Thank you neke. Exactly my point. The declines are much easier to trade. It's a shame that the average investors have never done any shorting. I mean literally in my circle of friends and such I don't have a single person who has ever done any shorts. And god help you when you try to explain to them how a short works.
Not sure if I completely agree with your logic, but allright. As traders, I think the most recent past and current market conditions should be our major concern and focus of attention. One could also argue that your sample now includes the financial crisis which in my opinion is not part of normal market conditions.
I'd start by measuring the median daily rate of change (%) up over the last 20 years Vs the median daily rate of change (%) down.
The down side speed is significantly greater, not in distance but in speed - this is not even debatable since its such an obvious fact when you look back on the charts a few years using candles. Traders can make large profits far faster from shorting than from the long side. The most common trading mantra spoken is ' the market takes stairs going up and the elevator going down'. Up legs are shorter and have much slower congestion zones - looking like stairs.
Shorts deliver faster but smaller total profits, while longs deliver slower but bigger total profits. If you would only go short you would have made the last decades less money then when you would have gone long. The net accumulation of profits is the difference between the starting point and the end point. And as we are already decades in a bull market the totality of the longs deliver more profit. The S&P500 went from below 500 to over 2400. So the net move was +1900 points long.
It's gotten way off topic of where I started. I never said I only go short. My only point is that for scalping on a daily basis shortd give faster more predictable results. Obviously I go to whatever The opportunities are
I was not pointing at you. Just wrote down my reflections. I confirmed that shorts go faster like you posted.
Okay, small sample to prove my point.... 2 trades today... a short that made my +3 target and a Long that also made my +3 target. The short took 15 minutes from entry to exit... the Long took 90 minutes. That's what I am talking about
%% Good points on panic buys, Lindq; i was thinking of trend days[panic buys] but your points still stand LOL