Using the premium.
Written and Posted by Jack Hershey
Summary
Advanced intermediate traders need signals to forewarn them to go to verniers for affecting trades and partial fills when necessary. Known interrelationships of market degrees of freedom are available for this. Coding degrees of freedom is possible and converting the data to signals, visually or for mechanical systems, is the natural outcome.
The indicator associated with the premium deals with several common trading failures and/or mistakes: early exits, having to scale to minimize risk and missing optimum exits. It also performs and an enhancement for extracting the full movement of trend segments during the day.
Connecting the Dots
The principle premium relationship is that between the $INDU and the DJXX/YMXX. It is set daily, pre-open and is available at indexarb.com. The cash is lead by the futures commodity index. The signal initiation is 15 to 45 seconds before a move. This allows the trader to have a resource that can be used in intraday trading as a leading indicator of appropriate trading instruments. The most practical connection turns out to be ESXX. During times of end effects, the YM leads the ES.
Building the indicator
The difference of the cash ($INDU) and index (YMXX) is coded. This difference is then subtracted from the premium. The result is a neutral centered value where if the offset is known, the shift from neutral can be used as a leading indicator of the traded instrument. We define the two sides of neutral to define when a new trend is beginning. The arrangement is to have a âsqueezeâ be values below neutral and have them indicate a âshortâ trend is beginning. A stretch indicates a âlongâ is beginning.
The visual display of the squeeze/stretch is done to create a box that streams using the most frequently segmented data available. Rays are placed on either side of the neutral as a visual ânoiseâ reference; 2 units away from neutral is the standard. Likewise, two levels that indicate strength of signal (decision-wise) are added 5 or 6 units away on either side of neutral.
Using the indicator
The indicator signals are collected as a part of the data set collection process. For matters of clarity, it is best to introduce its use independently. From this, it will be seen that the signal can be used as a gating tool in mechanical applications.
As time passes, the display continues and, without signal, the successive bars remain within the +/- 2 units noise channel centered on neutral. This appears as a band of data.
The signal begins as the bars move to on side or another of neutral and their volatility grows as well. A vector results: having magnitude and direction. The leading nature of this allows the trader to move to a vernier type analysis connected to optimizing turns. The persistence of the signal is up to minutes in nature. Once a trend is under way the leading aspect of the dynamic change is lost and the display returns to a non signal status. There is no way a person sweeping a display can miss the signal period once he is attuned to the indicator. It is powerful.
As a trend is initiated, and continues, several stages of signals result during the trending. They are in the nature of thinness and surges. Neither sends a signal that is a cause for action. In fact, the signals will be reinforcing the initiator of the trend. Three price internal patterns are of interest: stalls, hitches and dips.
All of the above makes it possible to trade all in, to hold instead of exit early, and to reverse at the end of a trending segment in an optimal way.
The reversing signal is clear as a signal in the opposite direction of the hold signal.
Fro expert trading, it is possible to use the stretch/squeeze in conjunction with the other most sensitive signal generators an expert uses.