October US Equity Trading

[Naz]

Here's the move on the chart

 

[Grey1]

VRTS hit its stop .. Good job I sold 1/2 instead of 1/4... Lucky hey lol

Still sitting waiting for a signal.

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi All

When you get a minute, have a look at the USD / GBP chart. At the moment it would only take £14,800 to open a PDT account :cheesy:

 

[keano]

ahhh...i knew there'd be a solution for me somewhere. Where would the USD/GBP have to be for me to open a PDT A/C with a shiny 50pound note???

 

[Grey1]

Wohoooo what a day .. This is the sort of the day I love to trade.. Had loads of signals. MRK,GENZ,APOL,TEVA,XOM,FISV,JPM

There is a talk of big money shorting the market ... All of a sudden the bears out telling We told you so.... So what did I do

I longed AMZN just before close @ 53.97 despite couple of down grades....

I have a MM stop on AMZN which is around 27C... The MM stop came from my wins today ,, My exit target is ....NO target... .. I will close on Friday or ealier depending on the level of gain if I am not closed before then by hitting my stop..

I no longer use any kind of HISTORY BASED stops such as ATR , Volitality bands, and the rest of them .. yesterday is yesterday .. Gone , finnito ...

 

[PitBull]

Hi grey1

Yes what a day! I shorted AMZN and AMGN last night as it begun to fall heavily and closed AMZN straight after for 450points and still have AMGN open.

As I am a relatively newcomer, why are these stocks sold off so dramatically before any earnings news? This has caught me out on some occasions, but I have learned the hard way. It seems like taking the contrarian view is very profitable!! Also shorted EBAY and CAT last week.

Could you just clarify, what is an MM stop?

and did you say that you longed AMZN before the close tonight....interested in why?

Cheers
PitBull

 

[Grey1]

Pitbull,

MM stop is short for money managmant stop .. This is the money I can afford to pay to take the trade .. if I had not won to day , I would not take the Swing Trade of AMZN long .. In another word, if I win say $1000 intra day then I can allocate some of it to take a Swing trade which I feel has a potential gain.. This way I can dictate the possible risk to the whole trade than ATR , Historical volitality , Low of the previous day , Support of few days back OR ANY OTHER HISTORICAL Stuff ...

Why did I take AMZN?

I buy when every body else sells .. Specially when the drop is unusually massive... Capitulation sell off

GREY1 ALWAYS TAKES HIS SWING TRADES FROM HIS INTRA DAY WINS BECAUSE HE NEVER KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS OVER NIGHT ...

GREY 1 DOES NOT LIKE GAPPING TO GO AGAINST HIM AND CERTAINLY NOT PUTTING HIS OWN MONEY IN THE HAND OF RANDOM OVER NIGHT EVENTS ..

GREY1 SWING TRADES HAVE SMALLER POSITION BUT LONGER TIME FRAME..MUCH LONGER

 

[Naz]

The great thing about this thread is the different ways people trade the US stocks and the reasons why.

I played AMZN and here were my thoughts.

AMZN was a decent gapper with lots of volume.I watched it play out on a chart,stalking it, waiting for for a low risk set up.When it reached just under $56 for the first time i looked at the level 2 screen it looked like it needed one more pullback to break through.

Then the next rise was weak compared to the last on the level 2 screen and the chart showed it rolling over slightly.So as it approached i watched the level 2 screen for about half an hour for the story.What a battle it was where the three arrows were!One of the best i've seen for a while.In the end you could see the level 2 momentum fading and there was my short entry,with the stop over $56 or the high of the day.Then it was a question of managing my trade.

For me US daytraders use the Nasdaq level 2 screen for their trading.They're watching the story as well.They would have seen what was going on.When the momentum faded it would have alerted them as well.I believe if you dont use it as an add on to you're US Nasdaq trading you're missing an edge,that others have.

 

[Naz]

Here is exactly the same short set up again from another day.

The reading of the level 2 screen gives you the edge when deciding what the stock is likely to do next.The stop is then over the whole number or the high of the day.Then you can decide what order you will use and who you're going to execute against because you can see this on your level 2 screen.

 

[Naz]

You've seen the move start to happen by the underlying action on the level 2 screen,it has one go on the time and sales by the retail punters, but the players have already made their decision that were going down,this is the result.

Remember the Nasdaq is an electronic market that exists on traders level 2 screens.Its not like UK level2.IMHO I think that UK traders have an edge with understanding their chart work,but they dont grasp the trading concept of how US daytraders trade their home market.

Put charting patterns together with level 2 direct access and you i believe you have a winning combination.

 

[PitBull]

Grey1

Thanks for that.

Do you not still think that the selling pressure will continue on AMZN today?, as there is much talk that the internet stocks have reached their peaks again too soon.

Naz

I have followed your many threads on trading the Nasdaq and all I can say is "WOW......your'e the man". Im sure lots would agree that your postings inspire all of us newbies in showing how to really trade. Yes I would love to learn level 2, but I think one step at a time for me, as I still have a full time job and mainly trade EOD through Finspreads. However, if you could in someway tailor your courses to complete novices then I would appreciate your help. Ive not been doing this long, but you and the many other experienced pro's on this board have given me the inspiration and motivation to do something different with my life and escape the rat race in the city.

Looks like KLAC is going to open -4.84 at 53.56 today after a 28% drop in profit to $37m or 18c EPS from $51m or 26c EPS last year. One to watch.

Have a good day

Pitbull

 

[Grey1]

NAZ ,, Just looked at the chart and I certainly would not play this stock, unless I knew 110% that I would win the trade for the following reason ..

I never think of my wins first.. I alway think of what I might lose should I open the trade.. This stock could Jump $1 or more in less than 5 minutes.. Not sure if you have taken this trade or not but It would wreck all my risk analysis trading this stock

 

[Naz]

I agree with the analysis of looking for the loss first.That is why the L2 Nasdaq screen is so handy on stocks like USNA.I can see the players i can execute against for my stop before i take my trade.When we get to extremes there tends to be more of them posting at one level. So only when the move sets itself up and there are a number of people at my stop level would i take the trade.If there was fresh air where i wanted to get out i wouldn't take the trade.

Another thing that many miss are the direct access skills that exist for the Nasdaq L2 trader.A nimble level 2 scalper can eeek out profits where others cant.He/she can manually work their order with all the skills their trading platform offers.This is why some level 2 Nasdaq traders actively seek out stocks like this to take advantage of their spreads.A chart like USNA can only give a very small picture of what is going on.ie it only reflects trades taking place and not the underlying action.All this of course is just my opinion.

 

[Naz]

Pitbull,

Many thanks for the comments.As you know i run 1-2-1 training courses when not trading.I run them for all sorts of people from the complete and utter beginner who doesn't know a thing,through to the professional trader.I really enjoy teaching beginners and showing them the things we've learned on my trading screens live.1-2-1 means you can fashion a day just for the individual.Two of my courses are advertised on the home page of t2w,info on the others can be had by e mailing me at [email protected].

Here's a trade from today.Long AMZN at the blue arrow.

 

[Mr. Charts]

VRTS bought 36.57
appeared to be resuming its upmove

 

[Mr. Charts]

VRTS sold 36.38
didn't follow through
-19

 

[Naz]

Out at the blue arrow for an 83c run which with a 1000 shares was $830.I know many traders steer clear of trading the Nasdaq in the first half an hour.

IMHO, To me that is where the moves and the profits are.Having confidence in your trading platform,ie its speed of execution,its window on whats really happening gives traders the confidence to trade at this time.

 

[keano]

now i know i truly am amongst the best of em...made another 'pretend' 84c today, but lost a few on a.......wait for it.....VRTS long. ...i like being in the same trades as MR.C. Even the losers, lol.

Keano

 

[Naz]

Mr charts nice to see you.

 

[Mr. Charts]

SFNT short 32.90