Jump to content

Welcome to the new Traders Laboratory! Please bear with us as we finish the migration over the next few days. If you find any issues, want to leave feedback, get in touch with us, or offer suggestions please post to the Support forum here.

  • Welcome Guests

    Welcome. You are currently viewing the forum as a guest which does not give you access to all the great features at Traders Laboratory such as interacting with members, access to all forums, downloading attachments, and eligibility to win free giveaways. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free. Create a FREE Traders Laboratory account here.

metalsguru

Value Area & Your Trading

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I just got this trading tips from Larry Levin, President & Founder- Trading Advantage. So, I would like to share with all of you here. Hope it may help for your trading strategies!

 

What is Market Profile?

Each day the market defines a Market Profile (MP), a Value Area (VA) and a Point of Control (POC), all of which are invaluable to trading the following day. Similar market-derived data over longer time frames is also of great value to day traders and other time frame (OTF) traders. Before I expand on this subject, let's back up and define the various terms we will use.

 

The sole function of any market is to facilitate trade. Over time a profile of the nature of the trading develops and levels of perceived value become established. By the end of the trading session, a structural profile for the period has been established. This is referred to as Market Profile (MP).

 

Definitions You Should Know

 

Market Profile (MP): The MP organizes price on a vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. A price/time relationship is established. A convenient way to evaluate demand at any given price and time is to use tick values, which are immediately available. Subsequently a bell curve of price - volume distribution over time is created.

 

The basic time period used in MP analysis is the thirty minute time frame. The half hourly tick volume is organized by alphabetic code starting at 8:00 A.M. Letters of the alphabet are assigned for prices that occur in each half hour. The period 8:00 to 8:30 is A; B is 8:30 to 9:00; C is 9:00 to 9:30, and so on. .

 

Value Area (VA): The "Value Area" (VA) is one standard deviation (70%) of a normal bell curve of the time/price distribution in a given period, commonly each day, i.e. the volume of trade as well the cost of trade is included in the computation of the VA numbers.

 

Value Area High (VAH): The upper price limit of the Value Area.

 

Value Area Low (VAL): The lower price limit of the Value Area.

 

Point of Control (POC): Is the price at which most trade is conducted during the period under study. It is that line of TPOs that makes the very apex of the bell curve of distribution. It is the statistical mean of the price, time, and volume relationship.

 

Responsive Selling?

 

If perceptions do not change as prices move away from the upper VA level, prices quickly run out of buyers and start attracting sellers who return prices towards and into the value area. This is also true at the other end. As prices move away from the lower VA level, prices quickly run out of sellers and start attracting more buyers who will bring prices back to the value area. This phenomenon is referred to as responsive selling or buying, respectively.

 

On occasion, the migration of prices above or below the VA extremes, rather than attracting responsive buyers or sellers, attracts the big money who (for whatever reason) now considers the VA extremes as unfair. The big money responds by initiating buying at this previous extreme. Once this happens, the upside breakout is likely to gather momentum as short sellers quickly cover their losing trades. Prices are likely to trend strongly for the rest of the session, or at least until the big money considers a new upper limit of value has been reached. This is also true at the lower VA level (VAL). Normally when prices reach this area, they cause traders to respond by buying. But occasionally the big money will have reevaluated value at this VAL and consider it overvalued and initiate selling. This will attract further selling and a downtrend is likely to continue into the close, or until fair value is perceived to have been reached.

 

Keep notes on trades you liked but didn’t make.What held you back? Do you notice any patterns causing you to miss opportunities? FIX THEM!

 

The Value of the Value Area

 

The VA of the day is of great value to traders the following day. The opening of the Chicago regular trading hours (RTH) relative to the previous day’s VA can be above, below, or within the VA. Opening price, if outside the VA, may or may not pull back into the VA. All these possibilities have significant implications for the ensuing day's trade. Markets frequently rotate through value and only occasionally trend. So VA extremes offer opportunities to enter fading the extreme or trading the breakout. Knowing which to trade has obvious implications for your financial survival.

The POC's Daily Implication

 

Similarly the POC of the previous day has great implications for day traders. Being the level of the greatest perception of value, and the price at which the greatest volume of trade took place, it is likely to offer significant support on downside pull backs in an uptrend, or resistance on an up-side correction in a downtrend. The POC will then offer opportunities to fade the pull back. However, failure of these normal expectations as prices test the POC would amount to a break out of sorts, and fading the POC could be a costly mistake.

 

VA and POC Insight

 

Similarly, VA and POC studies of longer time periods offer great structural insight to the market for day traders and other time frame (OTF) traders who are usually the big money looking to initiate, or hedge positions for the long haul. But as James Dalton says in his book, 'Markets in Profile,' "Even OTF traders are day traders when they put on a trade."

 

Use of the VA overlay charts over a 5-, 10- and 20-day period can be a great aid in identifying potentially low-risk trade placement and setting reasonable targets for price movement. These are of use to day traders and swing traders.

 

Chart1.jpg

*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.

 

VA Overlay Chart Day-by-Day Analysis

 

Chart 1 shows the VA Overlay Charts after the close Friday July 23, 2010. It illustrates and defines VA areas of distribution for the previous 5, 10 and 20 days.

 

In the previous 5 days, we see that there were two well-defined VA areas between 1096.00 - 1100.00 and between 1059.00 - 1094.00. The VA area for the previous 10 days was a tad larger, 1056.00 - 1100.00. The 20-day distribution covered two distinct areas of VA distribution, 1012.00 - 1047.00 and 1056.00 -1099.00. The POC of the previous 5 and 10 days was in the 1090.00 area. The longer 20-day period had its greatest volume of trade in the 1074.00 area. This was the picture going into Monday of the following week.

 

Monday, the RTH session gapped up on the opening above the Friday close and the previous 5 and 10 day VAHs. This was not an opportunity to fade the opening. It was a day to buy the breakout and profit from the trend day that followed.

 

The next day, Tuesday, the RTH market opened at 1116.50, substantially higher than Monday's close (1109.50) and well above the VAH for Monday which happened to be 1109.75. So was this an opportunity to fade the opening or an opportunity to buy another breakout and enjoy another uptrend day?

 

Trade Du Jour

 

The former was the trade du jour. After the opening prices moved up to 1117.75 in the first fifteen minutes, the high of the day was in. Once prices broke below the opening, the game was up for bulls and the sellers swooped in to join the responsive sellers attracted by that early over-valued high, an unfair high price to the big money players. These responsive sellers were quickly joined by early longs covering their losing positions and later in the session by blindsided "long only" fund managers caught on the wrong side of the market. The session closed at 1111.00. Our 5 & 10 day VA overlay chart suggested that no real support could be expected until prices reached the 1100.00 area.

 

So Wednesday when the RTH session opened below Tuesday's close (1111.00)and below Tuesday's VAL (1108.25), one was left with the dilemma of buying or fading the opening (1108.00) and the VAL for the day which was 1108.25, fading or buying the POC (1110.25), or fading the Tuesday close (1111.00) or selling the break back below Tuesday's VAL. The correct trade(s) turned out to be fading any or all - i.e. the Tuesday close, the break back below the POC, and the break back below the VAL. The expectation was that 1100.00 would be tested and the possibility that even the 5 & 10-day POC would be the ultimate test of support. That day the low was 1099.25 so a profit was realized at the target area. That still left the possibility of the 5 & 10-day POC in the 1090.00 area being tested before this down side correction was over.

 

Thursday the RTH opening was a tick off Wednesday's close and above the VAH after Wednesday's trade. Again one had the dilemma of whether to fade the VAH or the POC, if touched, or going short if those levels of potential support failed as such. In the first hour, prices edged up to a tick above the VAH after Tuesday's trading. This was the high of the day and so shorting that three-day VAH was the ideal trade to enter for the day. The target was once more the 1100.00 area with the real possibility of declining further to test the 5 & 10-day VAL, in the 1090.00 area. The low of the session was 1088.75.

 

Friday, Thursday's low was tested but the break below the 5 & 10-day VAL could not be sustained so buying the 5 & 10-day VAL was the trade du jour and prices steadily moved higher from that key reference area, the high of the day being 1103.50, a little above that other key reference area, 1100.00. This apparent break out could not be sustained and prices eased back to close at, you guessed it, 1100.00.

VA Overlay Chart Day-by-Day Analysis - Chart 2

 

Chart 2 is the 5-, 10- & 20-day VA overlay chart after the close Friday July 31, 2010. The key reference areas are shown and are offered to help you in your trade, this first week of August.

 

Before Monday's opening, this chart was sent out to a few friends with this note: If Friday was a reversal day, and I believe it was, we should see prices move up to at least test the 1113.00 area, even the recent correction high at 1115.75. A new high in the 1120.00 area or a test of the June high, 1129.50 cannot be ruled out. If the breakout is unsustainable, we are likely to see a correction that could bring prices back to test the 1090.00 level.

 

VA Numbers for Monday:

 

VAH @ 1100.75

 

VAL @ 1093.25

 

POC @ 1097.75

 

Chart2.jpg

*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.

 

I'm not being sly in the Chart 1 presentation of the value of VA Overlay Charts. The good stuff you learn about trading VAs in my courses and the use of Market Delta "footprint" charts makes decision making at these key reference areas easier than you might think. "Volume leads price" was the mantra of market technician Joe Granville who popularized On Balance Volume as an aid to investing.

 

Volume is key to unraveling the fade/breakout trading dilemma. Using the technical indicators that over 90% of traders use, all set at the same default values, is far inferior to understanding market structure. It is no coincidence that over 90% of traders fail at this zero sum game called day trading. I teach market structure so that Value Areas are easily defined, and their relevance in any situation can be quickly deduced.

 

 

Larry Levin

President & Founder

Edited by TheNegotiator

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

VAH, VAL and POC are the only volume based items I have any interest in, apart from the occasional volume spike.... ES trading

 

Included in monthly, weekly and daily charts they help in defining supply and demand lines.

 

If you are running these lines or indeed if you are running the entire MP behind your bars on an intra day chart, you may care to give some thought to splicing today's values to yesterday's values for a more dynamic picture.

 

In my mind, if you are going to swallow the mantra "volume leads price" then you must believe "the egg leads the chicken".

 

Personally I follow interdependency rather than lineal thinking ... but that is just me

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Thanks for sharing this metalsguru. I'm sure it will be very useful for anyone who is new to market profile.

 

You are obviously less sceptical than me :) All his (metalsguru) posts seem to be shameless plugs for Larry Levin. Levins courses and 'insider secrets' have been discussed at TL before at some length. (I have had some experience of them my, hunch is he is a floor guy that could not successfully make the journey 'upstairs').

 

There are some excellent free sources for MP info from credible sources (like the CBOT), I won't post links as I am not sure what the current policy on that is. It really does not take too much effort to cut and paste a synopsis to drive people towards dubious courses. There is nothing here that would not be returned at the top of a Google search. I really don't see the value at all.

 

Personally I think all these threads should be deleted or at least locked. <shrug>

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
You are obviously less sceptical than me :) All his (metalsguru) posts seem to be shameless plugs for Larry Levin. Levins courses and 'insider secrets' have been discussed at TL before at some length. (I have had some experience of them my, hunch is he is a floor guy that could not successfully make the journey 'upstairs').

 

There are some excellent free sources for MP info from credible sources (like the CBOT), I won't post links as I am not sure what the current policy on that is. It really does not take too much effort to cut and paste a synopsis to drive people towards dubious courses. There is nothing here that would not be returned at the top of a Google search. I really don't see the value at all.

 

Personally I think all these threads should be deleted or at least locked. <shrug>

 

I am not less sceptical. I deleted a url in the post. It's still a useful whatever the motive.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I am not less sceptical. I deleted a url in the post. It's still a useful whatever the motive.

 

Ahh OK.

 

The info just smacked of a cut and paste to me. I guess it may be useful to someone however I can't help thinking that anyone that has even a remote interest in MP will have all this down and then some. As I say there are great free resources for MP on line and I can't see what this really adds. Just my opinion.

 

I dunno just look at Jerry (JPerls) excellent threads on trading market statistics. Beautifully presented, original concepts and well supported when people asked questions. Really every one should at least take a look regardless of there favoured approach. I don't want to appear critical of TL but many of the posters of that quality (and there where a lot at one time) seem to have disappeared. There are one or two notable threads and one or two notable posters of course but far too few. Makes me kinda sad really.

 

Again to me this post is just 'guff' it could have been cut and pasted from investopidia or some such. Maybe it is useful, but I can read it (and a whole lot more) numerous places on the good ole interwebz. So while it may (or may not) be useful I can't really see how it adds value to TL.

 

Edit: Sorry about the somewhat argumentative post. Just kind of sad that there aren't a few more interesting (to me of course) discussions going down.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Topics

  • Posts

    • PTCT PTC Therapeutics stock watch, trending with a pull back to 45.17 support area at https://stockconsultant.com/?PTCT
    • APPS Digital Turbine stock, nice rally off the 1.47 triple+ support area, from Stocks to Watch at https://stockconsultant.com/?APPS
    • Date: 20th December 2024.   BOE Sees More Support For Rate Cuts As USD Strengthens!   The US Dollar continues to rise in value after obtaining further support from positive economic and employment data. However, the hawkish Federal Reserve continues to support the currency. On the other hand, the Great British Pound comes under significant strain. Why is the GBPUSD declining? GBPUSD - Why is the GBPUSD Declining? The GBPUSD is witnessing bullish price movement for three primary reasons. The first is the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy, the second is the positive US news releases from yesterday and the third is the votes from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee.     Even though the Bank of England chose to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75%, the number of votes to cut indicates dovishness in the upcoming months. Previously, traders were expecting the BoE to remain cautious due to inflation rising to 2.6% and positive employment data. In addition to this, the Retail Sales data from earlier this morning only rose 0.2%, lower than expectations adding pressure to GBP. Investors also should note that the two currencies did not conflict and price action was driven by both an increasing USD and a declining GBP. The US Dollar rose in value against all currencies, except for the Swiss Franc, against which it saw a slight decline. The GBP fell against all currencies, except for the GBPJPY, which ended higher solely due to earlier gains. US Monetary Policy and Macroeconomics The bullish price movement seen within the US Dollar Index continues to partially be due to its hawkish monetary policy. Particularly, indications from Jerome Powell that the Fed will only cut on two occasions and the first cut will take place in May. However, in addition to this the economic data from yesterday continues to illustrate a resilient and growing economy. This also supports the Fed’s approach to monetary policy and its efforts to push inflation back to the 2% target. The US GDP rose 3.1% over the past quarter beating expectations of 2.8%. The GDP rate of 3.1% is also higher than the first two quarters of 2024 (1.4% & 3.0%). In addition to this, the US Weekly Unemployment Claims fell from 242,000 to 220,000 and existing home sales rose to 4.15 million. Home sales in the latest month rose to an 8-month high. For this reason, the US Dollar rose in value against most currencies throughout the day. Analysts believe the US Dollar will continue to perform well due to less frequent rate cuts and tariffs. The US Dollar Index trades 1.65% higher this week. Bank of England Sees Increased Support for Rate Cuts! The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged as per market’s previous expectations. The decision is determined by a committee of nine members and at least five of them must vote for a cut for the central bank to proceed. Analysts anticipated only two members voting for a cut, but three did. This signals a dovish tone and increases the likelihood of earlier rate cuts in 2025. The three members that voted for a rate cut were Dave Ramsden, Swati Dhingra, and Alan Taylor. Advocates for lower rates believe the current policy is too restrictive and risks pushing inflation well below the 2.0% target in the medium term. Meanwhile, supporters of keeping the current monetary policy argue that it's unclear if rising business costs will increase consumer prices, reduce jobs, or slow wage growth. However, if markets continue to expect a more dovish Bank of England in 2025, the GBP could come under further pressure. In 2024, the GBP was the best performing currency after the US Dollar and outperformed the Euro, Yen and Swiss Franc. This was due to the Bank of England’s reluctance to adjust rates at a similar pace to other central banks. GBPUSD - Technical Analysis In terms of the price of the exchange, most analysts believe the GBPUSD will continue to decline so long as the Federal Reserve retains their hawkish tone. The exchange rate continues to form lower swing lows and lower highs. The price trades below most moving averages on the 2-hour timeframe and below the neutral level on oscillators. On the 5-minute timeframe, the price moves back towards the 200-bar SMA, but sell signals may materialise if the price falls back below 1.24894.     Key Takeaways: The US Dollar increases in value for a third consecutive day and increases its monthly rise to 2.32%. The US Dollar Index was the best performing currency of Thursday’s session, along with the Swiss Franc. US Gross Domestic Product rises to 3.1% beating economist’s expectations of 2.8%. US Weekly Unemployment Claims read 220,000, 22,000 less than the previous week and lower than expectations. The NASDAQ declines further and trades 5.00% lower than the previous lows. The GBPUSD ends the day 0.56% lower and falls more than 1% after the Bank of England’s rate decision. Three Members of the BoE vote to cut interest rates. The GBP was the worst performing currency of the day along with the Japanese Yen. Always trade with strict risk management. Your capital is the single most important aspect of your trading business.   Please note that times displayed based on local time zone and are from time of writing this report.   Click HERE to access the full HFM Economic calendar.   Want to learn to trade and analyse the markets? Join our webinars and get analysis and trading ideas combined with better understanding of how markets work. Click HERE to register for FREE!   Click HERE to READ more Market news. Michalis Efthymiou HFMarkets Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in Leveraged Products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.
    • Date: 19th December 2024.   Federal Reserve Sparks NASDAQ’s Sharpest Selloff of 2024!   The NASDAQ fell more than 3.60% after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, but gave hawkish comments. The stock market saw its largest decline witnessed in 2024 so far, as investors opted to cash in profits and not risk in the short-medium term. What did Chairman Powell reveal, and how does it impact the NASDAQ? The NASDAQ Falls To December Lows After Fed Guidance! The NASDAQ and US stock market in general saw a considerable decline after the press conference of the Federal Reserve. The USA100 ended the day 3.60% lower and saw only 1 of its 100 stocks avoid a decline. Of the most influential stocks the worst performers were Tesla (-8.28%), Broadcom (-6.91%) and Amazon (-4.60%).     When monitoring the broader stock market, similar conditions are seen confirming the investor sentiment is significantly lower and not solely related to the tech industry. The worst performing sectors are the housing and banking sectors. However, investors should also note that the decline was partially due to a build-up of profits over the past months. As a result, investors could easily sell and reduce exposure to cash in profits and lower their risk appetite. Analysts note that despite the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, the Chairman provided a positive outlook. He highlighted optimism for the economy and the employment sector. Therefore, many analysts continue to believe that investors will buy the dip, even if it’s not imminent. A Hawkish Federal Reserve And Powell’s Guidance Even though traditional economics suggests a rate cut benefits the stock market, the market had already priced in the cut. As a result, the rate cut could no longer influence prices. Investors are now focusing on how the Federal Reserve plans to cut in 2025. This is what triggered the selloff and the decline. Investors were looking for indications of 3-4 rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2025 and for the first cut to be in March. However, analysts advise that the forward guidance by the Chairman, Jerome Powell, clearly indicates 2 rate adjustments. In addition to this, analysts believe the Fed will now cut next in May 2025. The average expectation now is that the Federal Reserve will cut 0.25% on two occasions in 2025. The Fed also advised that it is too early to know the effect of tariffs and “when the path is uncertain, you go slower”. This added to the hawkish tone of the central bank. However, surveys indicate that 15% of analysts believe the Federal Reserve will be forced into cutting rates at a faster pace. As a result, the US Dollar Index rose 1.25% and Bond Yields to a 7-month high. For investors, this makes other investment categories more attractive and stocks more expensive for foreign investors. However, the average decline the NASDAQ has seen before investors buy the dip is 13% ($19,320). This will also be a key level for investors if the NASDAQ continues to decline. NASDAQ - Technical Analysis Due to the bearish volatility, the price of the NASDAQ is trading below all major Moving Averages and Oscillators on the 2-Hour chart. After retracement the oscillators are no longer indicating an oversold price and continue to point to a bearish bias. Sell indications are likely to strengthen if the price declines below $21,222.60 in the short-term.       Key Takeaways: A hawkish Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25% and indicates only 2 rate cuts in 2025! The stock market witnesses its worst day of 2024 due to the Fed’s hawkish forward guidance. Economists do not expect a rate cut before May 2025. Housing and bank stocks fell more than 4%. Investors are cashing in their gains and not looking to risk while the Fed is unlikely to cut again until May 2025. The US Dollar Index rises close to its highest level since November 2022. US Bond Yields also rise to their highest since May 2024. The NASDAQ’s average decline in 2024 before investors opt to purchase the dip is 13%. Always trade with strict risk management. Your capital is the single most important aspect of your trading business.   Please note that times displayed based on local time zone and are from time of writing this report.   Click HERE to access the full HFM Economic calendar.   Want to learn to trade and analyse the markets? Join our webinars and get analysis and trading ideas combined with better understanding of how markets work. Click HERE to register for FREE!   Click HERE to READ more Market news. Michalis Efthymiou HFMarkets Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in Leveraged Products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.
    • SNAP stock at 11.38 support area at https://stockconsultant.com/?SNAP
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.