No Edge

Increased volatility, big overnight gaps, and violent reversals are great for very fast intra-day traders.  However, for the average retail swing trader, it means we have No Edge.  Everything that seemed to be working so well just one week ago is not working now.  That is the nature of the market.  It’s always changing and often that change is violent.  As a result, we as traders must recognize the change and quickly adapt or better yet just stand aside and protect our capital.  This week should be proof of the fact that not every day is a good day to trade and that setting in cash is a good position.  Eventually, all this wild emotional price action will come to an end, and cooler heads will prevail.  The question is will you be ready to trade or chopped to pieces trying to trade with no edge?

On the Calendar

We get things going on the Economic Calendar today with the very important Employment Situation report at 8:30 AM Eastern.  Consensus suggests nonfarm payrolls of 175,000 and an unemployment rate holding at a 17-year low of 4.1%.  Average hourly wages are expected to increase 0.3% with the average workweek unchanged at 34.5 hours.  Private payrolls are expected to increase 172,000 with manufacturing increasing by 18,000.  At 10:00 AM both Consumer Sentiment and Factory Orders numbers release.  Consensus suggests January Consumer Sentiment will come with a 95.0 reading.  The Factory Orders index is expecting an increase of 1.5% according to consensus.  We finish the week with two Fed Speakers at 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM.

We get a little break on the Earnings Calendar with only 46 companies reporting today.  Oil will take center stage with CVX, XOM, and PSX reporting before the bell.

Action Plan

Everything was looking okay until we had an unfavorable economic report yesterday morning creating a sudden gap down.  The bulls stepped filling the morning gap but failed to have enough strength to hold on to those gains by the end of the day.  As I write this, the Dow Futures are pointing to a nasty gap lower of more than 200 points.  I have been suggesting for some time now to prepare for increased volatility, but it’s still shocking to see the violence of these moves.  The big overnight gaps in both directions can chop an account to pieces.  I mentioned earlier this week to expect challenging price action and suggested new and inexperienced traders might want to watch from the sidelines.  Sadly that was a correct call.

The Employment Situation numbers this morning have the potential to improve or make worse today’s open.  Anything is possible.  I think the wild price action, quick reversals, and overnight gaps could become the new normal at least for the short-term.  Be very careful.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Trade Wisely,

Doug