I use www.briefing.com $25 a month with a Free trial I believe. I use the Platinum service with Live Play feature. I check the post market from previous day and verify what stocks are trading UP/DOWN. I then set up my Level II screens and my 1 min and 5 min charts. Around 9am before the market opens they list stocks that are Gapping UP/DOWN. I then compare with Extended hours from previous day. Some are still there, others are new. I then decide which 8 or 10 stocks I want to trade. If I don't have enough Gap Ups then I will also Fade the Gap Downs, although I'd rather not. Nice thing about Gap Downs is you don't have to wait for Uptick rule in Gap Ups to fade. I don't trade NYSE because I am too impatient. I hate those F'n Specialist. I can do my entire setup in about 10 min if need be, although I usually spend about 90 minutes reviewing the market beforehand. Mac
Thanks Mac for sharing. So are u basically looking for extended stocks at the opening via a gap up? What exactly triggers you into a trade and how do u place your stop? Thanks
Ok guys, my mailbox is almost full LOL. I'll continue to post my trading style, but please read every post I've already posted. Many of you are asking questions that I have already answered or talked about in my thread. Mac
I had two questions and one thought for you, at least based on the trades you posted this morning. First do you have much difficulty getting a short off while waiting for an uptick? What are you doing for an initial stop when the first bar is really large (50 cents to $2) as it seems on most of your plays the stop is the high of the previous bar? The other thought was on your plays. I know earlier you said you never look to go long your plays in the morning. It might be something you want to investigate, but setting up rules like you have now for shorts. In your case you are taking advantage of crappy gap ups. In the other case you are taking advantage of real gap ups based on demand imbalance. For instance you can go long when it breaks the high of first 5 min or high of first 15 min. That way you might be able to maximize the money coming from the same plays you are already looking at. It would have worked well with the BIIB play this morning. Just a thought. Maybe you already investigated the results and did not see much there.
Hey Mac: I love this thread and it caught my eye because your style is very similar to mine. I was also looking at a lot of the stocks that you were but I don't strictly confine myself to fades. In actuality I do the opposite, I trade 5 and 15 minute highs expecting that the gap will hold and keep going. Both BIIB and LOJN were longs for me today that worked out well. One thing I think you should add to your arsenal if you don't already is tape reading. I don't use level II at all. I just watch the tape very closely in the first 4 minutes. I feel after years of practice that its very obvious if the first 5 or 15 min high is gonna break and keep going or fail. BIIB was screaming it today and it went $2.00, so was LOJN after that bullshit pullback at 10am. When they fiddle around at 9:45 - 10:00 am like that and go back to the highs its a no brainer to buy stop it there at HOD. Your style is valid and you should stick to it. Although I trade all day I notice that I never find same risk reward in afternoons and I cut my size down drastically at those times. best of luck to you and to others that are reading this thread who want to learn I suggest that you pay close attention to F's posts. Its REALLY rare on ET that someone flat out describes the recipe for making money verbatim in a post. 99% of what is on this site is worthless chatter.
19:02 After Hours Summary: CSCO down 4.0% on earnings report Companies moving in after hours trading in reaction to earnings: Trading Up: TMTA +22.6% (reported above single analyst est, beat on revs, sees break even or better cash flow in 2H); CHRD +12.9% (reported Q2 EPS); MAMA +6.7% (report Q2 results); CDCY +6.5% (reported Q2 results); SMSI +6.3% (beat by $0.01); ACTI +6.0% (beat by $0.03); GDE +4.7% (reported Q2 EPS); CELL +3.1% (reported Q2); GB +2.0% (beat by $0.06; guided FY05 EPS above consensus); AIG +1.9% (beat by $0.07)... Trading Down: HDTV -24.6% (missed by $0.02); ECST -24.2% (reported loss of $0.54); SRVY -19.2% (beat by $0.01; guided Y05 below consensus); ATAR -18.2% (reported $0.11 below consensus); SYMM -13.4% (beat by $0.01; guided below consensus); LGF -9.5% (reported a loss of $0.21); LOUD -10.0% (reported Q2); OPTV -9.5% (reported Q2, light on revs); SNDA -9.0% (missed by $0.03); TRDO -4.6% (beat by $0.01; issued Q3 and Q4 guidance); CSCO -4.0% (beat by $0.01, ex items); IPAR -3.5% (beat by $0.01; guided below consensus); PNRA -3.3% (reported in-line; guided ); DIS -2.2% (beat by $0.04, missed on revs)... Companies moving in reaction to news: AGI -8.0% (rescheduled earnings to the week ending 8/26); GILD -4.2% (results from second formulation of fixed-dose combination of Truvada, Sustiva did not demonstrate bioequivalence); NIHD -3.9% (announced $300 mln convertible notes offering).
so it's mostly stocks that have had earnings you're fading than? I am curious about how you actually initiate. you wait untill after that first five minute bar and put stop at new highs? as a side note if you are only doing 1000 share positions and you want an immediate execution on NYSE you can use the NX function if he is showing any size on the bid or offer and it is instant execution. Of course the stock has to be thick enough to have bids and offers on the book and sometimes he'll lock it up on you anyways, but I know in nasdaq the bids and offers can all just disappear in an instant so both markets can occasionally kick you in the gut.