who are. Same game, different stages
for all of us!
In my oft-stated opinion, intraday swing
trading is much easier to book consistent profits from than intraday scalping.
We demonstrate overall profitable emini trading each week inside our educational
forum and so do many, many other services similar to us. The fact is clearly
proven that retail traders, individuals trading from home can trade emini
markets profitably.
Various degrees of difficulty are involved with
that accomplishment. There is absolutely no easy, out of the box, 1-2-3 approach
to trading any financial market without time, effort and degree of learning
curve involved. Once traders exhaust their search for no-brainer / no-effort
secrets to trading that don’t exist, they stop wasting precious time and begin
to focus on what it truly takes to succeed in our profession.
From there, a realistic goal to be profitable
overall is step one. That is the primary goal for everyone. May I suggest that
before we can run, it is important we learn how to walk. Instead of fixating on
max potential performance most aggressive methods first, get good at the easier
tactics for trading until methodical profits are a reality instead of an
expectation if not merely a distance dream.Â
Trade To Win
Austin P
(free pivot point calculator, much more inside)
Austin Passamonte is a full-time
professional trader who specializes in E-mini stock index futures, equity
options and commodity markets.
Mr. Passamonte’s trading approach uses proprietary chart patterns found on an
intraday basis. Austin trades privately in the Finger Lakes region of New York.