BJS - 012610

Posted by Tom C.

I am getting ready for vacation in February...I will be gone most of the month on 2 separate trips. I will try to finish this week off with a few posts (edit - didn't happen, sorry!), and then hopefully resume in March.

I am posting the chart of BJS because it was a classic setup, albeit slightly higher risk as the entry was below the opening range high (ORH). It also drives home the point I have been making since 2009 - watch those whole numbers. BJS reversed at $22, which was just above the FE.



edit - I entered on a break of the 4th bar's high, and sold just under $22 after price broke through the FE.

_______________

BK - 012010

Posted by Tom C.

I don't always use trendlines, but when I see something I consider obvious I will. To me, the trendline I drew on BK was obvious; looking at the bigger picture price gapped up and after a short rally pulled back to the RZ and bounced off that level. There were some possible, more aggressive, entries prior to the one I actually took - but I opted to enter on a break of the strong green bar's high that formed above the trendline.

I watched the ORH level for a reversal, but price acted "textbook bullish" by breaking that level, pulling back to test it as support (resistance becomes support), and rallying off of it. I closed my position at $31 (there is the whole number again).



_______________

Back to work

Posted by Tom C.

It was a nice four day weekend, but now I am back at it. Here are the charts from last week's post - scroll down to read the details on entry and exit.





_______________

A few trades

Posted by Tom C.

I wanted to post some charts this morning, but my software is down. JCI was a good "u-turn" setup yesterday. Looking at my trade log, I entered on a break of the 6th bar high. If you plot Fibonacci lines over the opening range of the morning, you will see this setup occurred just above the 50% level of the morning's high to low. JCI provided another great example of price stalling out at a whole number ($30), and if I remember correctly it printed several bars at that level giving you a great signal and plenty of chances to close a profitable position.

I have not had many shorts this week, but noted CSIQ was a great setup; my broker did not have shares to borrow but it is still a good chart to study - similar to one posted in the comments of Friday's post by a reader. Price gapped down and fell the first 30 minutes and then pulled back into resistance before turning back down. I was looking to enter on a break of the 13th bar low, but again my broker did not have shares to borrow.

I will try to post charts when my software is up and running.

_______________

More trading blogs

Posted by Tom C.

I like to read Pradeep's blog, StockBee. Every morning, he has been posting "stocks likely to break out today". Yesterday SEED exploded at the end of the day (I had no position).

Check it out - it is probably a good basis to start your morning watchlist.

And Wall St. Warrior still puts up great content day after day - after all of these years, it is probably the most consistent blog with quality information out there.

_______________

Trading Blogs

Posted by Tom C.

I am looking to clean up X's "Blogs I Read (Trading)". It looks like Anarco, Tyler, Attitude Trader, and 00NR7 haven't posted in a while - has anyone heard anything from them? I would hate to remove them if they are planning to start back up.

_______________

Friday trades

Posted by Tom C.

I am kicking myself for missing a trade in WFT, but I had a nice one in CMI. Take a look at the chart and see if you can figure out where. I am done for the week - I will try to continue this crazy blogging spree I have started next week!

_______________

LEN - 010710

Posted by Tom C.

Yesterday, LEN did a "u-turn" and rallied - almost - to the FE. What stopped it? A whole number, as I have pounded on for a few months now. It stalled out at $16, and I closed my position on a break of the 2:40 bar's low (marked with the top arrow).

My entry was a little riskier. I can make an argument I entered on a "hammer-type" candle, but I hate hammers that close red. What made me bullish was price finding support above the RZ and on a rising 8EMA. The 4-8 bars made a nice bottom, and I entered on a break of the 8th bar's high.

Fibonacci lines were plotted in traditional style - PDL to ORH.



_______________

Blog workings

Posted by Tom C.

The sign-up link to receive blog updates via email has changed from FeedBlitz to FeedBurner. If you already receive posts via email from FeedBlitz, you can switch to FeedBurner or leave things as they are (the FeedBlitz emails will still come, but future people who sign-up will do so with FeedBurner).

To recap:
If you want to sign-up for the RSS feed, click here.
If you want to sign-up to get updates emailed to you, click here.

As always, you can find these same subscription options at the top of every page (SUBSCRIBE TO THE TRADER-X BLOG).

_______________

CERN - 010510

Posted by Tom C.

I am going to try and post a few daytrades every week, and a few longer-term trades every month. We'll see how long I keep it up! I am going to be on vacation most of February, so I hope to start strong in January and pick it back up in March.

My daytrades are somewhat boring, and I usually trade the same handful of setups. I occasionally tweak my MAs and some support/resistance lines (for instance, marking the halfway point between the low and retracement zone (RZ), the high and the RZ, the high and the Fibonacci extension (FE)). I usually trade 10 and 5-minute charts, but sometimes look at and experiment with other timeframes. But for the most part, the setups are consistent.

I traded CERN long today - the Fibonacci lines are plotted over the previous day's low (PDL) to the opening range high (ORH). It gapped up and pulled back to form a version of the "u-turn" setup (though sloppy). I actually entered as price found support at the 8EMA and moved back up through the ORH. My entry was on a break of the 15th bar's high, though there was some good entry points prior to that. Since price had already closed above the ORH and pulled back below it, I was bullish on the move back above and felt confident it would run to the FE. Price rallied from my entry and hit the FE a few hours later. Because price action was strong, I actually held for $88.00 and closed the position at that level (see my previous post about watching the "whole dollar" levels). CERN continued to rally, but I was happy with my piece of the action.



_______________

Happy New Year!

Posted by Tom C.

I am starting off 2010 on a positive note, by reading through submissions on "Five Rules For Life". If you have time to kill in the next few days, it is a site worth exploring. And not just because myself, Trader-X, Dr. Brett Steenbarger, and other traders contributed - but because there are some good rules to think about and reflect on as you are planning out your new year (and new decade!).

Here are some good links, or just hit the home page and start reading through them all from the top:

My rules
Trader-X
Dr. Brett Steenbarger
Baron from ET
Compilation Post #1
Compliation Post #2

Have a safe and happy beginning to the new year!

_______________