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US stocks close higher but well off highs in volatile trading

Nasdaq was down -1.88% at the lows, and up 5.03% at the high today

The US stock indices are closing higher on the day but off the highs for the day. I guess you can say there well off the lows for the day too.  The NASDAQ index was down -1.8% at the lows, and up 5.03% the highs. It closed up 2.3%. The volatility is red hot.

The final numbers are showing:
  • The S&P index rose 11.29 points or 0.47% to 2409.39. The low price was at 2319.78, down -3.27% at the time. The high was at 2466.97, up 2.87% at the peak.
  • The Nasdaq index rose  160.73 points or 2.3% to 7150.57.
  • The Dow rose 188.27 points or 0.95% to 20087.19. The low price was at 19177.13, or down -3.63%. The high reached 20442.63, or up 2.73%.
A hugely volatile day for the US stocks.
The US stocks had a hugely volatile day

Japan finance minister Aso was asked about the potential for intervention in yen

In response, Aso said that while he had no comment on volatility in the FX market he will respond appropriately depending on market conditions

In Japan intervention in the currency market is directed by the Ministry of Finance. The bojj Bank of Japan will take the necessary steps in the market, but the directive comes from the Ministry. This is not the case in most other DM central banks, where intervention decisions are taken by the central bank itself (there is often consolation with the relevant government department of course).
In response, Aso said that while he had no comment on volatility in the FX market he will respond appropriately depending on market conditions

USD/JPY: Intra-day range In 2019 narrowest since 1976; Where next? – MUFG

Can the low volatility continue?

MUFG Research discusses USD/JPY outlook and targets the pair at 107, 106, 105, 104 in Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 respectively.

The intra-day high-to-low trading range for USD/JPY in 2019 was 7.6% – that’s the narrowest trading range since 1976 according to Bloomberg data. Taking the last three years the trading range has been just 13.5% underlining the remarkable stability of USD/JPY. 3mth ATM implied volatility fell to 4.99% in December, a record low underlining the conditions conducive to carry. These conditions helped keep the yen weak but failed to trigger any notable sell-off of the yen,” MUFG notes.

“In our view that is a reflection of underlying positives for the yen that will contribute to yen strength this year, even if financial market conditions remain relatively benign…We see limited upside for USD/JPY from current levels. The factors above will act to limit yen weakness. We do not assume any major risk-off event this year but the assassination of Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on 3rd January is a clear near-term upside risk for the yen that has emerged as 2020 commences,” MUFG adds.

Advice To Traders From The Year 1923

Your biggest enemy, when trading, is within yourself. Success will only come when you learn to control your emotions. Edwin Lefevre’s Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (1923) offers advice that still applies today.

  1. CautionExcitement (and fear of missing an opportunity) often persuade us to enter the market before it is safe to do so. After a down-trend a number of rallies may fail before one eventually carries through. Likewise, the emotional high of a profitable trade may blind us to signs that the trend is reversing.
  2. PatienceWait for the right market conditions before trading. There are times when it is wise to stay out of the market and observe from the sidelines.
  3. ConvictionHave the courage of your convictions: Take steps to protect your profits when you see that a trend is weakening, but sit tight and don’t let fear of losing part of your profit cloud your judgment. There is a good chance that the trend will resume its upward climb.
  4. DetachmentConcentrate on the technical aspects rather than on the money. If your trades are technically correct, the profits will follow. 
    Stay emotionally detached from the market. Avoid getting caught up in the short-term excitement. Screen-watching is a tell-tale sign: if you continually check prices or stare at charts for hours it is a sign that you are unsure of your strategy and are likely to suffer losses.
  5. FocusFocus on the longer time frames and do not try to catch every short-term fluctuation. The most profitable trades are in catching the large trends. (more…)

Profiting from Market Trends- Tina Logan (Book Review )

When the market accommodates, trend trading can be highly lucrative. The trick, of course, is to divine the market’s often fickle moods. Tina Logan sets out to help the trader identify and exploit the “good times” in Profiting from Market Trends: Simple Tools and Techniques for Mastering Trend Analysis(Wiley, 2014).
The book is divided into two parts. The first, trend development, has chapters on trend direction, trend duration, trend interruptions, early trend reversal warnings, and later trend reversal warnings. The second part, putting trend analysis to work, deals with the broad market, bull markets, bear markets, and monitoring the market trends; it also includes a case study of the current bull market. Throughout, the text is illustrated with TC2000 (Worden Brothers) charts.
Let’s look at the chapter on early trend reversal warnings to get a sense of the book as a whole. Logan summarizes the warnings in a table. In an uptrend they are: a bearish climax move such as a key reversal or an exhaustion gap, bearish divergence, failure to break a prior peak, change of slope—rising trendline, break of tight rising trendline, approaching a strong ceiling, and bearish candlestick reversal pattern. The warnings in a downtrend are the reverse. (more…)

Must Read Quotes For Traders

“Good investing is a peculiar balance between the conviction to follow your ideas and the flexibility to recognize when you have made a mistake.“-Michael Steinhardt
Do not stay bullish or bearish. Go with the current flow of the market. Be on the team that is making the money.
“There is only one side of the market and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side.” -Jesse Livermore
When putting it all together, it is more than just numbers. Successful traders trade in three dimensions.
“Successful trading depends on the 3M`s – Mind, Method and Money. Beginners focus on analysis, but professionals operate in a three dimensional space. They are aware of trading psychology their own feelings and the mass psychology of the markets. Each trader needs to have a method for choosing specific stocks, options or futures as well as firm rules for pulling the trigger – deciding when to buy and sell. Money refers to how you manage your trading capital.” – Alexander Elder
The money is in the primary market trend, not jumping in and out.
“I think it was a long step forward in my trading education when I realized at last that when old Mr. Partridge kept on telling other customers, “Well, you know this is a bull market!” he really meant to tell them that the big money was not in the individual fluctuations but in the main movements-that is, not in reading the tape but in sizing up the entire market and its trend.” – Jesse Livermore (more…)

10 -Trend Following Commandments

1.    You shall back test and develop quantify robust trend trading systems that are profitable over the long term.
2.    You shall identify and follow the long term trend in the markets you trade, and have no guru that you bow down to.
3.    You shall not try to predict the future, that is a fool’s game, but follow the current price trend.
4.    You shall remember the stop loss to keep your capital safe from destruction; you shall know your exit level before your entry is taken.
5.    Follow your trend following system all the days that you are trading, so that through discipline you will be profitable.
6.    You shall not give up on your trading system because of a draw down.
7.    You shall not change a winning system because it has had a few losing trades.
8.    You shall trade with the principles that have proven to work for successful traders. Manage risk, go with the trend, and diversify so your days in the market will be long.
9.    You shall keep the faith in your trend following system even in range bound markets; a trend will begin anew eventually.
10.    You shall not covet fundamentalist’s valuations, Blue channels talking heads, newsletter predictions, Holy Grails, or the false claims of any of the black box systems.

Getting Started in Chart Patterns -Thomas Bulkowski (Book Review )

CHART PATTERNSThomas Bulkowski is probably the best known chart pattern researcher. Among his credits are theEncyclopedia of Chart Patterns and the three-volumeEvolution of a Trader. In this second edition ofGetting Started in Chart Patterns (Wiley, 2014), a book originally published in 2006 and newly revised and expanded with updated statistics, he introduces more than forty chart formations. Better yet, he explains how to trade using them.

Although the title indicates that the book is for novices, it is equally valuable—perhaps even more valuable—for more experienced pattern traders. Without continually reviewing, testing, and revising pattern trading strategies, it’s all too easy to trade yesterday’s market.

In two action-packed chapters Bulkowski explores trendlines and support and resistance. He considers support and resistance to be “the most important chart patterns” because “they show how much you are likely to make and how much you are likely to lose on each trade. That’s like playing poker and knowing the hands of your opponents. You won’t always win, but it helps.” (p. 35)

(more…)

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