Getting a Head Start

I sometimes trade futures on Sunday evenings after the markets open at 6:00 pm. EST. Usually, it's a fast trade to get a head start on the week.

This was mostly a technical trade of the S&P Emini futures last night with NRIBs (NR7) on declining volume, even though I was watching the news. As the evening and early morning progressed, I became comfortable with the idea of holding overnight after reading this on Bloomberg, "Stocks tumble in Europe and Asia overnight and U.S. index futures retreat as bank bailouts accelerated and the $700 billion plan to rescue American financial institutions failed to unlock money markets."

It was a very late night (not a good idea to go to bed at 4:00 a.m. on a work night). I overslept and the dog didn't wake me up until 8:30 EST, so I tightened my stop heading into the open. I took a partial when price approached S2. Subsequent to a close below S2, price quickly rallied back and I closed the balance of the position.

As I watched the bailout vote unfold, I was having difficulty comprehending that it was about to fail to pass. Other, smarter traders anticipated and jumped into the short side before the final tally was in, pushing prices lower at full throttle.

I'm sorry the bill didn't pass. After listening to all the experts and pundits, it seems that all paths in the blame game lead to Nancy Pelosi for that last minute jab re: failed policies of the Bush Administration. Reckless, stupid, ....???


As the day wore on, it became increasingly difficult to trade. On this FWLT trade my stop failed to trigger, so I had to send a market order which resulted in a late exit. When market makers become overwhelmed with volume, they ignore special instructions and market orders are the way to go.

I had my share of fat finger f#&k ups and realized I could only manage one position at a time. Took this JOYG trade on a market order and exit market after 3 consecutive green bars. Level II screens could not keep pace. One eye on the candlesticks and one eye on the inside bid and ask. I'm glad this isn't the norm, day trading would be exhausting.