Tim: you're absolutely right, 6 mo's on one chart does get cluttered. Once you have a 52 week high and low, there isn't much need for more than 60 days; especially if you have been tracking overall market trends as well. If there is wide disparities, I would probably check past news to see what created the sentiment in the first place. Other than that, I try not to be a history buff for short term endeavors; just let me see what the "wise" people like now, and I want to ride their train to the next stop [5-10%], not to the end though.
What I normally do is: after the markets close I bring up all the stks. with big vol. [up or down], chart them for the last 60 days and try to determine a trend. From there I pick 1 or 2 to play with [up or down]. The next morning I check to see if they have gapped in the direction of the trend, wait about 15 min., them make a play, with a tight (2-3%) stop. I draw some ad hoc trend lines hoping that I can spot support levels, but they are too subjective for me (like I said, I try to keep things as simple as possible). A while back I even tried to decipher a few "head and shoulders" patterns, to no positive avail. So, I came to the conclusion that if people like it, I want it; and, when they still like it, I don't want it anymore; just so they like it for a few hours is enough. Again, I try to only play 1 or 2 stks. a day (I can't stand to support a broker for just sitting there). I always use limit orders (unless the mkt. is really rocking and rolling when I pull the plug. Then I sell at the mkt.). When I play NASDAQ stks. I will never give up more than 5% on a spread, no matter how much I like the trend. Usually, in a fast mkt. the MM's will let you hit them between the B&A. Like irby put it so well, it's a game. Have fun! |
