I am trying to find a method to scalp SPY in the morning, starting around market open, for about an hour (I am not a fulltime trader, so this is all I can do for now). Any suggestions? What I've been trying is this: 25 ticks chart with 24 period sma. Go short or long on the pullback to the sma, with a 0.1/share objective and 0.1/share stop loss. Should get me couple of trades in an hour. I doesn't work that great...
the ma's in the morning are not reliable. The only first hour so called system I know of that sometimes almost always works for a good while is enter on stops above and below and hang on through hell and get out at highwater. This method usually goes 100% for many many days, and then it goes 0% for many days. If you are trading 500 shares, you might have more opportunity in ES e mini. The first hour before regular trading can be very good. Much better than that casino in the first 30 min after the open. I would not be discouraged. Focusing on a narrow time frame around the open will be profitable if you work on it the other 23 hours in the day. Many have tried. So have I, but not hard enough to succeed. I think the floor and big money still have the edge on the open. Thou shalt not muzzel the mouth of the ox that trades the floor. (I mean "treads the field")
Since I can only trade for about an hour in the morning, I've been thinking to gap trading too, but for whatever stocks are making the news in the morning, not for SPY.
yeah gaps, I know many trade them. Some insist they must be filled. But then what are all those overnight trades? Non events?
Yes, I agree....it seems that ES wakes up around 7am and has a good move before the open. I do most of my gap fading on NQ or QQQ. Need that crazy volitility for it to work!
no lie, the other day, the numbers came out at 8:30 est, and 7 points up in about a minute, then the slow fall back to about even for the open.
Yes, gap fading is not for the nervous Got to keep your eye on the ball and your finger on the exit trigger