The Turtle Follower

At a Crossroads...never thought hitting the PUBLISH button would be so hard...THANK YOU (ST)

There comes a time in everyone’s life that a crossroad presents itself. Two directions, distinct and exactly the opposite from each other that will shape their lives for years to come. I am at one of these crossroads at this point in my life. Starting the year my unannounced resolution to myself, besides getting in better shape and trying to be a better trader was very simple.

Live in the moment 

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Just a Quick Note Tonight $RSG #trading #trendfollowing $STUDY (ST)

Sorry, but I don’t have time tonight to go through the markets and what they did or didn’t do.  Essentially the commentary from this weekend still holds true. I did want to let the Premium Members and tonight all of my readers know of a new trade that triggered today in ….

  [TRADE ALERT] Republic Services Group (RSG)

From the chart you can see RSG has been consolidating on the weekly and the…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] A Bounce, Not the Bottom #stockmarket #trading $STUDY $ES_F $SPX (ST)

We had a nice bounce on Friday after most of the week was lower.  Not surprising considering traders were looking to most likely limit risk over the long holiday weekend in the US.

Here are my thoughts for where this market is headed.

  If you would like to see how we are managing our positions you can sign up for your FREE 30-Day…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Not A Lot to Smile About $ES_F #stockmarket (ST)

We are in a CRITICAL situation here.

Once again, the S&P 500 futures (ES) have tested the 1800-1810 level.  This is the line in the sand.  I have to believe the bulls are running out of ammo to fight this war and it is becoming more and more likely that a breakdown is coming.

If we get a breakdown here’s what I’m thinking.  This is a monthly chart of the S&P (futures, not cash but they are…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Bulls Are Fighting Tooth and Nail

Talk about swings.  The markets trader lower for most of the day and then 3:30 EST came and we rallied 25 points on the S&P 500 futures (ES_F) in a matter of 30 minutes to essentially hold the 1850 level once again.

Technically we closed around 1848 but you can see another larger wick below this key support level is in place.

The problem now is it makes the next direction to take a little…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Don't Read if You Are Expecting Rainbows and Unicorns #stockmarket #trading (ST)

Well, that sucked.  Lots of potential setups and breakouts that looked great on Monday are all looking like false breakouts now.  Many names are hitting their stop levels and punishing traders.  It was a bull trap if I ever saw one.

Going forward, we are in for some serious market weakness IMHO.  All the sectors, except the Utilities (XLU)look ready to move lower and the markets are not exactly…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Backwards Day, Are the Markets Setting Up for a Break? #stockmarket #trading (ST)

The markets closed fairly unchanged today after being all over the map.  Take a look at the 1 minute chart for today.  It was almost a 30 point range on the futures.  Where did it close? Essentially right in the middle of the days range.

Here is what that looks like on the daily chart.  A clear as day doji pattern.

No side outweighed the other today and that is evident in the candle.   This…

[TRADER PROFILE] Meet Jon Boorman, Founder of Alpha Capture @jboorman $STUDY #trading #trendfollowing (ST)

As you evolve as a trader you begin to slowly craft your own system. In doing so, you typically take a little from System A and a little from System B and come up with something that works for you.  When I was learning to trade I had the basics, I understood what kind of trader I wanted to be but I was missing that key influence that pulled it all together.

Then I met Jon Boorman of Alpha Capture

[TRADER PROFILE] Meet Jon Boorman, Founder of Alpha Capture @jboorman $STUDY #trading #trendfollowing (ST)

As you evolve as a trader you begin to slowly craft your own system. In doing so, you typically take a little from System A and a little from System B and come up with something that works for you.  When I was learning to trade I had the basics, I understood what kind of trader I wanted to be but I was missing that key influence that pulled it all together.

Then I met Jon Boorman of Alpha Capture

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Insert Market Headline Here $ES_F #stockmarket #trendfollowing (ST)

At this point, I am running out of catchy things to say to grab your attention.  Besides the first few days of the year, this market has chopped around for about a month now, trapping bulls and bears alike.

This is a very difficult environment to trade in, especially if your timeframe is longer than a day or two. Keep in mind we are still within the move from Friday so this could be just a bit…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] The Nasdaq Outperforms Today $STUDY #trading #stocks (ST)

Not really much to discuss in terms of the markets today.  The only one worth speaking about was the Nasdaq (NQ_F).

This one continued it’s upper momentum and now appears to have put in a bit of a reversal signal.  As we discussed over the weekend, I am not too giddy on the markets considering all the underlying sectors appear very weak.  This may be more of a short covering bounce then a true…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Not a Lot of Conviction as We Dig Deeper $STUDY $SPY $DIA $QQQ $IWM #stockmarket (ST)

We had a strong move on Friday due to Japan’s rate cut taking interest rates negative.  I’m no economist, but that doesn’t seem like a good plan going forward.  Either way, its a news event that lead to a significant rally in the markets.  Everything seems right with the world again, right?  Not so fast.  As we dig deeper into the markets and sectors, I have some doubts about how far this rally…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Choppy Action Continues

Quick PSA…last night, I sent a very important email.  Please take the time to send some feedback.  If you didn’t receive it let me know and I can resend it.  Thank you to those who took the time to send comments, it is greatly appreciated.

Now on to the markets…

The markets continue their recent choppy action.  This is evident in both the chart of the SPY and the futures below.

Notice the range…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] A Sneak Peak at My Process

No market commentary tonight because the market will do what it wants and right now it wants to just chop around.  One day higher, the next day lower, so on and so forth.  So instead of boring you with my “market commentary” which of late might as well be throw a dart and see what sticks, I figured I would let you in on a Premium action.

Below are the two videos I delivered to members tonight.…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] The Start of a Bounce & a BIG F@$& You to the Snow!!! #trading #stocks $STUDY (ST)

Between the 30″ of snow that fell the past few days and the limited availability of thinkorswim platform this is going to be a short chartless update.  My brain is fried, my back is on fire and honestly the market is the least of my priorities right now.  Needless to say, the market will be open on Monday and here are a few key thoughts.

First of all, the market finally held a gap move to the…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Support Continues to Hold on the $SPY $ES_F #trading #stocks $STUDY (ST)

We’ve been watching the 1850 level in the S&P 500 futures for some time now.  This is definitely becoming a line in the sand for the bulls and bears.  Above this level the bulls still have a shot, below it and the bears are firmly in control.

Here are the levels shown on the SPY

It is very possible yesterday’s low marks a double bottom and a retest of the August lows.  This idea is a little…

[NIGHTLY RECAP] Markets Still Under Pressure #trading #stocks $STUDY (ST)

I apologize for not putting out a video update this weekend, but as you can see it wouldn’t have been much different than the previous ones.

The markets have continued to have these large ranges right at what I believe to be key support.  Similar to an up-trending market or stock, the longer we stay in the range, the easier it is to accept.  Usually a consolidation would lead to a trend…