JUst wondering what you guys look at and how you guys prepare for your intraday trading? Do you look at the weekly monthly, yearly charts to get a better feel of the days trading?
Hi cashclay,
An interesting question and one which - I imagine - will elicit very different answers from every trader. I think the two key drivers - or common denominators that will unite most answers - will be the
market(s) traded and the
beliefs the trader has about the way the markets function.
Markets
The market traded is likely to influence the preparation a trader does (or doesn't) undertake.
For example, equities traders will take a keen interest in the sectors that the instruments that they trade are in, along with the relevant equity index. E.g. someone who trades Google will follow the tech sector and the Nasdaq.
Someone who trades futures - such as the ES - will probably take a good look at the cash index (S&P 500) to see if it offers any interesting clues about the day ahead.
Beliefs
Primarily, this boils down to whether the trader is purely TA based and only ever looks at charts, or whether they factor fundamentals into their trading. At the moment, there is little doubt that just about every market is influenced to some extent by the Greek debt crisis. So, some traders will study what's going on there and analyse the reports coming out of Brussels for some clue that is positive or negative and then position themselves accordingly.
Most traders, especially intra day traders will be aware of scheduled news announcements for the day ahead. This is regardless of whether they are TA based traders or fundamental traders as, for example, an unexpected nonfarm payroll number can send the markets crazy - albeit not for very long - usually!
Tim.