I am looking at trading the mini s&p. I am trying to determine if when I trade could make a difference. My practice is to look and wait for a few specific simple setups and then make a trade. My first rule of trading is "Never make an unplanned trade". I always know my entry point, stop, and target. In order to manage risk properly in this particular market I prefer to look at situations that seem less volatile. For example if the stochastic is below 20 and macd is positive and the candle pattern looks good, a buy is very strong. But if things are just hovering back in the middle, or moving back and forth rapidly for 1/2 points, it seems to risky for an individual. Fine for a computer. I'd like to play where there is some larger move potential. It makes the risk management a little easier. One might think that patterns will occur randomly throughout the day. But that might not be true. It is possible that statistically the market trades differently historically when Asia opens as opposed to the middle of the day in New York. I am not saying it does. But it might. So is there anyway to determine when the best times to trade in a 24 hour market are? Or to gather some historical data to examine statistically. I don't think getting up to check the chart every hour is a practical solution. Thanks for any replies
The ES contract is not a true 24 hour market, since it is a derivative of an index representing the broad stock market, which is open 6 1/2 hours per day. I consider what happens during ETH more "random" than what happens during RTH, but I know many people who trade ETH very successfully and yes, there are patterns. You simply need to do your own research and come to your own conclusions. If you want to succeed in this business, you can`t have anyone else do your thinking for you. But these are my two cents based on the fact that ES is not a true 24 hour market as opposed to foreign exchange for example.