Quote from greddy:
Hi EMC,
Great thread. I use volume charts on the NQ,
and started using the bid ask pressure indicator
in TS before finding this thread.
I think price and volume analysis is important since
if you concentrate on price levels (fibs, pivots, gap
close, etc), sometimes it just blows right by.
Having said that, I have a couple of questions on the latest
chart you posed.
1)On the 1756 share chart, there is a divergence in
price and volume ratio in the circled area. Is this a sign
to start shorting retracements after the high in price was made?
2)If volume extreme had accompanied price making a high, then would that mean you start looking for volume decreasing on the pull back to go long?
Thanks. Any input would be appreciated. Please keep posting
those charts.
Greddy,
You make an excellent point that I happen to totally agree with - price often blows right through pivots, fib levels, S/R, etc. and I never try to predict ahead of time if any of these areas will hold or not. (I believe it is price/volume relationships that cause these levels in the first place) I am very comfortable already being in a trade as these these levels are being tested. And for the reason just stated, I never look to enter trades at these levels just based on price action alone.
I will answer your two questions, but first, as an offshoot to question one, I personaly am a "with the trend trader" and the only countertrend trade I will ever consider is when it occurs after a volume divergence (never a price divergence for reasons you have stated). Also, my criteria is very strict for a countertrend trade. (1) I need my trading trend to have been in force for some time, with several non momentum swings in the trend direction (2) I then need the volume divergence to occur at a key big picture level, which can be a bracket high or low, or pullback to swing level in the bigger picture, etc. (3) Then, I also make sure I am not fighting a trend day that may be in place (which I can simply tell by looking at intraday price structure, A/D line, Dow +/-100 etc.)
This leads to your question number 1. When the volume divergence takes place on Friday near the highs (and lows too), this tells me patient sellers are drying up in this area and are now located way above, but this doesnt mean I immediately look to start shorting new retracements after price falls. Why? In this case two reasons First this isnt one of the countertrend sitations i described above (price wasnt trending up for some time)...In this case price is coiling in a tight range, and preparing to move to a whole new area altogether, either up or down. So in this example, price can either go much higher, or much lower, after the divergence. Therefore, the only way I will look to go short, in this case, is if the pullback brings in heavy volume (pateint buyers take control), and my trading trend turns down, which will never happen near the new highs even with a volume divergence.
Question 2 - This is exactly what I look for to go long. If volume is increasing during the upmove (pateint sellers in control, perhaps accompanied by anxious buyers etc.), and the buyers cant regain patience during the pullback (low volume as you say), then I will look to go long with my long entry setups, and to my way of thnking price will continue to go higher unitil either the patient sellers up above dry up and/or the pateint buyers at some point regain control on a pullback.