Yesterday’s results: Neither trade triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No suggested levels today. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from +36 top -7 with Asia Bearish and the west Bullish. 

Catalysts: Import/Export Prices @ 8:30. 

Quick Tip: Your Mindset

Much research has proven that your mindset affects outcome. If you think positive you’re likely to behave positively and cause a desirable outcome. Vice versa for negative thoughts and outcomes. 

Today being Friday the 13th, I thought it would be interesting to uncover some research on market outcomes for today. 

Two notable research projects on what is called the Friday the 13th Effect on financial markets were found. One study by Donald B. Keim and Robert F. Stambaugh in 1984 found that stock returns on Friday the 13th were significantly lower than on other Fridays. Conversely, a more recent analysis by Bespoke Investment Group revealed the opposite, the average gains for the S&P 500 are four times higher tha...

Yesterday’s results: No trades suggested. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Short 6091.75 stop 6095.25. Buy 6094.50 stop 6091 if price retraces down from above. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) dips from +21 to -7 with sentiment mixed on low volatility. 

Catalysts: Revised Non-Farm Productivity & Unit Labor Costs @ 8:30. 

Quick Tip: Fear No More

Fear paralyzes progress in anything you do. In trading, there are 5 types of fear. Recognizing you’re susceptible to them is the first step to a solution. 

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) – you can’t tolerate watching a winning trade from the sidelines. This breeds impulsivity. Solution: Have an abundance of trade opportunities using multiple strategies tuned to different market conditions. 

Fear of Loss – you still feel upset about losing money. Solution: Lower your risk and find a strategy you have confidence in by practicing in simulation mode. 

Fear of Being Wrong – you are embarrassed to be wrong and get mad at yourself when you ar...

Yesterday’s results: Buying 6100 stopped out. The short didn’t trigger. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6065.00 stop 6061.25. Short 6062.00 stop 6065.75 if price retraces from below (filtered out during the Non-Farm Payrolls release).  

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from +7 to +36 with most major world markets somewhat Bullish. 

Catalysts: Employment Situation @ 8:30. Fed’s Bowman @ 9:15, Goolsbee @ 10:30, Hammack @ 12:00, Daly @ 13:00. UofM Consumer Sentiment @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: Discipline

Three celebrated authors on trading success, Mark Douglas, Van Tharp, and Alexander Elder, all agree that one aspect of trading is crucially important: 

"The key to trading success is emotional discipline. If intelligence were the key, there would be a lot more people making money trading." - Mark Douglas

"Successful trading is not about being right; it’s about being disciplined. Discipline is the ability to follow one's trading plan, regardless of emotions or external inf...

Yesterday’s results: Neither trade idea triggered, and they remain on the chart today.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6017.25 stop 6012.25. Short 6013.00 stop 6018.00 if price retraces up from below. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from +14 to +57 with all major world markets Bullish on increasing volatility. The S&P Futures are not participating yet. 

Catalysts: JOLTS @ 10:00. Fed’s Kugler @ 12:35, Goolsbee @ 3:45. 

Quick Tip: One Tough Lesson

If you’re a discretionary trader intuitively making entry and exit decisions and you’re successful, congratulations! You are a rare breed. It’s not that discretionary trading doesn’t work, it’s that to succeed takes years to hone your skills. 

This leaves rule-based trading as the best alternative for developing trading skills and success for the vast majority. It seems so simple. Find a proven strategy with edge. Follow the rules. What can go wrong? 

Here’s the tough lesson you need to learn: You think you know what’s g...

Friday’s results: Neither trade idea triggered and they remain on the chart today.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 6017.25 stop 6012.25. Short 6013.00 stop 6018.00 if price retraces up from below. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -7 to +14 with most major world markets mildly Bullish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: S&P Global MFG PMI Final @ 9:45. ISM MFG PMI & Prices @ 10:00. Fed’s Waller @ 15:15 and Williams @ 16:30. 

Quick Tip: Abundance Mindset

You probably noticed that the Turning Points shared here frequently don’t trigger. Sometimes a few days can go by without a trade. 

You may be thinking, “This is not enough action for me.” 

On the contrary, this strategy provides far more setups than are freely shared, we’re just trying to get acquainted! Add in the reversal and momentum strategies and there are dozens of opportunities every day in our live futures trading room.

Now you may be thinking “That is too much action for me.” 

It’s all about your mindse...

Yesterday’s results: No suggestions offered.  

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No great levels today. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -29 to -7 with China/HK the only Bulls. 

Catalysts: GDP, Jobless Claims, Durable Goods, Trade Balance @ 8:30. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. PCE, Personal Income/Spending, Pending Home Sales @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. 

Quick Tip: Being Grateful

Thanksgiving is the holiday that reminds all of us to practice gratitude. However, plenty of research has been done that proves we should be grateful more often. Like daily. 

The list of benefits is long and in all cases will improve your trading performance!

1. Reduced anxiety.

2. Improves your ability to handle stress.

3. Increase happiness. 

4. Improve relationships. 

5. Boost productivity and goal achievement. 

6. Increase positive emotions. 

That’s an incredible list! How does it work? 

Gratitude shifts attention away from negative emotions and fosters a sense of abundance, w...

Yesterday’s results: The suggested short didn’t trigger. No long was suggested. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5889.75 stop 5885.75. Short 5975.50 stop 5981.25. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) rises from -21 to +29 with most major world markets mildly Bullish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: Fed’s Barr @ 10:00, Cook @ 11:00 & Bowman @ 12:15. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. NVDA earnings after the close. 

Quick Tip: Rightness

We have an innate desire to be right. Being wrong is the equivalent of failure. But in trading this shouldn’t matter. We obviously can’t control the market or perfectly predict the future. The best we can do is decide in advance how much profit or loss we’ll accept. 

The late Mark Douglas, author of Trading in the Zone, said "When you achieve complete acceptance of the uncertainty of each edge and the uniqueness of each moment, your frustration with trading will end. You don’t need to know what is going to happen next in order to make money."

This ...

Yesterday’s results: Buying 5036.25 was only good for a 6-point scalp. The short level didn’t trigger. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5895.50 stop 5589.75. Short 5975.50 stop 5981.25. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) eases from -21 to -14 with all major world markets neutral to Bearish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: Fed’s Goolsbee & NAHB Housing Market Index @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: Behave Yourself

Imagine starting in trading without any historical information. No price charts. No patterns to study. No economic information. No annual reports. What would you use to determine if it was time to buy or sell? 

Thankfully, we needn’t dwell on that question at all. We have incredible historical information available that we can research for potential edge in our trading. However, the fact is that historical information is not a perfect predictor of the future. We can’t control the market. 

The future we can control is our behavior. The result of every new day, every new trade i...

Yesterday’s results: No trades triggered.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5996.50 stop 5992.75. Short 5993.50 stop 5997.25 if price retraces up from below. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) soars from -50 to +36 with most major world markets Bullish. 

Catalysts: Nothing on the economic calendar.  

Quick Tip: Windfalls

Not nearly enough, but on occasion your trade becomes a windfall. Not so much in day trading but swing and position trading for sure. Maybe you bought NVDA 2 years ago and held on. Windfall!

Our swing trading team experienced a remarkable windfall trade last week. The strategy we used had to do with Unusual Options Activity. Simply put, these are huge bets on unlikely outcomes. The concept is that anyone who can bet that big must know some non-public information. 

Following the chart above you’ll see we uncovered a Smart Money bet on 10/21. $2.1M was bet on this $160 stock exceeding $200 in the next 3 weeks. You could have bought that option for $2.70 per ...