Warp:
I've been mildly intrigued by the Tick since it was mentioned in one of Jack Schwager's books on Master Traders. One of the guys said he based his entire trading system on the Tick. Go figure (or, go point and figure?).
In any event, this weekend seems like as good a time as any to open the discussion to the Tick, although it seems to me very much a day trader's tool, so that leaves me out (most of the time, except when I make a big mistake). In any event, here's what I found, and it's not much. It strikes me that there must be more extensive stuff on the $TICK, but maybe it only exists in futures and options seminars.
1. stockcharts.com[h,a]gbclyiay[d3][pf][vc60][iut]&pref=G
Here's a 3 day 15-minute TICK chart. It's pretty hard to tell what to do (given what the last 3 days looked like) based on this chart, however.
2. stockcharts.com
Here's the daily TICK, which looks like an EKG to me. Not much I can do with this.
3.http://www.daytradingit.com/tick.html
[something I found on the internet, caveat lector:]
Day trading with the Tick
Day Trading Terms
The NYSE Tick can be used as a short-term indicator while day trading.
Although it represents the number of stocks ticking up minus the number of stocks ticking down on the NYSE, it can be used as a barometer for stocks trading on all US Exchanges.
For example, if the Tick reads +200, then 200 more stocks on the NYSE are ticking up then are ticking down. This is obviously a bullish signal. If the Tick should read -354, then we understand that 354 more stocks are ticking down then are ticking up. This is a bearish signal. In addition to the actual "number" reading of the Tick, one should also pay attention to how the Tick is trading in relation to it's support and resistance. Be sure to watch it on a 5 or 15 minute chart in realtime. If you don't have access to realtime charts, you can us the following link to keep track of the NYSE Tick. The Tick also scrolls by during the "CNBC Market Summary" section of the CNBC ticker.
When the Tick remains positive on the day bullish momentum can continue. When the Tick remains negative, bearish momentum can continue. However, if the Tick should rise over +1000, the market will likely soon reverse because it has become over bought. The reverse is also true. If the Tick should fall below -1000, the market will likely reverse because it has become very oversold.
If you happen to be long when the Tick begins to rise over +1000 or short when the Tick begins to fall below -1000, you need to begin to lighten up on your positions or close them entirely in anticipation of a reversal.
To be extremly careful while trading, only enter longs when the Tick is above zero and shorts when the Tick is below zero.
[Edit: this is awfully thin gruel; I used Google to search for $TICK and TICK and came up with a lot of cartoon references The Tick, many commercial sites (Wealthbuilder Deluxe!) and little else.] |
