Day Trading Strategy using Crude oil Inventories

Our day trading strategy always uses the dollar index to give us easy clues for the best trading opportunities, and this morning was no different.

We had a day filled with news, and the most important news was crude oil inventories at 1030am EST today.  We know how to trade this report, so we were ready for it.

Today at 800am EST the dollar index responded to news from the ECB regarding interest rates on bad debt, and the dollar index tumbled considerably lower.  This also caused the other markets we trade to rise higher.

Crude, Euro, gold, all trading at their range highs.

There are 2 important things to consider when something like this happens.  First, don’t trade until you see the market start to regain some consistency in movement.  Second, we know that ‘big drops mean big pops’ so we expected to see the dollar index come right back up, and the other markets drop back down to their initial trading ranges.

Sure enough, after a few moments of patience the dollar index started to rise off the new lows, and we were ready to profit from selling the highs on gold, Euro, and crude oil.

1030am this morning we had crude oil inventories, which came out with higher inventories and higher demand.  We know the DEMAND number is the most important aspect of the news, so we bought crude oil futures when the sellers failed to break major support, and the buyers pushed price above the recent swing high. 

day trading strategy using crude oil inventories and price wedge

Three Phases of Day Trading Crude oil inventories

day trading strategy using crude oil inventories BASICS

Trade the News Market Internals update at 12:00ET

Dow +414 S&P +42 NASDAQ +89

***Economic data***

-(CL) Chile Oct Unemployment Rate: 7.2% v 7.4%e
- (US) MBA Mortgage Applications w/e Nov 25th: -11.7% v -1.2% prior
- (SA) South Africa Oct Budget Balance
-(ZAR): -9.9B v -17.0B prior; Trade Balance: -9.6B v -2.0Be
- (US) Nov Challenger Job Cuts Y/Y: -12.8% v 12.6% prior
- (PD) Poland Nov NBP Inflation Expectations: 4.2% v 4.2% prior
- (US) Nov ADP Employment Change: 206K v 130Ke
- (CA) Canada Oct Industrial Product Price M/M: -0.1 v +0.3%e; Raw Materials Price Index M/M: -1.2% v 1.0%e
- (CA) Canada Gross Domestic Product M/M: 0.2% v 0.3%e; Y/Y: 3.02.7%e; Q3 Quarterly GDP Annualized: 3.5% v 3.0%e

- Global equity markets are surging this morning in the wake of coordinated action by leading central banks, along with other positive developments. In an echo of moves made during the crisis of 2008, the Fed, ECB, Swiss National Bank, the BoE, BoJ and the Bank of Canada are reducing the cost of dollar swap lines to 50 bps/OIS, in hopes of boosting liquidity in the European financial system in particular along with extending it into 2013. The risk-on environment this morning indicates that markets see the move as aiding confidence, however there are many who question the efficacy of the move. In an op-ed piece, PIMCO's El-Erian warned that the fear is that central banks are acting because they feel that they need to once again pre-empt yet another set of potential disappointments. Note that the coordinated move comes after markets reacted with skepticism to the EU's formal proposals for the EFSF, including lower leverage and an opaque scheme for insuring bond issues. Berlin and Paris aim to outline proposals for closer fiscal integration before the critical EU summit on Dec. 9 that is increasingly seen by investors as a last chance to avert a breakdown of the euro zone.

In other news, China's PBoC cut its Reserve Requirement Ratio (RRR) by 50bps, highlighting earlier rumors that its upcoming PMI data would remain in sub-50 territory. In the US, the ADP report was very strong, raising hope for a solidly positive November payrolls report on Friday. The November Chicago PMI report beat expectations and hit its highest level since April, and the key new orders subcomponent surged to its highest level since March. Note also that there was an unexpected surge in Oct pending home sales, on a m/m basis. Metals prices have jumped higher on sharpened risk appetite, with gold, silver and base metals up sharply. WTI crude is around $101.50. Treasury prices are under pressure with the US long bond down 2.5 points. The US benchmark 10-year yield is climbing back towards 2.1%, the highest level in nearly two weeks.

- Yesterday after the close, Standard & Poor's cut ratings on 15 big banks, including all the leading US players and several overseas firms. S&P said that the move was due to a revision of its internal models, not any change in the condition of the banks. Nevertheless, analysts expect the move to impact bank funding costs. Note that shares of the leading US banks are up sharply hand-in-hand with markets, with Morgan Stanley leading the field up 6%. US equities are broadly higher across the board, with few exceptions. RAH is down 3% after missing consensus targets in its Q4 report. - With central banks pulling out all the stops, risk appetite is having its usual effect on FX markets. The greenback is seeing broad weakness versus major pairs as a result of the central bank action. EUR/USD surged immediately following the announcement, to test above 1.3530, while USD/JPY is probing 77.30.

***Looking Ahead***

- (BR) Brazil Central Bank (COPOM) Interest Rate Decision: Expected to cut the SELIC Target Rate by 50bps to 11.00%
- 11:00 (CO) Colombia Oct Urban Unemployment Rate: 9.9%e v 10.2% prior
- 11:00 (US) Fed to buy $8.00-8.75B in Notes
- 14:00 (US) Fed's Beige Book - 14:00 (US) IMF's Lagarde
- 14:00 (AR) Argentina Oct Construction Activity M/M: No est v 4.0% prior; Y/Y: No est v 11.1% prior- 15:30 (MX) Mexico Oct YTD Budget Balance (MXN): No est v -179.0B prior

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day trading strategies dollar index, crude oil, russell, euro and gold futures

We begin our day with the dollar index, which is vital to our day trading strategy with its negative correlation to the markets we trade most.

The Dollar Index 89 range chart shows a bull price channel, we've tested the trigger zone and moved higher, only to FAIL at the 79.515 levels, and now we are coming back down.  this shows us a FAILURE of the AB=CD Pattern, so we view this as a very bearish sign for the dollar index.










Dollar just tumbled after news from the ECB gave confidence to the euro, and this now makes us sit on hands as we wait for the short term trend to settle down a little.  We dont know WHERE and WHEN the dollar will settle down, but we know we need to be patient.

















Crude Oil trading in a price wedge, outside day, and around the big round number of 100.00.  We need to FADE the breakouts with a price wedge, so look for the buyers to fail and use wave failures and 2step patterns to sell these highs of the range.  If price keeps going higher I will buy a pullback above 102.00 which is the Double-Bottom Extension.  Beware the fake-out breakout at these highs considering we have a price wedge.


















Crude Oil 89range chart ALSO shows us an AB=CD Pattern from the most recent move higher, and we use this along with the Double Bottom and the Price Wedge to see major resistance overhead, and the price wedge always says to FADE the breakouts so im looking to SELL at the highs of these ranges.














Crude Oil 21range chart shows us the same bull price channel, however we will also use this double-top pattern as long as the price does not make new higher highs.  This double top tells us to buy in the zone below us, and if price keeps going through the zone to sell down to the Double-Top Extension Support which is also the lows of the bull channel.

Gold Futures trading at the highs of the bull price channel, and the highs of the major trigger zone.  we also see a double-bottom on the 89range chart which allows us to use the MAx Extension as resistance as well.  The Dollar is dropping today, so beware trying to buy into the resistance overhead, look to sell the highs, and if price keeps going higher buy pullbacks as resistance turns into support.

Gold 34range chart shows us this big move up, and we use the major swing low and the minor swing lows to find the 'trigger zone' for each move.  these zones are targets for the short trades, and then if we bounce off the support in the zone we then buy it above the zone, or sell if we break new lows below the zone.

Russell Futures trading in a bear price channel, and recently broke ABOVE the trigger zone from the recent swing highs and lows. this move above the zone is bullish, so short term buying opportunities above the resistance overhead, however, the higher percentage trades will be selling at the resistance overhead. If we rise higher im selling at channel highs, and if we fall lower im sitting on hands until we get below the zone, and then sell down to the PHOD and to the PLOD as final target for shorts.

















The 34range chart on the Russell Shows us the sell zone from the double-bottom below us, and the max extension above us, so we can consider this area to be a transitional-area, looking for the market to chose where it wants to go next.  As price rises im short term buying above 725.5 but looking at the selling opportunities as the higher percentage trades.

















The Russell 21range chart shows us a TON of useful information for our day trading strategy.  This big move up has given us lots of clues.  If price rises im selling 725.5 and then being very careful and buying a pullback above that resistance.  Final target going long will be 729.7 in the reversal zone from the AB=CD Pattern.  If price falls higher risk selling opportunity below 720.0, and then a higher percentage selling opportunity below 716.7 as we sell below the trigger zone.  And then if price keeps falling we can sell retracements down into the next 'zone' below us, take profit at the 'zone, and then look to sell off below the zone once again.

Day Trading Strategies for Dollar Index , Euro, Crude, Russell and Gold futures

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The James' Report:  Day Trading Strategies for Professional Traders

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Around the Globe this morning:

-  S&P Cuts 15 Global Banks

- Markets not impressed by EU Ecofin agreement on EFSF leveraging

- French Fin Min: President Sarkozy to unveil EU Treaty changes proposals on Thursday, Dec 1

-EFSF's Regling: Leveraging up bailout fund will take time

-Ecofin agrees On Greek, Irish Loan Disbursements; IMF still needs to approve

- Economic data in Europe continues to highlight 2-speed recovery; Germany unemployment improves; Euro-Zone unemployment at record EMU level

- As expected,  European shares snapped the three-straight sessions rally pressured by declining banking stocks. S&P downgraded several big European and US banks by one notch as part of the overhauling of its criteria. The move could raise the already soaring funding costs.  Late last night, Eurozone finance ministers decided to leverage the EFSF in order to extend help to Italy and Spain should the countries need it. They also agreed to insure the first 20-30 percent of new bond issues for countries having funding difficulties and to create co-investment funds to attract foreign investors to buy euro zone government bonds.But the leverage amount fell significantly short of the €1T anticipated by the markets. EU leaders noted that the EFSF could be leveraged up to €250B and further increases would depend on market conditions.

- The USD found some traction during the session aided by numerous factors including S&P's rating action on 37 financial institutions, Italy market regulator Consob criticising the EBA's bank criteria, which "risks triggering a credit crunch" and renewed concerns that China might face a hard economic  landing.

- The British public sector workers began a massive 24-hour strike voicing their opposition towards pension reforms. Over 1,000 rallies, and up to 2 million public sector workers are expected to participate. Some press sources have put today's strike efforts as the biggest day of industrial action since the 1979 Winter of Discontent. Various union leaders have continued to support the strike efforts, while government officials including the Chancellor of the Exchequer said the strikes will have harmful effects on the economy.

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Today's Economic News:

Our day trading strategies today will depend on the news, and today we have opportunity all morning in the US Session.

We begin the day today with 815am EST ADP Employment Report, which is a preview of Friday’s Non Farm Payroll report, and then into 830am for Productivity and Costs, which will hopefully give us some early trading opportunities.

After we get through he 930am EST US market open, we will grab the Mini-Russell Futures and  wait for 945am EST Chicago PMI, and 1000am EST Pending Home Sales. 

Today is Wednesday so we have inventories for crude oil futures at 1030am EST today, so remember to sit on hands trading crude oil futures from 1015 to 1035am today making sure not to over-trade too close to the news.  I try and wait patiently for a few moment after the news comes out to see the overall market reaction, and then I jump into the trade.

After 1030am EST today we expect volume to slow down.  200pm EST today we have the Beige Book, which are the notes used in the Fed Meeting, so traders will be watching that report, and we expect volume to drop shortly after 1100am EST this morning because of that news this afternoon.

Also, today is a Wednesday so we are doing members-only after 1130am EST today as we review the automated trading systems in our private trainings.

insert news

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Price channel day trading strategy

One of the easiest price structures to find on a chart is a price channel, and we use price channels with a simple day trading strategy to take only the highest percentage trades each day. I use the trend-channel drawing tool within NinjaTrader 7 charts to help me define the channels with ease.

The most important thing about a price channel is the directional bias it gives you.  A bullish price channel has higher highs and lower lows and it tells you the buying at support will be the highest percentage trade at that time.  The opposite is true for a bearish price channel with lower highs and lower lows, we know to sell at resistance for the highest percentage trades each day.

I use a simple day trading strategy for price channels, which tells me to buy the lows, sell the highs, avoid the middles, and never try to force buying at the highs or selling at the lows.  In my experience there is nothing worse than trying to buy the highs of a bullish price channel, or trying to sell the lows of a bearish price channel.

Another aspect of my day trading strategy using price channels is to look for FAILURES.  A failure is when price tests the lows of a bull price channel and then keeps moving lower, through the support levels at the lows.  When we see a price channel fail we always want to try and FADE THE BREAKOUT, which means if a bull price channel fails through the lows, I am going to buy at the next level of support below it, with the goal of bringing price back UP into the price channel.  The same is true for the opposite side.  If price is moving higher into the highs of a bear price channel and price keeps going through the highs, I will wait to sell at the next level of resistance overhead, with the goal of price falling back into the price channel below.

Price channel day trading strategy using Price Structure

Price channel day trading strategy with price wedge

Price channel day trading strategy with Mini-Russell Futures

Price Wedge Day Trading Strategy earns profit on Euro currency futures

Today we used a simple day trading strategy that uses the dollar index along with the euro currency futures and crude oil futures to hit our daily  goal of 30 ticks per contract. 

If I had to chose a price structure to trade for the rest of my career it would be an ‘inside day price wedge’ and we got exactly that today on the euro currency futures which made it easy to trade with confidence. 

The day began with the dollar index trading at the highs of a price wedge, and then we checked the euro and found the Euro was at the lows of its price wedge.  We used the negative dollar index correlation to anticipate that this Euro was going to rise when the dollar index dropped off the highs, and it certainly did. 

The dollar index provides a lot of great clues for our day trading strategy, and we use the dollar index at major turning points in the market to increase the odds of success on each trade we take. 

Crude oil futures gave us bullish price channel and we bought a pullback using our 34-range chart.  Price action was very sloppy on crude oil futures today, and it took me a few ‘swings’ to get the long trade to work out, but in the end, it tested the 100.00 big round number like we assumed it would. 

Price wedge day trading strategy Basics

Price wedge day trading strategy uses Dollar index Correlation

Price wedge day trading strategy for FAILURES

Trailing Stops & Trade Management Day Trading Strategy

One of the most important aspects of a successful trading strategy is trade management, and most new traders fall victim to using the wrong type of management style for their specific type of trading strategy.

Trailing stops are one aspect of a day trading strategy that most new traders learn very early in their career, however, trailing stops are NOT the holy-grail of trading like the marketers would like you to think.

What is a trailing stop?  This is a stop loss order that is ‘trailed’ closer to the current price to ‘lock in’ profits or eliminate risk on a particular trade.  For most people, the idea of a trailing stop is easy to understand, and most of us (myself included) have tried this many times, and had trouble making it work in a real-time trading environment.

The idea is simple with a trailing stop.  If you are long, you move the stop higher as price rises, and if you are short, you do the opposite.  This will lock in profit, lock out risk, and make you more money…right?  Not so fast.

Have you ever been in a trade, only to have a stop that is too tight, and then you get stopped out, only to see the trade keep going for more profits?  This isn’t fun, and its caused mostly by a trailing stop.  The key to successful trade management day trading strategies is using a stop loss that is tight enough, but not too tight.

The best way to use a trailing stop in my opinion is to use the levels of support and resistance in the market tell you where and when to move your stop. For example, if you are long, and price moves higher, once you see a ‘swing low’ you can then move your stop UP just below the swing low.  The same is true for the short trades, just the opposite.

In my personal day trading strategy, I like to use a ‘profit trigger’ which ultimately works like a trailing stop, but it locks in profit when the trade has gone a certain number of ticks in my direction.  For example, If I am long on crude oil I may designate 20-ticks as my profit trigger, and when we get to 20 ticks of profit on the trade, the stop loss order is automatically moved to a specific point, such as your entry point, to remove all the risk.

Once my trade has achieved its profit trigger, then I will begin to trail my stop, using swing highs and lows, and the trigger lines on my charts.  I do NOT use an automated trailing stop loss, it will not be accurate enough to properly manage the trade.  I trail my stop MANUALLY at the best locations that our trading strategy has designed for us.

Our members are trained on using profit triggers, trailing stops, and every aspect of a professional day trading strategy.

Trade management day trading strategy for different traders

Trade management day trading strategy with Automated Trading Systems

Trade management day trading strategy with Fast Track Method

Trade the News Market Internals Update at 12:00ET

Dow +59 S&P +7 NASDAQ -1 

***Economic data***

- (SP) Spain Oct YTD Budget Balance: -€40.1B v -€37.0B prior-
- (CL) Chile Oct Industrial Production Y/Y: -0.8% v +4.1%e; Industrial Sales Y/Y: -0.6% v +2.0%e
- (CL) Chile Oct Total Copper Production: 466.8K v 436.7K tons
- (CL) Chile Oct Retail Sales Y/Y: 8.6% v 8.7%e
- (US) ICSC/GS weekly chain store sales w/e Nov 26th: +1.7% w/w; +4.0% y/y
- (HU) Hungary Central Bank raises the Base Rate by 50bps to 6.50%; as expected
- (CA) Canada Q3 Current Account (BOP): -$12.1B v -$11.1Be
- (US) Weeky Redbook Retail Sales

-US equities made some modest gains this morning after the open of trade, helped by some positive economic data. The November Consumer Confidence reading was much better than expected, with the expectations component looking especially strong. This comes after a very strong opening to the US holiday shopping season. In Europe, finance ministers are meeting under the auspices of the Eurogroup, following the reports that the EFSF leverage may be much lower than expected. Initial commentary has made it clear yet again nothing new has been agreed upon yet, with the German/Dutch camp still opposing much of what periphery members are trying to pull the negotiations toward. WTI crude futures are near yesterday's highs, briefly trading just shy of the $100 mark. US Treasury prices are modestly lower which has brought the 10-year yield back above 2%.

- In the equity story of the morning, American Airline parent AMR filed for Chapter 11 this morning in New York, making it the last major US carrier to undertake restructuring under the protection of bankruptcy in the last ten years. Recall that UAL did it in 2002, and Delta and Northwest both undertook this process back in 2005. AMR indicated that it has around $4.1B in cash and short-term investments, which will be more than sufficient to pay for operations and forestall the need for DIP financing. New CEO Thomas Horton said that the move was needed so that AMR could address its cost structure and labor costs. "Our very substantial cost disadvantage compared to our larger competitors, all of which restructured their costs and debt through Chapter 11, has become increasingly untenable," he said.- In deal news, shares of Yahoo are up about 3% after the New York Times reported that a Silver Lake and Microsoft consortium was looking to acquire a minority stake in the company. There has been repeated press speculation about both of these names acquiring stakes in Yahoo in recent weeks. In addition, AOL's CEO said the company is not currently interested in acquiring Yahoo assets. In its quest to gain approval for its acquisition of T-Mobile, AT&T was reported to be in talks with Leap Wireless to sell a large part of T-Mobile's customer accounts. In other news, shares of Corning are down more than 10% after lowering its Q4 Gorilla Glass sales forecast and warning that its Samsung Corning venture is not expected to reach its volume targets in Korea.

- The euro spiked higher and then came off its best levels against the major pairs in the aftermath of the European auction results earlier today. The spike in euro followed passable Italian results and talk that Greece's next bailout tranche would be released shortly, plus some chatter that progress was being made on EFSF facility. But news that the ECB was unable to fully drain bond purchases swatted down the rally. The central bank drained only €194.2B of the €203.5B in bond purchases. Dealers guessed that the inability to sterilize results meant that the ECB has reached the limit of the bond purchases it can sterilize and might have to halt the program for the time being. Some dealers suspected that the central bank was now prepared to move toward quantitative easing. EUR/USD was hovering around 1.3320 by the mid-New York morning, off more than 100 pips from its best levels.

***Looking Ahead***

- 11:00 (EU) Euro-Area Finance Ministers (ecofin) meet in Brussels
- 11:00 (US) Fed to purchase $2.25-2.75B in Notes/Bonds
- 11:30 (US) Treasury to sell 4-Week Bills
- 12:15 (US) Fed's Raskin
- 12:30 (US) Fed's Lockhart to speak on U.S. Economy in Atlanta
- 16:30 (US) Fed's Williams
- 16:30 (US) Weekly API Energy Inventory data
- 19:00 (US) Fed's Kocherlakota speaks to Reporters in California
- 19:15 (CA Bank of Canada Dep Gov. Murray speaks in Plattsburgh, NY
- 19:30 (EU) Outgoing ECB member Stark speaks in Dallas, TX
- 20:00 (US) Fed's Kocherlakota Speaks on Monetary Policy at Stanford
- (NV) Netherlands PM Rutte and Foreign Min Rosenthal meet US President Obama

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Trade Management for different Day Trading Strategies

Trade Management for our Day trading strategies:

Our different day trading strategies have different ways to manage the trades.  Here is a breakdown of each.

Fast Track Strategy:

-      Stop goes at the previous swing high/low

-      My target goes at the next level of support and resistance

-      Very specific stop and target, and we do not trail our stop, we let it run.

-      Dynamic stops and targets, always different

 Scalping Strategy:

-      Stop is fixed @ 6-10 ticks

-      Targets are fixed @ +5/+10/+Runner

-      We move our stop to entry -5 ticks at first target

o Move stop to entry -0ticks at 2nd target

o Then manage the runner.

-      Static stops and targets, they never change.

Intra-day strategy

-      Uses the support and resistance in the market to plan our stops and targets

-      Stop goes at the recent swing high or low

-      Targets are at the next level of support or resistance

-      Manage the trade using your ‘trade-management-chart’

-      Trailing stop and a runner, seeking to maximize the profit per trade.

Swing Strategy

-      There is NO difference in the swing and intra-day strategies

-      The stops and targets are wider, but same principles

-      Will require overnight margin

day trading strategies for dollar index, crude oil, gold, euro and russell futures

The dollar index is an important correlation tool for us, and we use the DX to find the major turning points in the market, which will help us make educated trading decisions.

Our Dollar Index 89range chart shows us inside the range from Monday, at the highs of the bull channel, and most importantly, recently tested the trigger zone, and moving higher. This tells us there is a very high potential for the dollar to test the 79.530 area, which is rising dollar, which tells us to be selling the markets we trade most.











The Euro Futures 89range chart trading in a bear channel, inside the range from monday, and has recently tested the trigger zone resistance overhead.  This market wants to go lower, and if we break below the PLOD and the Dollar Index keeps rising, we will be selling retracements down to 3212 and 3142.  If price rises im selling the highs of the channel and the PHOD.  If price keeps moving higher through the highs of the channel we will only buy above 1.3445.

We move faster to the 13range chart of the dollar index, and we see a lot more detail in the price action.  We see a bear price channel, a price wedge, inside day, and we are in the middle of the channel, so beware.  We want to trade when the dollar index is at major turning points, such as the wedge highs and wedge lows.


















Very cool trading room!  thanks Steve for sharing!!



















The Euro 34range chart shows us a lot more detail, and we can plan our attack with more specifics.  as price falls im buying the lows of this price wedge, and then selling below the PLOD.  If price rises im selling the channel highs and then buying above the trigger zone above 1.3445


















The Euro 21 range chart shows us more details and we use this to plan our trading this morning.  As price falls with the dollar index rising we need to be careful selling short until we get below the 1.3273.  Buy the wedge lows as the higher percentage trades at this time.


















Crude Oil futures trading in a very common price structure, with a price wedge and inside the range from monday.  this tells me the personality traits that we will use for our day trading strategy.  Buy the lows, sell the highs, avoid the middles, and remember the dollar correlation is telling us to look for the dollar to RISE, so we can SELL on the crude oil.
















The Russell Futures 89range chart shows us bouncing off the trigger zone and max-extension support from the double-top, and then it FAILED above the PHOD.  The failure of the buyers above the PHOD tells us to sell the drop back below the PHOD. 

The Russell Futures 34range chart shows us a price wedge, and trading around the PHOD and the OPEN.  Buy the lows, sell the highs, and avoid the 700.00 big round number.


















Crude Oil 34range chart shows us the bull price channel, the double-bottoms, and the trigger zone.  If price rises sell the resistance overhead at 99.79, and then buy a pullback if price keeps going higher with the 100.00 as the target.  Then sell the wedge highs above the 100.00. If price drops selling the max extension from the double-bottoms, and price should come all the way back down to re-test the OPEN @ 97.65 area.

Day Trading Strategies for Euro, Crude, Russell and Gold futures

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The James' Report:  Day Trading Strategies for Professional Traders

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Around the Globe this morning:

- European shares were trading in positive territory, albeit cautiously due to possible rating agencies action in the Eurozone. After Fitch downgraded US's outlook during yesterday's session, an article from La Tribune reported that S&P may revise France's sovereign AAA rating outlook to negative from stable in the next 10 days. The rating agency declined to comment furthering no indication to its stand on France. The news comes two weeks after S&P rocked markets by circulating a supposedly erroneous email announcing that it had downgraded country's much-valued triple A rating. The anticipation of the EU leaders summit on December 9th has benefited the shares as investors hope for progress in the debt crisis. Unfortunately, details are sparse and the EFSF leverage range remains a mystery. Typical contradictory statements have abounded from the EU leaders with EFSF's chief Regling noting that the leverage cannot be in the range of 4-5x, the German officials saying that it would be around 3-4x and the Luxembourg Finance Minister lowering the range even further to 2-3x.   

- European Finance Ministers meet to lay ground work for the December 9th Leader Summit

- Fitch lowers outlook on US Sovereign Debt Rating to negative

-  France AAA sovereign rating might be put on negative watch 'Soon' by S&P

- Australia Mid-year economic review lowers revenue forecasts by A$20B over 4 years 

- Sweden Q3 GDP beats expectations

- Italy sells upper end of expected amount in its bond auction at record EMU yield

- Belgium sells lower end of expected range in its Bill auction

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Today's Economic News:

Our day trading strategies today will depend on the news, and today we begin with 900am EST Home Price Index followed by 930am EST US Markets Open, we will grab the Mini-Russell and then head into the 1000am Consumer Confidence Report before we head into the transition into Lunch around 1100am EST today.

The markets are still churning in Europe, so we need to also stay on our toes for any news coming out of the ECB or the FED, and remember to keep an eye on the dollar index correlation throughout the day.

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75% Winners SCALP E-mini ES with this automated trading strategy

Hi Guys,  we earned over 175 ticks of profit this morning with our simple discretionary trading strategy, but don’t forget that many of our members this morning earned over 75 ticks using our automated trading strategy, we call the ‘FLEX’

Automated trading strategies can be used for almost anything.  I can use this fully-automated trading strategy to take the trades, and manage the position for me automatically, or I can use this to get me into the trade, and then enable for discretionary trade management.

I can apply this automated trading strategy to any market I chose, and I can run this strategy on dozens of different markets, with hundreds of contracts.  I can trade as often, or as infrequently as I desire, and we can tailor this automated trading strategy to fit anyone’s goals.

Let’s take a look at the E-mini ES and see how this automated trading strategy works as a scalping system. My goal is always the same, $1500/month/contract, and you can the ES did exactly that even in these rough markets.

The e-mini ES earned $2,117.50 in the month of November, and this is using only 1 contract.

Remember the little things about this day trading strategy that REALLY add up.  First, we earned $2,000 per month per contract, that is awesome.  Second, we only paid $120 in commissions, you’re broker wont like that!  Third, 75% winning percentages, now we’re talking folks!!!

This automated trading strategy will earn you consistent profit, it won’t over-trade, or cost you too much in commissions, and you can count on 75% of the trades to be winning trades, making this a rock star automated trading strategy.

Here are the trades this automated trading strategy took, and you can see they arent ALL winners, but they are close!  Don’t forget, you can also manage these trades manually, locking in profit, managing a runner, or cutting losses early.

Don’t forget!  We train all of our members how to use this strategy, and we can apply this to ANY market you wish to trade.  The opportunities are endless with our automated trading strategies.

Automated trading strategy crude oil futures

Automated trading strategy euro currency futures

Automated trading strategy Mini-Russell Futures

Trade the News Market Internals Update at 12:00ET

Dow +301 S&P +36 NASDAQ +85

 

***Economic data***

 

  - Reports that France and Germany are working on yet another plan to bolster the euro zone is driving European and US equity markets higher off what many are viewing as at least temporarily oversold levels. After losing 4.7% last week, the S&P500 is up 3% in the early going. The new plans are anchored in plans for deeper economic integration and more central authority over national budgets, with official proposals to be released ahead of the key December 9th leaders' summit. Note that unconfirmed reports that the plan included a plan for AAA-rated euro zone members to launch common bonds were later denied. Also aiding sentiment is comments by leading German government advisor Bofinger, one of the so-called wisemen, who admitted in a weekend interview that the ECB needs to act as the euro zone's lender of last resort. 

 

In addition, the long-running political stalemate in Belgium may have begun to be resolved, following S&P's sovereign downgrade of the nation. Shares of the largest US banks are leading the rally, with Morgan Stanley up 8%, Citi up 7% and Goldman, JPMorgan and BoA up 5%. Shares of French banks are popping more than 10% in some cases. In the US, there has been much positive press about the record black Friday sales, although some analysts have pointed out that retailers drove volume thanks to steep, and expensive, discounting. Spot gold has popped back above the $1,700 level, up around $30 on the session, while WTI crude is at its highest level in a week, trading above $98. Treasury prices are under pressure and the curve has steepened.

 

The 10-year yield in the US is back above 2% while in Germany it remains near 2.3%.- The greenback took losses this morning on the rising tide of risk appetite, aided by the start of the holiday shopping season and optimism about Europe's latest plan of salvation. Month-end related USD-selling was noted as well. USD/JPY continued its drift towards the 78 handle as markets suspect the BoJ might take advantage of thin liqueidity conditions and perform anoth round of solo FX intervention. Sterling was off its best levels in the session as BoE's King commented in his annual report on inflation to the UK Parliament that the euro zone crisis was now threatening the UK economic recovery. King and other members of the MPC stated that UK would likely see flat growth over next six months. The BOE reiterated that inflation would dropped markedly in early 2012

 

***Looking Ahead***

 

- (EU) EU President Van Rompuy and EU's Barroso meet US President Obama in Washington DC

- 11:00 (US) NY Fed to release Q3 report on household debt

- 11:00 (US) Fed to purchase $4.25-5.00B in Notes/Bonds

- 11:30 (US) Treasury to sell 3-Month and 6-month Bills 

- 12:00 (FR) France Oct Net Change Jobseekers: +13.0Ke v +26K prior; Total Jobseekers: 2.797Me v 2.781M prior

Day Trading Strategies for Euro, Crude, Russell and Gold futures

We begin our day on a Monday morning, with the main focus of staying patient and putting together a day trading strategy that will wait for the news after 930am est, and use the dollar index correlation as our guide.

Im looking for major turning points on the dollar index for this trading strategy to work well.  My 144range chart will show me the BIG PICTURE so I can find the most important turning points on the dollar index.

Now we can move faster, looking for more clues to finalize our day trading strategy, so next we use the 89range chart.

The Faster timeframe Dollar Index 13-Range chart shows 2 big clues.  First, the outside day tells us to sell retracements, and second, the bear price channel tells us the sellers are there in charge.  We need to buy pullbacks as the dollar drops, and sell retracements as the dollar rises.

Crude Oil futures are rising up to 100.00 area this morning and this tells us we have two options.  Either keep buying pullbacks as price keeps rising up to 103.37 high, or sell the failure below 100.00 and bring it down down to 97.55.  The Dollar Correlation will be key to this day trading strategy this morning.

















We open our 89range chart on the crude oil, and we see a LOT more clues to work with.  We have the MAJOR trigger zone around 95.00 which was tested and held.  Now as price rises we're looking for clues to where the market wants to go next.  We're in the zone from the double-bottom around 95.15 and therefor we have the 'zone' which we are current within.  We want to wait patiently to see where price goes from here.  Above the zone we buy pullbacks up to 101.55, and if we drop below the zone we sell retracements down to 98.57 for the 89range trigger line support, and then down to PHOD 97.55.  We want to use the trigger zones below us as price targets for the short side of the trades today.  Use the the 102.00 max extension as the target for the long side.

Crude Oil 34range chart shows us the same basic information, but we now see the SPECIFIC price levels where we will be entering long and short today.

















We now use the much faster timeframe, 13range chart on crude oil to find the short term trend, and we want to trade with this short term trend.  Remember to stay away from selling at the lows of this channel, wait to sell the highs at resistance.


















Euro Futures using the 144range chart we see the BIG PICTURE and its amazing how well this AB=CD Pattern trading strategy really works.  We know the Euro wants to keep moving lower in this long term trend, so selling new lower lows with retracements.

















Euro 89 range shows us much detail, and we know to buy on the way up, and then sell the resistance at the trend lines and the trigger zone around 1.3430 area.  if price goes higher we can buy above 1.3500 but then sell the channel highs and the resistance overhead.  If price falls we can sell below PHOD however it will be higher risk at the lows of the bear channel.


















Russell Futures trading at the lows of the bear price channel, and the double-top max extension was recently tested.  We need to wait for price to break above 695.5 and then we can buy pullbacks with the targets of 700.00 and 704.3, 706.4.  If price fails to move higher we than sell below the PHOD with the final target at the lows of the channel and/or wedge around 681.0

Gold Futures are at the highs of the channel, and we need to wait to sell below 1710.6 below the 34range trigger zone.