Real time momentum of Dow Jones etc

[rentose]

Hi,

I have a system which trade the Dow which I'm working on. I normally cap my wins at 50 points, but have seen sometimes that it will extend strongly past my sell order. My system doesnt set a close out trade at specific technical levels, so for example its not set to close out at a level based on a tech indicator, its more like once my system says buy or sell, I set it at 50 points from my buy or sell. Its not typical, but seems to work. But I would like to maybe measure the strength of the move I have bought into (my system tends to get me into a move that is underway already hence the small 50 point trades I am looking for), so that if things are still moving strongly I can maybe let it run a bit.

I was thinking things like market breadth where broad based moves might make it more likely the move is strong? Any other ideas? The Dow doesnt seem to have volume indicators (not on the charts I am using for my origial signals) so I'm not sure what alternatives there are ?

Thanks

Maccy

 

[timsk]

Hi Maccy,

. . . I was thinking things like market breadth where broad based moves might make it more likely the move is strong? Any other ideas?

Essentially, you appear to be asking for ideas on how best to exit winning trades? It's a reasonable enough question, but the answers are pretty much infinite. Without knowing more about your current practice - i.e. your trading objectives and timeframe etc., it's going to be tough to suggest something that complements what you're doing. If you look into market breadth - then this thread by Isatrader is worth reading: Market Breadth My personal favourite indicator is $Tick which is very good for trading the Dow intra day, IMO.

. The Dow doesnt seem to have volume indicators (not on the charts I am using for my origial signals) so I'm not sure what alternatives there are?

The Dow, like the S&P 500 is an index which is based on the performance of its constituents; it's not a tradable instrument in its own right. If you want true exchange traded volume, you could use the YM or the ES, which are the e-mini futures contracts based on the Dow and S&P 500 respectively. Alternatively, track DIA or SPY which are the respective index exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Tim.