Trading on the NASDAQ

[reece55]

Well, I have been itching to do it and finally I am ready - all setup to go and trade the good old NASDAQ......... Thinking I should have a look at some US forums for some interesting banter, I was surprised to see that there were really no good stock forum website (that I could find) for US markets..... Goes to show that we have a quality forum here!

However, in response I thought I would start a little thread here...... I guess my initial question would be, coming from someone who has only traded the ASX, what are the crucial differences to be aware of? I guess the biggest thing I found reviewing the data was the gaps that the stocks have after announcing quarterly results..... Volatility is also a lot higher.........

Finally, I attach a review of a potential setup in INTC I am looking at to attempt to ride a wave 3 (by my junior count). However, I probably won't dive in yet as the US is now looking neutral from an index view point.

Would welcome any suggestions/comments from anyone that trades NASDAQ stocks, Wayne is this up your ally?????

Cheers

 

[wayneL]

Hi Reece,

Right up my ally.

Plenty of comments, but one initially: Don't ignore the NYSE stocks unless strictly daytrading. There are some really good stocks there as well.

Cheers

 

[reece55]

Hi Reece,

Right up my ally.

Plenty of comments, but one initially: Don't ignore the NYSE stocks unless strictly daytrading. There are some really good stocks there as well.

Cheers

Cheers Wayne, yep looks like I get the NYSE on my platform too, so the amount of stocks available just greatly increased.....

Wow, some of these have done so well lately..... Just looking at Research in Motion (RIMM), what a trend and Apple (AAPL).....

Would very much appreciate your input that you may be able to bestow upon me - perhaps I should change the thread title to "Trading US markets - key elements to be sucessful"?

By the way, what is the deal with this crazy Cramer dude that the US seems to love......... Seems like a bit of a nutter to me!

Cheers

 

[wayneL]

Cheers Wayne, yep looks like I get the NYSE on my platform too, so the amount of stocks available just greatly increased.....

Wow, some of these have done so well lately..... Just looking at Research in Motion (RIMM), what a trend and Apple (AAPL).....

Would very much appreciate your input that you may be able to bestow upon me - perhaps I should change the thread title to "Trading US markets - key elements to be sucessful"?

By the way, what is the deal with this crazy Cramer dude that the US seems to love......... Seems like a bit of a nutter to me!

Cheers

Cramer is just show business, that's why the muppet yanks love him. The "real" traders hold nothing but contempt for the man. It's all a smoke and mirrors show.

As far as key elements? Well what works on the ASX, "should" work on the US exchanges. But US stocks tend to be far more volatile... even the mega-huge-caps can double very quickly if they get a run up... AAPL & Rimm being brilliant cases in point, and retracements can be withering.

So if going for the big trends, exits have to be very wide.

Most screenjockeys cutting a living from the market tend to be day or swing traders, rather than trend traders as you get in AUS. Not that trend trading is not viable... it is very lucrative, just expect more volatility in your equity curve.

That's about the main thing in my opinion.

Oh... reporting is every quarter, so the fun and games, big gaps etc happen more often than Aus.

Far more invigorating

 

[lrushing]

For those traders new to scalp trading, day trading, and swing trading NYSE and NASDAQ stocks. It might be of value for you to learn more in depth risk and money management strategies that professional traders use to preserve their trading capital in these markets. Lots of novice traders open up the array of stocks that they want to trade looking for more setup and entry opportunities to generate profits, only to find that they lack the skills to "protect and preserve their capital first". If your primary focus is not to protect and preserve your trading capital, then when you finally start to learn the mechanics and tactics that work for your style of trading, you may not be capitalized enough to take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves.

 

[reece55]

OK - update, tonight I am looking to trade my first stock on the NYSE - Halliburton. Background - these guys are specialist contractors to the Oil industry, providing services at the time of exploration to development and production. Sitting on a P/E of just under 16. Charts shown are the hourly chart, which reveals a break of a range it has been in for the past 15 trading sessions. The other is the weekly chart. Both show heavy accumulation. Median price forecast for this chart is about $43.

This one was mentioned by Brian as a trading opportunity on his web blog (www.alphatrends.blogspot.com). Hopefully it proves a winner, certainly looks nice to me.

Cheers

 

[reece55]

http://www.archipelago.com/marketdata/book_info.asp

Can anyone tell me if the NYSE Arca web book is the actual level 2 market depth for the NYSE, or is simply the orders within their system???

Anyone else use this tool???

Cheers

 

[reece55]

Well, HAL proved a bit of fun, but last night staying up late, just before the price perked up, on my laptop I accidentally hit the touch pad and it closed me out of the position. I entered at 36.04 and closed (accidentally) at 36.15!!!! Shortly thereafter the bloomin thing went up to 36.60 - I was fairly annoyed with myself.......

All I can do is laugh..... Anyone else experienced this using the IG Markets trading platform???

Cheers
Reece

 

[nizar]

Cramer is just show business, that's why the muppet yanks love him. The "real" traders hold nothing but contempt for the man. It's all a smoke and mirrors show.

Good post on US markets Wayne.
Thanks for that.

Just the above point, why exactly do traders hate this guy?
I was reading somewhere that he cleans up, apparently worth more than $100mil??

 

[wayneL]

Good post on US markets Wayne.
Thanks for that.

Just the above point, why exactly do traders hate this guy?
I was reading somewhere that he cleans up, apparently worth more than $100mil??

Niz,

He does OK. But his "advice" sucks.

Someone is running a blog that keeps a track of his recommendations (I'll see if I can track it down), but Adam Warner has a running commentary on his option ruminations... quite comically nonsense most of the time. Look for references to "Voldemort" LOL

His main game is mention 100's of stocks, but only follow up on the winners.

NOTE: Looking for the cramer watch blog, I remember there was some legal threat from da man... so might have closed down. I'll have a dig around.

 

[reece55]

OK gents, well here's another installment of my giving the US markets a go....

So, lets have a look at SBUX, or Starbucks on the NASDAQ. Now, review of the daily and weekly data says that this one is being sold off in droves. Everything is looking sick here, but it looks to me like we have broken down through some support that had formed and this could form some more corrective action. So, what I am looking for (considering the bearish/volatile short term stance on the US markets) is a move back to a bit over the 28.00 level, then a fail to break the newly created resistance and short sell at about 28.00. Then, set a stop at 28.25, looking for another push down to the 27.25. So, the potential to make 75 with a risk of 25 cents.....

Cheers

 

[reece55]

Well, doesn't look like we will get that entry - 27.80 would have been a point we could have shorted, but I took no trade here....

Well, I am off to bed for now. SBUX continues to meander down, despite strong buy recos by the analysts - still, with a P/E of 32 in an industry that is clogged with competitors, it looks expensive to me.......

Cheers