Pillars, have you looked at the delta of Asian futures like Nikkei and Kospi ? Would be interested to hear from you if delta can be used on these markets, too.
I like to use simple divergence between the NYSE TICK indicator and price swings. I've attached a file showing it in action on 12/28/06. Seems to work best at certain times of the day ... like swings during morning session and afternoon session. I use this for entry and then targets are based on support and resistance levels.
I just look at the candlestick formation, although I have oscillators such as slow stoch's I only use it as confirmation. I like ema's and sma's in stocks and emini's. Only price action and slow stoch's in forex. OOhh.... and long term news.
How do you use candlesticks with consistency for any type of short term trade? Candlestick patterns are arbitrary based on the time frame you use. I find they are best in longer time frames, but in a time chart, the candle ends when that specified time has elapsed, giving a signal only because of time.
Divergence. During the day I might try scalping, but my scalping can last 15-30 minutes, I never go for frequent frenzied daytrading. If I scalp 2-3 times a day that's fine, and if I find a swing trade then I am better off not scalping. Anyway, I watch for divergence between price and an indicator like RSI or MACD. I have found those to be the most reliable for me but only for scalping, something I do only if I cannot find a swing trade (preferred). http://lauristonletter.blogspot.com/
In a former life I was a floor trader - fast forward decades - and now I scalp Crude Oil futures in front of the screen for a few ticks all day. Sometimes I trade ER2 if trading there is hectic. See my thread:Some Observations on Scalping Crude under Energy Futures. Each market has a different personality and one should use tools that are suitable for the particular market and one's on personality. For Crude Oil I use very sensitive constant volume bar charts with volatility bands and oscillators on different scales. My charts are constructed in such a way that they help me to detect price hesitation or exhaustion at the extremes of moves that last a few minutes or at support resistance and I fade the market. With that setup as a background I focus on reading momentum rather then the order stacks, in fact I have that turned off, and I do not use candle charts because by the time I decipher it the market is somewhere else. The key to success in scalping is not so much the tools (I could use Stochastic, RSI or CCI interchangeably as my oscillator)but some understanding of the dynamic nature of price movement and the particular market. The indicators don't give me a signal but help me decide what condition the market is in. Because of the compressed time frame I can't possibly read all chart formations or relationships therefore, beside getting it done, I am more focused on "am I doing the right thing?". For ER2 I have A/D line and Tick overlayed in addition to the CL chart described above. The best time to trade ER2 is the chaos right after the opening when the charts are not even updating fast enough. BTW, I consider trading ER2 in an out quick during conditions like that scalping. If one sits on trades for minutes it is really very short term trading or daytrading but not scalping. Regards, GC