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Stock777: Candle is right on the money. You can determine momentum on the NASDAQ from the prints, but there's a lot less to work with considering that market makers accumulate stock for their clients (other institutions), but do not have to print them right away. Unfortunately the large...

I really think the best way to practice reading the tape is to pick a small/mid cap stock that trades about 200,000 - 400,000 shares a day and watch it for a week. Yes, it will get boring, but keep a piece of paper in front of you and take notes. Not only should you paper trade, but also write...

One thing I want to add is to be careful on playing the first move when a large print occurs at the high of the stock. Yes it often works well enough, but not as well as on the downside. The reason is this: Buyers are stronger than sellers. A buyer can always walk away, whereas a seller...

III. Tape Reading Interpreting the tape can seem very difficult and overwhelming at times, but it gets a little easier with practice. The key is not trying to interpret every trade that is printed, but rather to look for and identify situations that indicate a large or aggressive...

One final note on openings - when an institution is buying or selling a stock the trader does not give the whole order to the Specialist on the opening. If I had to sell 300,000 shares of ANN, I would only give 25,000 - 50,000 shares depending on how big the opening print was going to be, just...

II. The Specialist What is the Specialist's motivation? Most of us see the Specialist as some evil guy who's sitting on a 10,000 share sell order, just waiting for us to buy a few hundred shares so he can fill us and immediately knock the stock down half a point. While it can feel like...

There is a poster here whose signature reads "Trade what you see, not what you think." That is my favorite quote. Did you ever see a perfect setup - the market is up, the sector is up, the tick is positive and even a ray of sunlight is shining on your enter key to transmit your buy order, only...

I. Think Like an Institution Like everything else in life, we tend to see things in our own image, and we try to explain things by using our own motivations. Trading as if everyone out there was a daytrader can be a costly mistake. If the market is an ocean, being tiny little fish, we...

Thought I would start things off by sharing some of the things I have learned through my own experiences, and how it might apply to daytrading the NYSE. This is intended to give a little insight to some of the newer traders who are having a hard time finding information on reading the...

Stock: The fact that you feel responsible tells me that you have a good deal of maturity and an admirable personality. I highly doubt that you are 'hurting' anyone by offering sound advice. The problem is some people just have to touch the stove to know that it's hot. Losing money like...

Hitman: From your experience in sector trading, if the futures are in a downtrend and the sector index is in a downtrend (or just broke through support), and there is a tier 2/3 stock that has had unusual strength, do you find that it is a higher percentage play that the stock will eventually...

The symbol is: $TICK I believe all of the indices begin with a $. If you're in a chart, and you don't know the symbol of an index, just right click the mouse and choose Format Symbol. Then under Settings left click on Lookup. Choose 'All Indexes' and enter the description and you should...

For me it depends on what my stop is based on. For my "system trading" I use a stop based on the volatility of the stock (usually about 1% of the stock price) and I have found that it is better if I just stick to it. I too have lost more than saved by getting "shaken out" by the wiggles...

Samtrader: Generally, in those liquid stocks you are talking about, the market maker will print the customer on nice round lots like 10m, 25m or 50m shares. It usually depends on how big the customer order is and how liquid the stock is. Once the trader accumulates enough stock (if he/she...

Nic - you crack me up

Ivy: Because "prestigious" firms tend to hire Ivy League graduates is in no way proof that they are more likely to be successful. Of the hundreds of traders I have dealt with over my institutional career, I would say 80% have been white males. 15% have been white females, and 5% include...

GATrader: Looking at a "snapshot" of one moment in time of a stock's bid and ask is probably not enough info to make an informed judgement. Certainly if the offer is significantly larger than the bid (as per your example) then we would have a bias towards the short side, but there should be...

It's funny when you're just speaking of something and then it happens... I was short CSCO at 17.13 for about an hour. For an overall down day, CSCO had held up remarkably well, and enough time had gone by where I started doubting my decision. At around 1:10, CNBC announces that AG Edwards...

Eldredge: No analyst will ever give notice as to their intentions of initiating coverage and/or changing their rating or earnings predictions. There are no set times when an analyst reviews a company. If a firm covers a stock the analyst is expected to always be on top of the company (not...

Rtharp is correct. Once you terminate your employment with a firm, the NASD is notified and you become inactive. You will then be sent a copy of your U5 form, which is your registration history. I believe you are allowed 2 years of inactivity before you must retake the exams if you are to...