Disliked{quote} Nice Analysis Magnum. I am used to trading strength/weakness via scheduled events which is making me curious what else makes her move 300+ ticks. Do we know if anyone trading these earnings related spikes? Are such straight up or down spikes in one direction normal ? Unlike in spot FX (where we have more up and down cleanup events), such unidirectional spikes could be a printing machine with tight stops :-Ignored
Earnings "season" as it is called can create some wild rides on indexes. Back in July when FB reported that earnings could be slowing it had the same effect on NQ as Apple did today. I would expect it to drop some more when the markets reopen in 20 minutes.
I stay away from major news. It's just not worth it. NQ prices climbed nicely today until earnings. Just like it did before FB in July. I am aware of news just so I can stay away from it. It would have been expensive for Hilmy if he didn't close that long trade before 315. From 315 central until 330 central there is absolutely nothing you can do to get out of a trade. You are stuck. From the time the markets opened again at 330 until all the damage was done was less than 4 minutes.
News to stay away from: US GDP, NFP, Interest rates, FOMC Meeting minutes, major company earnings reports, ADP payroll to a lesser degree (it doesn't have the impact it used to). The cost of jumping out and then back in after news is far less than the potential losses if you are on the wrong side.
You need to be aware of the news even if you don't trade during the times the news is released. The "Big boys" typically don't step into the picture until 830 central so NFP at 730 really hasn't seen the full effect.
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