Monday, June 22, 2009

Focusing on the Structure of the Day's Trade


Here's an updated Market Delta chart for the day's trade. Note how volume at bid has consistently exceeded volume at the offer for the ES contract (bottom histogram); how we've remained below the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) all morning (red line); and how we have accepted value lower by trading increasing volume at lower prices (side histogram). The reason I have my chart set up this way is that it provides me with a quick, visual sense for the structure of the day's trade.

Where I see traders making mistakes in trading this market is by focusing on what has been happening in the last few ticks of movement, rather than the emerging day structure. That has kept many traders out of the market--or on the wrong side of it--even as we've taken out the S3 level. A thorough market perspective also needs to look beyond the day timeframe; that shows how we have moved below last week's lows and, so far, have accepted value beneath that level. Given that dynamic, bounces that stay below last week's range become candidates for selling.
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