Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: This strategy remains on hold.

The World Index: (+100/-100) plummets from +86 to -50 with all major world markets Bearish except the USA with tech leading the way. 

Catalysts: Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Final MFG PMI @ 9:45. ISM MFG PMI and Construction Spending @ 10:00. AAPL & AMZN earnings after the bell. 

Quick Tip: Three Facts

Most of your success in trading will come from your ability to manage your psychology about winning and losing and being right or wrong. Unfortunately, we’ve all been raised to believe that winning is good, losing is bad, being right is good, being wrong is bad. The market is different. 

One of my favorite books on trading is Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom by Van Tharp. He gets this game from a psychological perspective really well. 

Here are three facts about trading success he uncovered in his research of successful traders/investors. They all had: 

1. Controlled risk. 

2. Win rates of 35% to 50% but winning...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: This strategy remains on hold.

The World Index: (+100/-100) SOARS from -7 to +86 with all major world markets strongly Bullish. 

Catalysts: ADP Employment Change @ 8:15. Employment Cost Index @ 8:30. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. Pending Home Sales @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. FOMC Statement @ 14:00, Press Conference @ 14:30. META reports after the close. BOJ raises rates.

Quick Tip: Disqualifying 

Traditional work (your job) makes becoming a winning trader difficult. Not because of the time devotion, but because it instills a belief that is NOT helpful in trading. 

What is it? Always doing something. Can you imagine if you were caught doing nothing and told the boss “Now is not a good time to be working on this.” Or “Wednesdays are difficult days to get anything done, so I’m going to loaf.” 

In trading NOT entering a trade is not only OK it’s sometimes the smart decision. Today is FOMC day. Volatility will be high for an hour or so. Ther...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Thursday’s results: This strategy is on hold... but had a superb week of gains and may be back in business on Monday. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) soars from -71 to +36 with all most world markets mildly Bullish on fading volatility. 

Catalysts: PCE/Personal Income @ 8:30. UofM Consumer Sentiment (revised). 

Quick Tip: How Not to Confirm

Many traders use a two-step process to enter their trades. The first is called a “setup.” Certain conditions appear ripe for an entry. The second step is called “confirmation.” The final evidence says pull the trigger. 

Here’s an example: Our trend strategy will signal that a trend is starting based on a chart pattern and current volatility. But that is not when the entry occurs. We wait for confirmation by looking for additional signals, then buy on a retracement to reduce risk and improve price. Simple enough. 

Yesterday a trade signaled and confirmed. It was worth 26 S&P poi...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Thursday’s results: This strategy is on hold... but is improving and likely out of the drawdown soon.

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

Catalysts: PPI @ 8:30. UofM Consumer Sentiment @ 10:00. Earnings starts with big banks. 

Quick Tip: Resilience 

Baseball great Harmon Killebrew said, “The most important athletic ability is the talent to comeback from behind.” True in sports, true in business, true in trading. 

The great come-back athletes were different than their peers. They knew there would be setbacks. They thought in advance how to handle them. They didn’t get emotional. They snapped to attention and executed their plan. 

Traders have losing streaks. Can’t avoid them. 

Are you reactive or proactive? What’s your comeback plan? 

Here’s what works for me: Let’s say I have three losers in a row day trading. I take a vigorous walk not thinking at ...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Tuesday’s results: This strategy is on hold... but is improving and likely out of the drawdown soon.

The World Index: (+100/-100) is stable at +21 in a mildly Bullish, low volatility world. 

Catalysts: Powell @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. 10-y Bond Auction @ 13:00. Fed’s Bowman & Goolsbee @ 14:30. 

Quick Tip: Persistence

Every successful person in trading and in life has gone through barriers and setbacks to achieve their success. Every failure was viewed as a learning experience. 

In trading everyone deals with losing streaks, drawdowns, unfilled winning trades, slippage, internet outages, criticism from family and friends, and more. 

Consider: 

“I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison

“I have failed again and again throughout my life. That’s why I’ve been successful.” Michael Jordan

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." ...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Monday’s results: This strategy is on hold... but is improving and likely out of the drawdown soon. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) plummets from +50 to -14 most of the world leaning Bearish on modest volatility.  

Catalysts: Fed’s Powell @ 9:30. JOLTS @ 10:00.  

Quick Tip: Need to Know

Curiosity leads to learning and discovery. We want to know the “what, why, how, when & where.” 

All good. Except in day trading. 

Any time you see the price plunge or skyrocket on high volume your first impulse is to find out why, what happened?

But does it matter? As a day trader your setup likely lasts less than an hour. Do you need to understand the reason if you’re only trading price action? Do you even have the time to find out? 

If you’re a day or short-term trader the better time to be curious is during your review process. You have the time to do proper research then. In fact, it’s essential to be very curious during revi...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Friday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) improves from +29 to +50 with all major world markets mildly Bullish. 

Catalysts: S&P MFG PMI Final @ 9:45. ISM MFG PMI @10:00. 

Quick Tip: Blind Spot

There are so many cognitive biases that affect our trading results, and everyone has some. Possibly the worst bias is called Personal Blind Spot.

It occurs when you fail to recognize your weaknesses and shortcomings, leading to suboptimal trading decisions and poor performance.

One of the primary ways to resolve this bias is through self-reflection and self-awareness. You must take the time to assess your strengths and weaknesses and be brutally honest about their limitations.

Easier said than done, so get feedback from others, your colleagues, or mentors, to gain an objective perspective on your trading behavior. 

For example, while I tell our team not to multi-task and stay focused, I wo...

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Nothing tradeable today.  

Thursday’s results: This strategy is on hold. 

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -50 to +29 with most major world markets mildly Bullish. 

Catalysts: PCE Price Index/Personal Income/Personal Spending @ 8:30. Fed’s Daly @ 8:40. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. UofM Consumer Sentiment (revised) @ 10:00. Fed’s Monetary Policy Report @ 11:00. Fed’s Bowman @ 12:00, Daly @ 12:40.  

Quick Tip: Calm Down

Even if you don’t golf you’ve probably heard that it’s a mental game. Most athletics are. Trading is too. Dr. Richard Coop, author of the book “Mind Over Golf” advises players to have their own personal pre-shot routine.

Let’s use his advice but change the details to improve our trading. 

1. If you’re approaching a trade entry with a negative feeling, pause and use some physical ritual to regain calm control and reset your concentration. The ritual may be standing up and stretching or closing your eyes and counting backward fr...