The Fluid Trader

An Individual’s View on the Markets

February 27th, 2008

QQQQ Recap, 02/27/08

The QQQQ traded above the Pivot Point for most of the day today.  We saw a downward gap that was eventually faded within the hour to be met by a double top to see prices fluctuate down and then up.

Let’s take a closer look:

qqqq_5min_080227.png

  • Price Gapped down at the open of the session to be faded within the hour.
  • After the gap fade, we see price consolidate laterally for a bit to break out upwards.
  • Immediately after the break, we see a double top form.
  • Price fell past the Pivot point to bounce back upwards.
  • We end the day with a Bear Flag but with price above the previous close.

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Thursday, 02/287/08, for QQQQ to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 44.14
  • Support 1 = 43.82.  Support 2 = 43.35
  • Resistance 1 = 44.61.  Resistance 2 = 44.61

Here’s a quick look at the Daily chart for the QQQQ:

qqqq_daily_080227.png

As we look at the daily charts for the QQQQ, we see that price is still consolidating in a triangular way and it is getting closer to a breakout.  It will be interesting to see where price will go from here.

Let’s keep an eye on the Pivot Points tomorrow for the daily action and let’s look at the key level of about 44.5 for a breakout upwards and 43.5 for a breakout downwards.

Until tomorrow, becareful out there and trade safely!

February 26th, 2008

ETF Recap, 02/26/08

Today was surely a day where the bulls came out to play. 

DIA:

We had a strong upward momentum today in price where we could have run with the bulls for most of the day and would have made a nice trade.

dia_daily_080226.png

  • The DIA traded flat for the first hour & half where it had a lateral consolidation.
  • Price brokeout upwards.  It was a nice ride for anyone who went long with the bollinger band squeeze and breakout trade.
  • Price formed a bear flag between 2PM-3PM.
  • Price dipped a little to close higher for the day.

SPY:

SPY had a similar looking chart to DIA.  It was a nice run up by the bulls today which allowed for us to have a nice trade.

spy_daily_080226.png

  • Price traded in a lateral fashion with a lateral consolidation.
  • Price broke out upwards at around 10:50AM.
  • A Bear flag formed between 2PM-3PM.
  • Price slipped at the end of day to close higher.

QQQQ:

The Q’s had a gap to open the session which was filled when price confirmed and uptrend.  Price continued trading upwards until the last hour of trade.

qqqq_daily_080226.png

  • Open with a gap down.
  • The gap was filled and Uptrend was confirmed.
  • Price continued driving upwards and formed a bear flag from 2PM-3PM.
  • Price dropped but closed positive for the day.

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Wednesday, 02/27/08, for QQQQ to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 43.97
  • Support 1 = 43.46.  Support 2 = 42.86
  • Resistance 1 = 44.57.  Resistance 2 = 45.08

It was apparent that the bulls won the session today.  We did have a little bit of weakness at the end but the majority of the day did work out some great trades.  We did break out of the triangular consolidation (upward breakout) in the Dow and S&P 500 in the daily charts as my previous post indicates.  Lets see what happens tomorrow to see if this upward momentum continues.

Until then, be safe and happy trading.

February 26th, 2008

Upward Breakout!

Today we see the Dow and S&P 500 continue their break out of their consolidation with an upward momentum. 
DOW

The Dow Jones Industrial broke out of its consolidation yesterday with an upward thrust.  We continue that breakout with low volume today and as you can see with the chart below, the price bar is completely out of the consolidation today. Let’s see if this breakout continues tomorrow for more confirmation. 

indu_daily_080226.png

S&P 500

The S&P 500 also broke out of its channel with average volume.  The breakout occurred yesterday and continued today.  Like the Dow, we should wait until tomorrow for more confirmation if the breakout is real.

spx_daily_080226.png

Nasdaq

The Nasdaq continues to trade in its triangular consolidation.  It looks like it will continue building pressure for a day or so and break out soon.  Let’s keep a close eye on it.

compq_daily_080226.png

I would like to wait 1 more day to see if the breakout is a true one and if it does continue tomorrow, then I will feel that it is more confirmed for the DOW and the S&P 500.  We still are in a consolidation with the Nasdaq but we should be able to see what will come of it soon. 

Signs of a upward breakout is good and welcomed by the bulls.  Let’s see how this pans out!

Becareful out there!

February 23rd, 2008

We had an interesting week in the 3 indexes where we saw up and down days forming a triangular consolidation on the daily charts.  We did see slight gains in the Dow and S&P 500 and a slight loss in the Nasdaq.  Let’s take a closer look.

Dow Jones:

Daily:

The Dow Jones Industrial index continues its triangular consolidation as it builds more pressure.  You can see that price is still contrained in the triangle and it is closing.  It’ll be interesting to see where we fall next week in terms of this price pattern.  The sentiment of the index remains bearish with the moving averages showing the 20 MA below the 50 MA, all of which is below a now descending 200 MA.

indu_daily_080224.png

Weekly:

As we zoom out to see what is going on the in the weekly price action of the Dow, we see that the index had another slightly up week.  Volume is dipping as price is still in a somewhat lateral trading range (starting to create an ascending triangle).  The 20 MA just crossed below the 50 MA going downward.  We are still in a fairly new confirmed downtrend.  Let’s watch how price will move next week and to see if an ascending triangle is being formed.

indu_weekly_080224.png

NASDAQ:

Daily:

The triangular consolidation continues to form in the index.  Price is building more pressure in this condolidation and we’ll see what will happen when it does breakout.  Overall, we still are very bearish with the moving averages showing the 20 MA below the 50 MA, all of which is below a now descending 200 MA.

compq_daily_080224.png

Weekly:

As we take a zoom out, we see the Nasdaq had a small loss this week.  We are still in a newly confirmed downtrend but we seem to be trading in a lateral fashion with price breaking below the support and volume is descending.  The 20 MA and the 50 MA have crossed each other towards the downside.

compq_weekly_080224.png

S&P 500:

Daily:

The S&P 500 is still forming the Triangular consolidation and like the other indexes, the price is building much more pressure.  It will be interesting when we see a breakout.  We are still very bearish with the moving averages showing the 20 MA below the 50 MA, all of which is below a now descending 200 MA.

spx_daily_080224.png

Weekly:

The S&P 500 was able to manage a gain this week from the previous week’s close.  We see price forming more in an Ascending Triangle and the volume descending in the previous weeks.  We are looking bearish in this timeframe with a newly confirmed downtrend and the 20 MA crossing below the 50 MA.  The 200MA is still continuing its ascent, however.

spx_weekly_080224.png

We saw gains for the week in the Dow and S&P 500 and a loss in the Nasdaq.  Notice that the daily charts are continuing with the triangular consolidation and a new ascending triangle forming in the Dow and S&P 500 with a lateral consolidation continuing to form in the Nasdaq in their weekly charts.  We should see a breakout happen sometime this week! Stay tuned and find out!  In the meantime, here is a summary:

Intermediate Trend:
Dow - Down
NASDAQ - Down
S&P 500 - Down

Long Term Trend:
Dow - Down
NASDAQ - Down
S&P 500 - Down

Be careful and Trade Safely Tomorrow!

February 22nd, 2008

ETF Recap, 02/22/08

Let’s take a look at the ETF’sfor today.

DIA:

The DIA continued its downward Trend and traded in a lateral consolidation for most of the day to breakout upwards to close with a positive.

dia_5min_080222.png

  • Price continued its downward consolidation that started yesterday.
  • This was met with a lateral consolidation that lasted for the better part of the day.
  • Price broke furiously upwards out of this consolidation with large volume and leveled off at close.

Price was consolidating for most of the day and wasn’t doing anything exciting until the end of day where there was a massive buying power to end the day.  It will be interesting to see what happens on Monday.

SPY:

SPY had a similar configuration of DIA where the downward trend continued meeting the lateral consolidation to have a super breakout towards the end of the day.

spy_5min_080222.png

  • Price continued its downward trend from yesterday.
  • We see price consolidating for most of the day in a lateral fashion.
  • Price Broke out upwards with a vengence as if it didn’t want to be held down!

Like the DIA, price didn’t do anything exciting today until it broke out at the end of the session to close with a positive.

QQQQ:

We saw the Q’s continue its downward trend to consolidate and close higher.

qqqq_5min_080222.png

  • Price continued in its downward consolidation that started yesterday.
  • We then have price moving in a lateral consolidation for most of the day.
  • We see price breakout upwards to close higher than yesterday’s close.

The Q’s followed the patterns of the previous ETFs and had a huge burst of buying pressure at the end.  Let’s see what Monday has in store for us!

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Monday, 02/25/08, for QQQQ to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 43.32
  • Support 1 = 42.95.  Support 2 = 42.23
  • Resistance 1 = 44.04.  Resistance 2 = 44.41

So we had a bland day of channel trading until the end where we had a burst of buying energy.  It will be interesting to see what happens on Monday!

Be safe and happy trading!

February 21st, 2008

ETF Recap, 2/21/08

We saw steady less volatile day with price pointing downward for the day.  Let’s take a closer look.

DIA:

We saw the DIA start with a Gap up that was faded early in the trading session.  We then saw a steady downtrend to have it close lower than the previous day’s close.

dia_5min_080221.png

  • We had a gap up that was faded within an hour’s timeframe.
  • We have a confirmed downtrend that met a bear flag.  The price fell right after the breakthrough.
  • We see price consolidating until the end of the day where price tagged the resistance levels in the last bar.

Its a possibility that the consolidation will continue for a little to break through or we may open with a gap tomorrow.  Let’s tune into tomorrow’s price action to see where we go from here.

SPY:

This chart is very similar to the one we see for the DIA.  We have a Gap that was faded early which was met with a downtrend.

spy_5min_080221.png

  • We see a Gap that was faded early in the session.
  • We confirm a downtrend which was met with a bear flag.
  • We have a long consolidation for the rest of the day and then we see price tag the resistance line at the end of day.

The consolidation is quite a long one and will probably be broken soon (if not by a gap then a breakthrough).

QQQQ:

We had a big gap at the beginning of the session where we met a double top and prices fell from there.

qqqq_5min_080221.png

  • Price had a gap up at open.
  • A Double Top formed where price met a downtrend.
  • We had several bear flags that formed and price confirmed its bearish sentiment after the formations.
  • Price ended the day in a bull flag formation. 

Let’s see what happens tomorrow!

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Friday, 02/22/08, for QQQQ to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 43.78
  • Support 1 = 43.09.  Support 2 = 42.65
  • Resistance 1 = 44.22.  Resistance 2 = 44.91

I will only be providing Pivot Point analysis on the QQQQ as I favor this ETF over the others and trade it more. 

It was interesting how the last few days we had clearer signals and less volatility.  It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow to end the week!

Until then, have a great evening and trade safely!

February 20th, 2008

A Look at QQQQ, 2/20/08

We saw the Q’s trading in a lateral consolidated fashion a couple of times during the day and then saw it break to the upside.  Let’s take a look:

qqqq_5min_080220.png

  • We see the first lateral consolidation and a bull flag within this wide range.
  • We see price break from the bull flag and the lateral consolidation to the upside around noon.
  • We see another Lateral consolidation during most of th afternoon and breaks upwards again.
  • We see a bull flag with a little break upwards in the last hour of trading.
  • The Q’s close was up from the previous day’s price close.

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Thursday, 02/21/08, for QQQQ to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 43.76
  • Support 1 = 43.43.  Support 2 = 42.91
  • Resistance 1 = 44.28.  Resistance 2 = 44.61

We started with a channel which broke upwards which led to another channel that brok upwards.  The price action today was quite manageable and less volatile.  There were clear signals and setups that would have been a profitable day for those who were looking out for them.

All in all, it was a smoother day for the Q’s.

Becareful out there and Trade safely! 

February 19th, 2008

A look at the Q’s, 02/19/08

We’ll be looking at the QQQQ today.  I have grown fond of the Q’s as its so cheap and very versatile in the way you can trade the ETF and its options. 

Let’s take a look at what happened in the Q’s today:

qqqq_5min_080219.png

There’s a lot to discuss for today.

  • Price opened with a Gap big gap up today.
  • Price started to descend a little and traded between Resistance 1 and Resistance 2 throughout most of the day today.
  • A double top was formed at resistance 2 and we saw a vicious selloff which filled the gap that happened at the open.
  • We see a double bottom form at the end of day with the final price bar what clearly the bulls won on high volume.

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Wednesday, 02/20/08, for QQQQ to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 43.84
  • Support 1 = 43.18.  Support 2 = 42.61
  • Resistance 1 = 44.41.  Resistance 2 = 45.07

It looks like the bulls had a good run at the end of the day for the Q’s and signs looked good to see a possible continuation of that trend (double bottom and the large volume and price bar in the last bar).  Look at the Pivot Point and the first support and resistance to see a clearer early trend.

Until tomorrow, trade safely!

February 17th, 2008

Slight Gains. Weekly Commentary, 02/17/08

We were able to eke out some gains this week and we see a consolidation continuing to form in the daily charts of the indexes.  Let’s take a closer look.

Dow Jones:

Daily:

The Dow Jones Industrial index continues its triangular consolidation as it builds more pressure.  The sentiment of the index remains very  bearish with the moving averages showing the 20 MA below the 50 MA, all of which is below a now descending 200 MA.

indu_daily_080215.png

Weekly:

As we zoom out to see what is going on the in the weekly price action of the Dow, we see that the index eke out some gains for this week.  The 20 MA just crossed below the 50 MA going downward.  We are still in a fairly new confirmed downtrend and we are still trading in a small lateral channel.

indu_weekly_080215.png

NASDAQ:

Daily:

The triangular consolidation continues to form in the index.  Price is building pressure in this condolidation and we’ll see what will happen in the breakout.  Overall, we still are very bearish with the moving averages showing the 20 MA below the 50 MA, all of which is below a now descending 200 MA.

compq_daily_080215.png

Weekly:

As we take a zoom out, we see the Nasdaq had a small gain this week.  We are still in a newly confirmed downtrend but we seem to be trading in a lateral fashion.  The 20 MA and the 50 MA have crossed each other towards the downside.

compq_weekly_080215.png

S&P 500:

Daily:

The S&P 500 is still forming the Triangular consolidation and like the other indexes, the price is building pressure.  We are still very bearish in the market with the moving averages showing the 20 MA below the 50 MA, all of which is below a now descending 200 MA.

spx_daily_080215.png

Weekly:

The S&P 500 was able to manage a gain this week from the previous week’s close.  We see price continue to form a lateral trading range.  We are looking bearish in this timeframe with a newly confirmed downtrend and the 20 MA crossing below the 50 MA.

spx_weekly_080215.png

We were able to see gains for this week on the 3 indexes above.  Notice that the daily charts are continuing with the triangular consolidation on the daily charts and a lateral consolidation continuing to form in the weekly charts.  It will be a 4 day trading week next week and I’m interested to see if the pressure cooker of the consolidations will continue or if we will see a breakout.  Stay tuned and find out!  In the meantime, here is a summary:

Intermediate Trend:
Dow - Down
NASDAQ - Down
S&P 500 - Down

Long Term Trend:
Dow - Down
NASDAQ - Down
S&P 500 - Down

Be careful and Trade Safely on Tuesday!

February 15th, 2008

ETF Recap, 2/15/08

We saw a gradual downtrend in all 3 ETFs today with a slight burst of energy towards the end of the trading session. 

DIA:

The DIA gapped down and traded lower today in a lateral channel. 

dia_5min_080215.png

  • We had a downward gap at the open.
  • Price was trading between Support 1 and the drawn in support above throughout the whole trading session today.
  • Volume was a little higher than usual Fridays.

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Tuesday, 02/19/08, for DIA to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 123.19
  • Support 1 = 122.81.  Support 2 = 122.29
  • Resistance 1 = 123.71.  Resistance 2 = 124.09

QQQQ:

The Q’s had a gap down with a few bear flags and traded mostly down today to gain some strength at the end of session.

qqqq_5min_080215.png

  • Price had a Gap Down at open
  • We see 2 Bear Flags form with a gradual downward trend
  • We see price forming a bull flag around 2:00+PM and see a gradual rise to the end of the session.

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Tuesday, 02/19/08, for QQQQ to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 43.75
  • Support 1 = 43.52.  Support 2 = 43.22
  • Resistance 1 = 44.05.  Resistance 2 = 44.28

SPY:

Similar to the other 2 ETFs, there was a Gap Down in SPY and a Bear Flag that started a Downward trend.  We saw price pick up some speed and ended up higher at close of day just below yesterday’s close.

spy_5min_080215.png

  • Price gapped down at the start of the day.
  • We see price forming a Bear Flag quickly to start a downward movement.
  • We see the end of a Bull Flat right around 1:00PM.
  • Price gradually moved upwards to close right below the previous day’s close.

Pivot Points and Price Targets (Supports and Resistance) for Tuesday, 02/19/08, for SPY to look out for:

  • Pivot Point = 136.17
  • Support 1 = 132.33.  Support 2 = 129.53
  • Resistance 1 = 138.97.  Resistance 2 = 142.81.

We see similar patterns occurring across the ETFs where there were both Bear & Bull Flags forming throughout the day.  The ETFs somewhat formed a “Saucer” with price and it will be interesting what the next day of trading will have for us.  It will be a long weekend so who knows what that will do on Tuesday!

Be Safe and have a great 3 day weekend!