MTT - Analysis Tools Flashcards
What are internals and what do they tell us?
The language of the market
What’s happening now and what’s about to happen, from a factual standpoint
What happens if we don’t understand the market language?
We’ll be able to get by, but we’ll be at a disadvantage
What’s mandatory in any trade?
A pre-planned exit strategy
What are the 2 things to remember when it comes to analysis?
- More data does NOT equate to better decisions
- The markets spend A LOT of time meandering back and forth
What are the 3 tricks with internals?
- look at just a few of them
- recognize the patterns
- track the extremes
What makes understanding internals deeply so valuable?
Plenty of traders who only have the vaguest idea of how to interpret the tools, and larger amount of noobs that have no clue they exist. This is a large pool of cash ready to be plucked
What are the best kind of move to catch?
Short covering rallies. Shorts get spooked, new longs coming in, all against the backdrop of “bad news”
It’s rare for the moving avg on the 5 min $TICK chart to cross the +500 or -500 levels. What does this mean?
There’s sustained pressure in the markets
It’s rare for the moving avg on the 5 min $TICK chart to cross the +500 or -500 levels. What does this mean?
There’s sustained pressure in the markets
What are the 2 most important internals?
$TICK and $VIX
What’s the favorite day for extreme moves?
Monday
What does the $TICK measure?
The cumulative buying/selling pressure and conviction for the NYSE and other equity markets
Summarizes number of stocks on NYSE that are increasing vs number decresing in price since the last quote
Most accurate reflection of immediate mood of market - party, chill, panic
There’s $TICK readings for other indexes, they move the same, watching one is easier than watching 6
What does the $ADD measure?
Number of advancing stocks less the number of declining stocks
What does the $VIX measure?
Market’s expectation of 30 day volatility - aka “The Fear Index”
What does the $PCVA measure?
Combined index and equity put/call ratio
How many put options are bought relative to call options
volume for puts / volume for calls
What does the $VOLSPD measure?
Difference between amount of volume trading above or below yesterday’s closing prices
What’s the 1st rule when watching the ticks?
Any tick reading in between –400 and +400 is noise and should be ignored.
This means that there’s no conviction in the market.
When is it time to start paying attention to the $TICK?
Any reading over +600/ under -600
Larger the number, more intense the pressure is that’s being applied to the markets
If a spike lasts a few minutes, eases back, then hits a new higher level, then the conviction is real
What’s the 2nd rule using the ticks for day trading?
If I’m long intraday and my stop hasn’t been hit and the markets generate a tick reading of –1,000, bounces back to –500, then rolls over and makes a new low, I’ll close out my position at the market.
Similarly, if I’m short and the markets generate a tick reading of +1,000, pulls back to +500, then pushes up to new highs, and my stop hasn’t been hit, I’ll close out my position at the market.
Getting out of trades before stop points is huge for risk/reward ratio
When is it never okay to exit a trade?
When we think we’re wrong - it has absolutely nothing to do with what might happen next
Measurement tools are what we follow
What’s the one thing that keeps most people form making a living as a trader?
They don’t manage their exits.
They want to be right and make money on the day.