Results of Thursday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither level triggered and both remain on the chart. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 4405.00 stop 4400.25. Short 4496.25 stop 4499.75.

The World Index: (+100/-100) dumps from -21 to -64 with all major world markets Bearish. 

Catalysts: Not much. Maybe Fed’s Barr @ 9:00.  

Quick Tip: Be Adaptable

One trait of successful traders is being adaptable to changing conditions. It’s a golden quality but not an easy one to master. The reason is that like many things, adaptability is not a black or white issue. There are all those shades of gray!

Think about your view on the market this morning. Are you Bullish or Bearish? The world markets are leaning bearish, the charts are suggesting bearish, and there are no obvious catalysts that could reverse those facts. So, ...

Results of Wednesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 4475.25 offered a 7-point bounce but the breakout joining the trend offered 24.75 points. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets): 

Buy 4405.00 stop 4400.25. Short 4496.25 stop 4499.75.

The World Index: (+100/-100) eases from -29 to -21 in a world of mixed sentiment. 

Catalysts: Jobless Claims & Non-Farm Payroll Revisions @ 8:30. Fed-Speak @ 10:00, 11:45 & 15:30. Crude Oil Inventories @ 11:00. 

Quick Tip: Joining the Trend

Wait. What? This is supposed to be the best S&P futures turning points. These are reversal trades. How does the trend fit in? 

Look at the bigger picture, the higher time frame. Your probability of success is greater if you’re trading in harmony with the bigger picture. 

The high-volume price levels presented here can be...

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 4499.00 filled in the Globex session last night and stopped out after bouncing 4.75-points. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4475.25 stop 4471.00. Short 4543.75 stop 4548.50.

The World Index: (+100/-100) remains at -29 with most major world markets leaning Bearish on low volatility. 

Catalysts: International Trade @ 8:30. Final Services PMI @ 9:45. ISM Services PMI @ 10:00. 

Quick Tip: No Scarcity

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. Add in our reversal and momentum strategies and team members...

Results of Friday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither suggested trade level triggered.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4543.75 stop 4548.50.

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from +29 to -29 with most major world markets leaning Bearish. 

Catalysts: Factory Orders @ 10:00. USD jumps. 

Quick Tip: On Losing

I’m in a losing streak… and I’m unconcerned. 

Losing should not affect you financially or psychologically. You’ve determined how much you can lose before you react emotionally, and you’re disciplined to limit your loss to that number on every trade. If not, you’re destined to fail. 

That risk number can change though. You can increase it when you’re doing well and decrease it when not.

But what if you do get anxious or upset during a...

Results of Thursday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither suggested trade level triggered and remain on the chart. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4598.50 stop 4604.25.

The World Index: (+100/-100) improves from -7 to +29 with most major world markets mildly Bullish. 

Catalysts: Non-Farm Payrolls @ 8:30. Final MFG PMI @ 9:45. ISM MFG PMI & Construction Spending @ 10:00. China boosts economic stimulus.

Quick Tip: Choices are Good

How do you feel when you have no choice? It’s probably a rare situation. Most situations offer you choice. Long or short. More or less. Exit or stay. You almost always have a choice. I’ll bet if you think back to when you had no choice you felt uncomfortable. Maybe even upset!

In trading one choice you always have is whether to take the trade...

Results of Wednesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither suggested trade level triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4499.00 stop 4495.50. Short 4598.50 stop 4604.25

The World Index: (+100/-100) dips from Zero to -7 in a world of mixed sentiment and low-volatility. 

Catalysts: PCE Price Index, Personal Income/Spending & Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. 

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 the skills. 

This leaves rule-based trading the best alternative for developing trading skills and success for the vast majority. It seems so...

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Shorting 4492.50 stopped out. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4475.25 stop 4471.00. Short 4543.75 stop 4548.25.

The World Sentiment Index: (+100/-100) plummets from +64 to Zero in a world of mixed low-volatility sentiment. 

Catalysts: ADP Payrolls @ 8:15. GDP & Trade Balance @ 8:30. Pending Home Sales @ 10:00. Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30. 

Quick Tip: How You Doing? 

We all have financial goals we’re working toward. The retirement “number” which eliminates our dependence on a shaky social security system. The short-term trading cash flow profits that pay for the fun stuff. 

When you progress toward these goals you’ll notice that it’s not a smooth result. You’ll have ups and downs. The downs are...

Results of Monday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither suggested level triggered in a choppy narrow range session. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4405.00 stop 4400.25. Short 4492.50 stop 4498.00. 

The World Sentiment Index: (+100/-100) eases up from +50 to +64 with all major world markets Bullish except the S&P futures (flat). 

Catalysts: Home Price Index @ 9:00. Consumer Confidence & JOLTS @ 10:00. With the Fed focused on data for interest rate decisions it’s likely that reactions to economic releases will be heightened. 

Quick Tip: What is a Big Risk?

A big risk is not in the trade itself. It’s in the losing streak. 

Billionaire hedge fund founder Bruce Kovner said “Novice traders trade 5 to 10 times too big. They are taking 5 to 10% risks on a trade they...

Results of Friday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Neither suggested level triggered. 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4364.25 stop 4360.75. Short 4492.50 stop 4498.00. 

The World Sentiment Index: (+100/-100) jumps from zero to +50 with all major world markets neutral to Bullish. 

Catalysts: Nothing on the economic calendar. Higher interest rates appear here to stay for a while = strong USD, tougher on stocks.

Quick Tip: Today’s Edge

All-star trader Larry Williams in his book Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading loves to analyze trading from a seasonal perspective. Seasonality in this case is a general term for segmenting times, not just the four seasons. Times can be measured many ways, 15-minute duration, days, weeks, etc. The combinations are nearly endless. 

One powerful...

Results of Thursday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buying 4411.25 stopped out (maybe). 

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets, which saved yesterday’s buy): 

Buy 4307.50 stop 4303.25. Short 4492.50 stop 4498.00. 

The World Sentiment Index: (+100/-100) plummets to zero from +57 with Asia Bearish and the west mildly Bullish. 

Catalysts: Revised UofM Consumer/Inflation Sentiment @ 10:00. Powell speaks @ 10:05. Jackson Hole updates. 

Quick Tip: Adjusting Targets & Stops

Yesterday’s buy level stopped out with the suggested stop but given the speed (volatility) of the approach to entry you might have used a wider stop with less size. That turned a small loser into a decent winner (see chart). 

As market conditions change so should your expectations. Your trade plan has entry and exit rules (for both loss and profit) but if those rules...