Friday, June 01, 2007

NASDAQ TICK and Other Market Insights for a Friday


* Using the NASDAQ TICK - The screenshot is a bit dim (click for larger view), but a reader asked me about using the NASDAQ TICK in trading the Q's. Here we have the NASDAQ TICK (red bars) plotted against the NQ futures (white bars) and volume plotted below. I find these overlay charts in RealTick very helpful for seeing how market and sentiment move together (or diverge). The chart is taken from midday trade on Thursday; note the divergences between price and TICK (yellow arrows), as buyers are lifting offers across fewer stocks prior to the dip and hitting bids across fewer stocks prior to the bounce.

* Charting the Course for GOOG - Trader Mike finds an interesting pattern at the recent market highs.

* Insightful Article - Abnormal Returns takes a very thoughtful look at making investment decisions by trying to ride the coattails of famous investors and institutions.

* Great Reading to Kick Off the Weekend - The Kirk Report has quite a few excellent links, including one worth reading on how trading chat rooms might help call the top in China's market.

* Pictures Worth a Thousand Words - They tell the story of the housing weakness at The Big Picture.

* Options Insight - Adam Warner reflects on the relationship between the S&P 500 Index and the Buy-Write Index (BXM), building on the work of VIX and More. That'll be one for my research mill this weekend; very interesting idea.

* A Look at China's Tax and How It's Affected Stocks - Yaser Anwar passes along a little history of how Chinese investors have responded to past shifts in the Stamp Duty.

* Utilities Off Their Highs - Rising rates taking their toll; the Afraid to Trade Blog passes along a relevant lesson regarding momentum and price.

* A Classic Buy Trade - Kevin finds a pattern worth tracking: an opening gap reversal that exploits trader fear.