Trade Aptitude
Results of Wednday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: The short @ 4176.50 stopped out.
Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets):
Buy 4131.25 stop 4127.50. Short 4168.25 stop 4172.25.
The World Sentiment Index: (+100/-100) rises from -50 to -21 with most major world markets mildly Bearish on lower volatility.
Catalysts: Jobless Claims & Philly Fed MFG Index @ 8:30. Existing Home Sales @ 10:00. Scattered Fed Speak, Yellen tentative. Economy stalled recently, credit is tightening.
Quick Tip: Data Challenges
Technical traders rely on price charts to assess current market conditions and potential future moves. But all price charts are not created equally. You have many choices.
If you’re using time-based charts you must determine which time intervals apply best to your strategy. If you’re using share (volume)-based charts the same decision applies, how much volume?
There are also tick, range, Point & Figure, and others. All require analysis and choice of their settings.
One decision many traders fail to understand the importance of is their data provider. There can and will be discrepancies among them for certain markets.
The stock market is a big offender of varying data. The reason is simple, it’s not centralized. There dozens of exchanges orders can be routed through. Price will not always be the same among them. Forex isn’t centralized either. The price and volume is broker-specific.
You can minimize this problem by trading the Futures markets. They are centralized by contract. For example, if you’re trading the most liquid contract, the S&P E-mini, there is only one exchange, the CME. It’s still possible to have discrepancies based on your trading platform but being centralized at the exchange level, not as worrisome.
Why is data integrity so important? Because you’re depending on historical price and volume information to plan future trades. Garbage in, garbage out.
This is yet another great reason to trade the Futures markets. One less issue to worry about. There are several other great reasons to trade Futures. Read our White Paper here.
Mark Fisher, founder of MBF Clearing Corp, sums it up nicely: "Futures trading offers unparalleled liquidity, transparency, and price discovery. These characteristics make it an essential tool for traders and investors looking to manage risk and achieve their financial goals."
Our team day-trades multiple strategies in the Futures markets. You can learn the nuances of Futures trading in simulation mode until you’re ready to risk real money. Join the team, learn the strategies, and trade live with us daily for 30 days. Money back if you’re not blown away!
Trade Fearlessly,
Mike Siewruk