Ignore news and trade purely technical?

I

illinimatt81

Just wondering if anyone tunes out the news (Financial or otherwise) and trades as purely technical as they can? I would think this would help you trade with a clearer mind and reduce the distraction from the spin machine media.

Thoughts?
 
I've turned off the TV during the trading day -- got to be a major distraction for me and I've become a better trader....besides by the time the news hits TV or a website or an RSS feed, the market's already made its move[1]....so price/vol data really is what matters.

That said, I always know when the 'major' news comes out -- ie, big earnings, major econ reports, interest rates, etc -- so I can trade or at least be prepared accordingly. And yes, I do scan a few blogs and news sites to get a feel for things and the periodic 'trade the news' item or two.


[1] - CNBC lagged (I think it was) AAPL earnings a few quarters ago by like 8 minutes. If you traded off the TV you'd have bought @ the highs and lost the next day.
 
Quote from illinimatt81:

Just wondering if anyone tunes out the news (Financial or otherwise) and trades as purely technical as they can? I would think this would help you trade with a clearer mind and reduce the distraction from the spin machine media.

Thoughts?
More...

Best way to do it, no doubt. You want to start your day with zero bias.

Anek
 
Agreed. News gives you a bias. Turn it off. You can find out what made the move you are seeing in front of your eyes after you book your profits.
 
If you don't avoid the news, at least ignore it. This can be especially true with forex as news releases are a good time to take a break.
 
If one is trading technically, then listening to the news shouldn't really matter anyway. I prefer to listen to the news so that i can understand why a particular move may be happening. What is important is to have a trained ear, which can decipher what's important and disregard the rest. For example, I want to hear that the oil supplies were at xyzmillion barrels, not whether some under-educated CNBC reporter says that its bullish or bearish. To each their own.
 
I see I am thinking along the same lines as many of you. I agree that the news is already priced in much of the time and that when trading technically the news shouldn't really matter. I beleive tuning it out and ignoring it at the start of the day helps reduce biases.
 
non-farm payroll, CPI, and PPi, retail sales.

Those are usually the news items worth trading.

Obviously nobody expected employment to hit 5.5%, so i shorted it right away at 8:31.

If you're trading indexes, usually they're good for a quick scalp.
 
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