Posts Tagged ‘Swing Trading Chart Patterns’

Swing Trading Week in Review – June 15,2012

Sunday, June 17th, 2012

Swing Trading BLOG – Swing Trading BOOT CAMP

DIA - Swing Trading BLOG

A nice week for the major indicies this week.

That being said was probably better to be a day trader this week instead of an overnight swing trader.

The intraday moves were very nice and offered reliable chart patterns to trade while the over night moves were less predictable.

See how we trade our Intraday Swing Trading Strategy here.

After a BIG GAP UP on Monday morning the sellers stepped in to bring the market down to end the day.

Tuesday didn't draw much excitement but starting on Wednesday the market started to show signs of moving higher.

Fridays close brought the DJIA right up to its 50 day SMA while the S&P and Nasdaq aren't far behind.

A few of the sector ETF's showed signs of life as well while others are showing extreme relative weakness.

The Gold ETF's continue to trade above their 50 day SMA's and although Silver hasn't quite caught up just yet it looks to be showing signs of strength.

GDX - Swing Trading Blog

As next weeks trading begins things could change in a hurry.

With all the news coming out next week be prepared for the markets to move very quickly. One side will win the "tug of war" and you will miss the moves if you aren't ready.

Look for stocks bucking the down trend (i.e. $WFM $EQIX) to add to your LONG watch list.

WFM - Stwing Trading Blog

Look for those stocks that did not hold up well this week to add to your SHORT watch list.

Have a plan in place so whatever the market decides to do from here you will be prepared to act (and hopefully profit).

Until next week…Good Trading to YOU!

Swing Trading Week in Review – June 1, 2012

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012

Swing Trading Blog – Swing Trading Boot Camp

After finding some temporary support last week the markets SOLD OFF hard this week.

After being closed on Monday traders watched the market GAP UP on Tuesday.

On Wednesday though all hopes of a meaningful bounce disappeared as the market GAPPED DOWN and the sellers stepped in to drive the market lower.

Another big GAP DOWN on Friday and continued strong selling pushed the market NEW LOWS for the 2012.

It's amazing what can happen in 1 month.

On May 1st we hit NEW HIGHS for 2012 and here, exactly 1 month later, we are looking at NEW LOWS for the year.

Let's take a look at the transition from BULL to BEAR…

In February we traded to NEW HIGHS and then sold off a bit in early March.

Buyers stepped back in and once again brought the market higher (1st Orange Arrow).

After some sideways trading we once again hit NEW HIGHS on April 2nd but once again we couldn't go any higher.

Sellers stepped and drove the market down to the same level it hit in early March (2nd Orange Arrow).

These levels were accompanied by BIG VOLUME which tells us that there is a lot of activity at that level in the market.

The BUYING volume obviously won since we once again drifted higher to close out the month of April.

We opened up the Month of May by hitting NEW HIGHS once again.

We immediately stalled and another sell off began this time on volume.

This sell off took the market right back to the key area in the market that we touched 2 times before (3rd Orange Arrow).

It is around these key levels (of support this time) that we look for the clues the market gives us.

In mid May we finally BROKE DOWN through this support level as volume picked up (Blue arrow).

The mode of the market had now changed. Sentiment was different.

This BREAK DOWN on INCREASED VOLUME is what we needed to see to change from BULLISH to BEARISH.

Once this level was broken it was time for us to aggressively move the the SHORT side of the market.

If you follow the market and analyze PRICE ACTION and VOLUME it can paint a very clear picture for you.

Until next week…Good Trading to YOU!

Swing Trading Week in Review – January 27, 2012

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Swing Trading BLOG – Swing Trading Boot Camp

DIA - Swing Trading

Right back to where we started!

All looks good for the LONG side of the market although we ended up finishing the week pretty much where we started.

The major indices did pop up again on Wednesday (on good volume) but quickly reversed on Thursday and drifted a bit lower on Friday.

The sector action was a mixed with some of the stronger sectors taking a breather and some sectors showing some increased relative strength.

The Real Estate sector out performed the market by rallying to new highs this week.

IYR - Real Estate ETF

The REIT ETF ($RWR) also followed suit…

RWR - REIT ETF

The Silver and Gold ETF's ($SLV $GLD $GDX) also sprang to life this week…

SLV - Silver ETF GLD - Gold Shares ETF

The Steel and Airline sectors ($SLX $FAA) are also looking good with several stocks in each sector making nice moves this week.

Keep your eye on $AKS $NUE $X $STLD!

The Semiconductors took a little break this week but keep don't forget about names like $MRVL $CREE $KLAC $NVLS $LRCX next week if the market stays strong.

Even with the market stalling this week some of the stocks we watch seem to have gone to far to fast.

With Silver and Gold showing some bullish price action make sure to keep a close eye on the overall market conditions when evaluating your trade set ups.

Have a plan in place and be prepared for anything!

Until next week…Good Trading to YOU!

Swing Trading BLOG – Week in Review – July 1, 2011

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Swing Trading BLOG – Swing Trading BOOT CAMP

$DIA - Swing Trading ETF

WOW!

What a bounce we saw in the market this week!

After putting in a short term "double bottom" pattern last week traders watched as the market RIPPED up for 5 consecutive days this week!

After talking and emailing several traders this weekend it seems that a lot of people were caught off guard.

I sat with one trader after the market close on Friday and he sat there trying to convince me that the market SHOULD not have bounced so hard.

He also told me about how his positions (mostly shorts) SHOULD have acted during a bounce.

After finally revealing that he was still SHORT (after most of his positions were now very much against him) it is apparent that he himself SHOULD have done a few things.

The most important thing to get out of this little story is have a sound set of trading rules in place and stick to them no matter what.

What you or I (or anyone else) think the market SHOULD do DOESN'T MATTER and that way of thinking has absolutely has no place in trading.

As traders we look for opportunities to profit from what we think the market MAY do.

We also know that once we enter into a trade it MAY NOT do what we had hoped for.

We as traders expect to be wrong often.

They key to success is understanding this and PROTECTING YOUR CAPITAL at all costs when you are wrong!

If you read our Swing Trading BLOG 9and we hope you do) you will tell our traders to "prepare for whatever the market decides to do and act accordingly".

That means be prepared and have a plan for action whether the market does what you expect or not.

Being stubborn and trying to out think the market is a sure way to trading disaster…trust me!

Ok so now that the lecture is over lets take a look at the charts!

Almost everything on the board RIPPED right along with the market this week.

The most important lesson to gain from looking at the charts is to learn how to spot when the SHORT TERM trend changes.

$DIA

Let's take a look at the chart of the "Diamonds" above.

Last Thursday (June 23rd) we saw a big gap down in the AND reversal in the market.

The SELL OFF that day took the market down to an area that was near the low we saw on June 15th.

Once the market traded down to that level the market "reversed" and closed very near the high of the day.

Friday (June 25th) the market didn't do much as it traded sideways on low volume.

It is at this point that we as traders look for signs or clues to see what the market has in store next.

Monday we watched as the market traded higher (albeit or lower volume) which is not a good sign for the SHORTS.

If after seeing a strong reversal followed by a sideways trading day and UP day in the market doesn't give you a very loud hint that a retrace is upon you then I am not sure what will!

Tuesday the market GAPS UP (another clue) and trades in an nice orderly up trend all day (yet another clue).

Once you notice all the clues or hints you need to take action based on your observation.

For some of you that action meant to cover your SHORTS at a loss.

For others it meant to cover and GET LONG.

Our trading plan may not match you trading plan.

Our plan has us stopping out of our SHORTS and entering into some LONG positions in STRONG STOCKS.

In last weeks BLOG POST we mentioned some of the STRONG STOCKS that we were watching this week.

Take a look at the charts of the stocks we mentioned in that post and see how they did.

We have gone from VERY WEAK to VERY STRONG in the market in one week flat!

Expect some increased volatility ahead as traders try to get a handle on where we go from here.

As always be prepared for ANYTHING!!!

Until next week…Good Trading to YOU!

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