Trading Review for 4/5/2000

Successful trading is about knowing where to look for opportunities, knowing when to seize the opportunity (or not), and managing their risk to maximize their profits.  To that end, let's take a quick look at today's trading action relative to the top Trade Prospector signals:

Volatility - Volatility Compressions, Trading Range Patterns, and Multiday Patterns

TXCC Traded within its boundaries - no trade today but look for possible movement in the next day or two
HGSI Triggered long trades twice at its 86.9 upper breakpoint boundary - first for up to 6 points and then for up to 15 points
QQQ Traded within its boundaries - no trade today but look for possible movement in the next day or two
MIPS Traded within its boundaries - no trade today but look for a possible entry in the next couple of days
AXP Also traded within its boundaries - no trade, keep an eye on it
ORCL Triggeed longs at its 79.6 upper channel boundary for up to 1 point, then triggered shorts at its 79.4 lower channel boundary for up to 3 points

Momentum - Breakthrough Momentum and Momentum Intersections

VIGN Gave a long entry signal at its 168 continuation boundary twice - once for up to 2 points and then again for up to 16 points
JNPR With its downward momentum apparently waning, it gave long entry signals at its 213 failure boundary several times - first for up to 8 points, then for up to 5 points, then for up to 6 points, and finally for up to 24 points - the late afternoon selloff bounced off the 213 support level again and finished strong - look for further upside tomorrow
AETH No trade entries but look for possible entries the next couple of days
CHKP Triggered longs at its 168.3 continuation boundary for up to 2 points, but the general weakness then demonstrated as it oscillated around that boundary for the next two hours  did not bode well for the stock - traders should have stood back waiting for a clear signal of strength and not played around during those two hours - the stock eventually sold off 11 points by the close.  But keep an eye on it, if the broad market (especially the Nasdaq) rallies, look for possible further upside above 168, if the broad market does poorly, look for a continuation of the late afternoon selloff.
ITWO Buyers and sellers fought it out at the 105.2 continuation boundary ultimately giving up to 4 points to longs on the first surge, and then 4 more on a second surge, and then after further oscillation at the boundary gave up to another9 points before suffering from late afternoon depression.

Trading Channel - Channel Breach, Near Trading Channel, and Near/Narrow Channel

ETEK Offered no breakout trades, but directional swing traders had numerous opportunities to pick up profits trading the 190.8 swing price level
BRCM Gave up several quick shorting opportunities at its 207.2 lower channel boundary, the last of which for up to 10 points.  Directional swing traders also had several large point gaining opportunities at the 192.5 swing price level
AFFX Gave two long entry opportunities at its 141.3 upper breakpoint - first for up to 7 points and then for up to 13 points.  Directional traders were long almost from the open as the price moved up through the 124.4 swing price
MLNM Triggered long trades twice at its 136.4 upper breakpoint - first for up to 3 points and then for up to 31 points - directional swing traders were long from 119
TERN Gave multiple opportunities to garner points on the short side as it broke through its 187.4 lower channel boundary several times - directional swing traders were long almost from the open at 172.5
QCOM Gave multiple shorting opportunities at its 142.2 lower channel boundary - it also gave numerous trading opportunities for directional swing traders using the 139.4 swing price

Envelope - Breakout Patterns and Envelope Patterns

MYPT After a quick spike at the opening it sold back tor about its previous close and there petered out and after hanging there for hours it started trending up - it came within about 1/2 point of its 26 failure boundary but couldn't penetrate it - watch to see if it finally does so and makes a good upward move or whether that resistance level will hold and it resumes its downward trend
WWCA Triggered failed upward continuation long entries at its 44.3 boundary for up to 3 1/2 points
PHA Gapped down at the open but held support at its 54.7 failure boundary - its gasping rally attempt was over 2 points short of its continuation boundary and it was listless most of the day until the end of the day when it again tried to rally but again failed below thelevel of the previous intraday rally attempt - look for further selling if the 56 1/2 resistance level continues to hold - if that level is tested again and holds, shorting as close to 56-56 1/2 as possible and risking 57 could be an excellent reversal trade - alternately wait for a downward breach of 54.7 - if the 56 1/2 resistance is taken out, look for a long entry at 58.6
BMY No trade entry - look for possible long entry above 66.6 and short entry below 61.8 in the next couple of days
MEDQ Gave a buy entry at its 32.5 entry point but traders closed out by the end of the day for fractional losses.  Look for opportunities tomorrow or Friday - long at 32.5 or short at 29.3

Knowing where to expect, and capitalizing on, reversals is a key profit making tool in the daytrader's arsenal.

Whipsaws can happen in choppy markets and traders should always step away from the trade or give themselves more distance from the original entry boundary when a reversal occurs (such as adding one point to the reversal side of the trade entry boundary) to reduce the effect.  Losses are a fact of life, but they can be easily kept to a minimum while maximizing your profits with proper stop management.

Recognizing that a mere one point per day profit when trading 500 shares (or 5 option contracts) is $120,000 per year, you  begin to understand the potential for profit in applying Trade Prospector's information.

Copyright 2000, by Third Millennium Trading.  All rights reserved.  This information is proprietary and reserved for the personal use of Trade Prospector users and registrants.  No other use is permitted without the express authorization of Third Millennium Trading.

Disclaimer: Third Millennium Trading does not recommend the purchase or short sale of any stocks.  Trading should be based on your own understanding of market conditions, price patterns and risk.  The information presented here is designed to contribute to your understanding. Controlling risk through the use of protective stops is critical (more).