A Professional Approach to Trading Futures

[steven46]

What an interesting Holiday Session

As mentioned previously I am monitoring only and that is a good thing
because here in "Sunny" California USA, it is stormy, windy and several power
outages this morning. My appliances and computer system are running on
an emergency generator powered by natural gas. My Internet has been in
and out and I am using my Iphone "hotspot" as my Internet connection now.
Wonderful

The day is going about as expected, low volume, not much early follow through
but enough that adventurous traders have reason to be happy

Posting a chart that shows the following (just the broad outlines)

1) during London, typical "drift" higher, and then in the last auction, the market
"Sweeps" the range to the downside. This tells experienced traders that there will
likely be a reversal at the open
2) At the open the anticipated reversal happens and for those of us with the requisite
experience (and the ability to execute), it is simply a matter of assessing whether you
want to take risk on a day like this. (I would not)
3) For those who DO want to accept risk, you wait for the first "Clean" pullback (clean p/b on
my chart) to test one or more key references, you look at volume and you ask yourself
"do I feel lucky" (a Clint Eastwood reference). IF you do (feel lucky) long entry and monitor
volume.
4) The rest of the session is about recognizing repetitive behavior (that is an important part
of what I teach) and you hold as long as volume continues in your direction.

Good luck

Postscript

Observant folks may notice the text "Add on Reclaim". Look carefully. Price breaks above
the previous VAH (Value Area High), then retests. Volume comes in and price takes off to
the upside. This is a "reclaim" and institutional algos are triggered by this behavior. It is
a high probability long entry and it also means that there is likely going to be at least
some follow through (which was not expected in this shortened session). This has to be
a nice surprise for professionals.

 

[steven46]

For Interested persons, this is the final version of a system built especially for
struggling traders. I believe it to be as "simple" as possible, while still providing
the critical data necessary for success.

From this point forward, when I transition to LiveStreaming via Zoom I will be
presenting an entirely "institutional" viewpoint, and with that a 1) different way of looking
at market structure (known as "Regimes") 2) different terminology, and a 3) different way
of identifying opportunity based on the Time Based influence of Economic News.

Attaching a chart that illustrates a few of those differences, and also for those who are interested
in making this their profession, I recommend books by James Dalton including "Mind over Markets"
"Markets in Profile", and "Markets & Momentum".

Good luck

 

[steven46]

Hello London & Euro Traders
Current time in The City is 2:43am

We are posting this composite chart, showing the locations of our Anchored VWAP
and Volume Profiles. We use this preliminary data to prepare to resume trading the
New York Session of the S&P 500 Futures on Monday 29th Dec

Observant readers may notice that we have extended lines from the HVN (high volume nodes)
If you follow those lines until they meet price, you will notice that at these intersections price starts
to trend. We would be looking for possible entries in the same direction upon retest. We would consider
these relatively high probability entries.

A secondary consideration is economic news, and although the data will be light, there will be a few items
whose impact may produce a negative response. We will return to comment on that later.

Good luck

 

[steven46]

As with many such efforts, my attempts to LiveStream met with challenges. So I will
start by using Zoom meetings, and issue invitations on a "first come first served" basis
to watch my trading during the NY Session of the S&P 500 Futures which will start at
2:30pm London Time. Interested persons should make themselves known in time for
the open. I will provide a limited number of credentials to enter the Zoom Meeting.

Attaching the Markup that I begin with as well as a summary of the high impact economic
reports scheduled for release as follows

The release times for the high-impact reports in London time are:

• Pending Home Sales (November 2025): 3:00 PM GMT
• Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index (December 2025): 3:30 PM GMT

• If both reports come in near their consensus estimates (around +1.0% for home sales and similar levels for Dallas Fed activity), the S&P 500 futures are likely to see minimal movement or continue their current positive drift, as the information is already priced into the market.
• If the reports beat consensus (stronger economy):
  • Stronger than expected housing data or a significant improvement in the Dallas Fed Index could initially boost the S&P 500 futures, as it signals a resilient economy.
  • However, persistently strong economic data (amidst current high valuations and above-target inflation) raises concerns that the Federal Reserve might maintain higher interest rates for longer, which could eventually put downward pressure on stock futures.
• If the reports miss consensus (weaker economy):
  • Weaker than expected data, such as a decline in pending home sales or a deeper contraction in manufacturing, might initially cause the S&P 500 futures to dip, signaling potential economic weakness.
  • This could lead some investors to expect more aggressive interest rate cuts from the Fed in the future, which might lead to a rebound later in the session, particularly in rate-sensitive sectors.