Day Trader | Pristine Method | Market update

QQQ update and TraderHank’s Play in XOM

Posted on January 7, 2013 by TraderHank

The Q’s gaped down first thing this morning and set the low of the day at 66.25 by 9:35 am. The QQQ hung around this area until 10 am reversal time where the Q’s finally decide to make a run upward into minor resistance by 11:30 am @ 66.71 and setting the high for the morning. Then, the market triggered a 15 minute sell finding major support at the 66.35 area at 1:30 pm. Heading into the afternoon the Q’s rallied into the close barley breaking the high of the day and closing at 66.68. My first play was a short play in XOM which I found on my gap list which was a pretty nice mortgage type gap, gaping below a prior wide range green bar. After two attempts lower I gave up on the short with a small 1 R loss. Here is the chart on my short play in XOM…

XOM

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QQQ update for Monday, January 7th, 2013 and TraderHank’s Daily stock picks

Posted on January 5, 2013 by TraderHank

Longs:

LLY – Gap continuation

Shorts:

RIG – Climatic watch

The market tested the highs for the day in the QQQ during lunch and again late in the day at 3:30 pm but could not break the 66.88 area of resistance. We are still in a sideways trading range but with the price action on Friday, the top of the range has shrunk from the high of 67.30 area no to a new major resistance area of 66.88 area and the low area is still the same at 66.45 area. For Monday, I’m going to wait to see which why the market breaks before taking a market play. Hopefully I can come up with a gap play early that requires no help from the market. If the QQQ gaps below or trades below the 66.45 area I’d be looking to take the first base break down or 5 minute sell that triggers at or near 10 am reaction time with a lower target of the 65.30 area. If the market happens to gap above the 66.88 area and continues higher, I’ll be looking to take the first 5 or 15 minute buy in the market long preferable at 10 or 10:30 reversal time with a target area of 67.30. My bias for the day is leaning short but wait for the break of the 66.45 area…

qqq01052013

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QQQ morning update and TraderHank’s touch down play in LLY

Posted on January 4, 2013 by TraderHank

The Q’s opened neutral and immediately set the day’s high of 66.88 then price sold off from there pulling back enough to trigger the first 5 minute sell in the market by 10 am reversal time. We are still in a nice 5 minute downtrend with the current low at 66.47. My first play was in LLY which I found this morning on my gap list as a possible play in the afternoon, but after the first 10 minutes price action in LLY started basing until 9:50 reversal time where LLY broke out to the upside. I had a nice .11 cent stop with a great risk to reward of 4 to 1, so I piled in as LLY took off higher. I sold 1/2 at the first target and sold the rest on a 5 bar flurry upward in the .80 cent range. Just a beautiful trade in LLY with a nice 6 1/2 “R” profit, I think I’m done for the week, just an excellent 3 days of trading with our short week.

LLY

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QQQ update for Friday, January 4th 2013 and TraderHank’s stock picks

Posted on January 3, 2013 by TraderHank

At 14:00 after the FOMC minutes were released, the QQQ started a 5 minute down trend and with 15 minutes left in trading the Q’s finally triggered a 15 minute buy at major support. If we open neutral tomorrow the 5 minute chart will still be in a down trend but at major support. With major resistance close over head at the 67.35 area I would believe that we currently are in a sideways trend. If we open neutral I’d be looking long on the next higher low on the 2 minute chart with a long target at 67.35 area. If we happen to gap over this entire area of 67.35, I’d look to play the next 5 minute buy with a long target of 68.30 area. A gap that stays below the 67.35 area would cause me to be looking to short the first 5 minute sell setup that occurs at 10 or 10:30 am reversal time. If we happen to gap below the 66.50 area, I would look to play the first 5 minute base or a pull back to this area short with a gap fill target of 65.35 area. If we open between the high of 67.35 and 66.50 expect a sideways trend until we break out above or below this area.

Longs: None

Shorts: UNH

QQQ 01042013

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TraderHank’s 15 minute sell in STI

Posted on January 3, 2013 by TraderHank

My next play was a 15 minute short in STI which had triggered at 12:30 but I did not enter the play until 1:30 because I was waiting for the moving averages to catch up on the 5 minute chart. I had a nice M top formation, but I still waited until I was under the 20 ma on the 5 minute chart. If the market had rolled over sooner, I would have entered sooner. I was really looking for a pull back to the declining 20 ma but it just wasn’t going to happen so I took a GBI entry (green bar ignored). Price action slowly ground downward but never got going lower even thou the market started to sell off. Price action finally shook me out at a break even stop, disappointing because I had a nice 50 cent target below with a good reward to risk ratio. Oh well, a profitable day with my other trade in TGT and that’s it for me today another green day 🙂

STI 01032013

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QQQ update and TraderHank’s play in TGT

Posted on January 3, 2013 by TraderHank

The Q’s opened with a small gap up this morning and sold off during the first 5 minutes and setting the low of the day by 9:35 am @ 67.00 where the market triggered the first 5 minute buy for the day and the Q’s rallied into 10 am reaction time setting the high for the day so far at 67.31. Since, the market has pulled in and triggered a 15 minute buy at 11 am and has now broke through the high of the day and is trading around 67.34 area. My first play was a 5 minute buy in TGT with the market near 10 am reversal time. TGT put in a nice bottoming tail near the rising 20 ma on the 5 minute chart. Text book play, enter over the high of the bottoming tail bar and COG, stop at the low. Price action was just a grind upward and with one Risk unit in profits, I sold 1/2 of my shares at the first 5 minute bar break and finally trailed out of the play at the 20 ma break on the 5 minute chart. I could have replayed the play after the 5 minute triggered again, but I find it hard to continue long going into lunch with an expected pull back or fade in the market over lunch. I’ll look to take target again long on the 15 minute chart after lunch if it sets up.

TGT01032013

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QQQ update for Thursday, January 3rd 2013 and Daily stock picks

Posted on January 2, 2013 by TraderHank

After a huge gap up in the QQQ today, the market set the low of the day at lunch time and powered upward taking out the high of the day by closing at 67.21. For tomorrow in the QQQ, I’d look to buy the first 5 minute buy triggered or a sideways base breakout at or near 10 am reversal time. If we happen to gap up again, what for the pull back and buy trigger at or near the $67.00 area at 10 or 10:30 am reversal time on the 5 or 15 minute chart with a long target at $68.30 area. If we happen to gap down to major support which would be the 66.50 area, I would look to play the next higher low long off the 2 minute chart. If we gap below this area and continue lower I would wait for the first 5 minute sell in the market to go short. The 60 minute chart is very extended and a sharp sell off would not surprise me with a lower target area of $65.00.

QQQ01032013

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01/02/2013 15 minute buys, but wait for the W bottoms

Posted on January 2, 2013 by TraderHank

I did not suspect the huge gap up in the market today, but with Washington’s continued involvement with taking from the haves and giving to the have not’s for no other reason than to be fair, we will continue to have huge swings in the market which can be excellent moves for the Day Trader. I was right about two things and that is we had a narrow range day of trading which usually comes after a wide range bar on the daily chart and the 2nd thing was that we would see an hourly buy sometime during lunch or early afternoon which we did see. I had a nice short today in NOV and could have replayed it short until the market had bottomed for the day. This is hard to keep replaying something in the opposite direction of such a bullish gap in the market where we had gaped over the pivot highs made back around December 20th. I had a hard time wanting to play long over lunch or afternoon with such a large gap. My only interest was if the market would sell off in the afternoon since price had hit major support within the first 5 minutes of the day. The real strategy for a long today would have been to play the hourly buy as the market had triggered. Patience is to wait for the 15 and 5 minute time frames to line up at the same time or like today, wait for the W bottom on the 5 minute time frames confirming that the low of the day indeed had been hit in the market before going long.

qqq01022013

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QQQ update and TraderHank’s short play in NOV

Posted on January 2, 2013 by TraderHank

The QQQ gaped up huge this morning taking out the last pivot high from December 19th and setting the high for the day by 9:35 am @ 67.10, then retested this area again near the 10 am reversal time. Now the market is drifting lower and is currently at 66.61 and is looking for the bottom of the day. My first play was a 5 minute low play in NOV which had been rallying for the last 7 hours prior to price gaping at the open above its high set on December 20th, and setting today’s high of 70.21 in the first 5 minutes of trading. As price took out 4 lower pivots and with the last 7 hours of bullish market action, the gap up was definitely novice in nature, and could be looked at as a bit climatic, this is the reason I shorted the 5 minute low. Price dropped nicely but I was only able to pull 1 1/2 Risk units out of the play before price corrected and put in a 5 minute buy setup at the rising 20 ma. The play had huge potential but with the market’s bullishness, NOV was due to rally as it did before drifting sideways. I did have one add and reduce area, I accidentally bought 8 times the amount of shares that I had intended on but the play worked out nicely profitable even thou I’m a bit rusty from our recent Holiday. Here is the chart for my play in NOV…

nov

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QQQ update and TraderHank’s stock picks for Wednesday, January 2nd 2013

Posted on January 1, 2013 by TraderHank

On Monday the QQQ gaped down to Thursday’s low of 63.60 area of major support and set the low of the day in the first 5 minutes. Price then powered upward setting the high for the morning just after 11:00 am where price started to move sideways, finally moving up and out at 12:30. Over lunch the Q’s tested minor support twice and continued upward at 14:00 only to close near the highs of 66.24 @ 66.12. For Monday, I’m expecting a narrow range day so be careful, take your profits sooner then later. I’d have a hard time taking along first thing and will be looking to play a short once the 2 minute uptrend in the Q’s has ended. If the market happens to gap down, I’d look to play the first 5 minute short that triggers in the market with a target area of 64.66. As mentioned I’m expecting a narrow range day between the high area of 65.30 and the lower area of 64.66, if we happen to break out of this price area a trader could look to play the first 5 minute buy or sell that occurs. My bias is long on a pull back and I’d be looking to play the hourly buy setup once triggered sometime during lunch or early afternoon.

Longs:

CREE – Daily Buy Triggered

HAL – Daily buy Triggered

STI – Daily Buy Triggered

ANF – Daily Buy Triggered

QQQ01012013

Posted in Daily Analysis, TraderHank's Stock Picks | Comments Off

Pivot High

QQQ update and TraderHank’s Play in XOM

XOM