Analysis

day-trading-charts
Analysis

Swing Trading for Dummies Because We All Start Somewhere Right?

If you’re new to the world of swing trading, you may be wondering, “What is swing trading?” Here’s a quick guide to what swing trading is. As its name implies, it involves trading stocks and options on a swing basis. Swing traders look at the chart of an asset to determine its entry point, set a stop-loss level, and anticipate when they want to exit. This allows them to maximize profits and minimize risks. Price action is often a daily fluctuation, bouncing around a range or not getting too close to a specific value. The swing trader might believe that the stock’s price will be fluctuating daily, but a long-term hold will probably not yield much profit. In other words, if you’re able to pick a stock that will fluctuate every day, you’ll profit. The key to swing trading is learning how to interpret charts and use technical analysis tools to make smart decisions. Technical analysis tools such as moving averages are essential for swing trading. Moving averages allow swing traders to use a moving average to smooth out price […]

SwingTrader
gold
Analysis

Gold Bullion Investment Strategy

The chart for physical gold has been coiling for over a year now as you can see from the chart below and perhaps will start a move higher on any further easing from the Federal Reserve (which seems to be a strong possibility). If a move out of this coiling pattern does occur, you could play an ETF or if you are interested in buying physical gold, please read below for more information. Investing in gold seems to be a more popular concept these days, and is now frequently mentioned as an alternative form of investment for those looking for opportunities outside of the ordinary stock market. The rise in popularity of gold bullion investment may be partially due to the convenience with which people can buy gold. These days, all you need to do is visit a relevant website, and you will find that you are able to buy, store and sell virtually any amount of gold bullion that you please. However, before you rush online to buy gold, it is a good idea to gain a better understanding […]

SwingTrader
chart
Analysis

When Stocks Suck – It’s Time to Run Your Analysis

There were quite a few bullish chart setups on individual stocks. After pulling back to the 50 day moving averages, stocks bounced hard two Fridays ago and the S&P and Nasdaq looked like they were done with a slight, normal pullback. So what did we get this past week??? You guessed it. In hindsight, I should have known the ball was going to pulled out again by this market. That is what it is best at right now – tricking and confusing all traders, bulls and bears alike. It has done it so many times now that we should all be expecting it. Trading it however is a lot easier said than done because what we see with our eyes is certainly telling us one thing, whereas the market seems to just keep throwing curveballs at us that our eyes can’t judge correctly. To be perfectly honest, this market sucks but there is nothing we can do about it except accept it and try to not let it affect our returns too much in a negative way. That’s easier said […]

SwingTrader
swingtrading
Analysis

A Dull Day on the Markets

Friday was a day much like other days this week, with the stock market moving higher and many individual stocks acting very well. Something happened around 1:30 however and changed things greatly – an approximate 65 point drop in the Nasdaq in about an hour followed by a thirty point rally back up in the final hour is not something you see everyday. Supposedly this drop had to do with the situation in Ukraine and actions taken by Russia. Whatever it was, a lot of individual stocks were hit (at least temporarily) and look a lot uglier than they did the night before. Ever since February 5, the market has been grinding along with very little rest but since it continues to hold its short-term nine day exponential moving average, it is hard to get very bearish here. Since Friday’s sell-off seemed news-driven, it is even more difficult to put a lot of importance in it. However, if Friday’s lows are broken on Monday or Tuesday, then traders should reassess their outlook and give more credence to that sell-off Friday […]

SwingTrader
Analysis

Setups and Outlook – A Very “Iffy” Market

If you look at the charts of just the Nasdaq and S&P, you probably wouldn’t be too worried about the overall market as both continue to ride their nine day EMAs higher. If you look closer, however, you can see some divergences with price and moneystream that is a bit worrisome. If the nine day EMA does break at some point this week (it’s held the ENTIRE YEAR so far for the Nasdaq), I think there is a very good chance of seeing a sharp, quick move lower of 2-4%. Hopefully, the market could right itself from there but it is probably not something you want to sit through if you have a lot of long positions. On the other hand, if you look at the chart of the Russell 2000, you probably would be worried. This chart has been lagging for about a month now, both in not being able to challenge 2011 highs like the Nasdaq and S&P did and also moving sideways while the other two indices ground their way higher. Breath has deteriorated as well over […]

SwingTrader
Analysis

So How Bad Was Today?

Well, to answer the title of this post, it was pretty, pretty bad. The Buy/Sell Difference measured by 4% breakouts and breakdowns was -1208 today. Yesterday it was -800. The cumulative difference of the past four sessions is -2311. Looking back over my numbers since late 2007, I could find only two other instances of a day of -800 followed by a day over -1000. Those dates were September 15 and 17, 2008, and a stretch from October 2 to October 8 or so in 2008. Since then, we’ve theoretically have not seen as bad a two-day breadth move as we saw the past two sessions. I think it is safe to assume that the bear market that started right around July 27 has now regained its strength. I’ve been saying for a while that I believed we were indeed in a bear market and that the August lows would eventually be broken, but I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t have my doubts about this idea last week as the bulls kept pushing things higher. The market […]

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