Archive for the ‘Commodities’ category

Spotting Large Volume Levels

August 10th, 2012 1:21 PM UTC

There is nothing like the Footprint chart when it comes to understanding how much trading activity is occurring in realtime. It shows:

  • Exactly where other market participants are trading and how the volume is stacking up.
  • It also provides you with realtime feedback of the order flow. Red Footprints represent more aggressive selling (trading on the bid) and blue/green Footprints represent more aggressive buying (trading on the ask).

The screenshot below shows a picture of what happened but doesn’t tell the entire story. The only way to know the story is to see this type of action develop in realtime.  Here, the story was all about what the order book (depth of market) showed on the screen versus how much actually traded.  There were iceberg orders sitting every few cents all the way down.  Big volume would trade despite the order book only showing 20 or 30 contracts. That means 10x the amount of volume would trade and without the Footprint chart you would never even know! 

Check it out for yourself in realtime by visiting http://www.marketdelta.com/products/trader.

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Posted in Basics, Commodities

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What is Limit Up?

July 9th, 2012 1:57 PM UTC

Earlier today the Corn market experienced a limit up move (temporarily) and we caught this on video. It offers a good real time example of these rather rare occurrences and highlights the added value only a Footprint chart can provide.

What is Limit Up or Limit Down

Limit up or limit down are conditions more common in pure commodity markets where the Exchange has imposed price trading limits which are in place for each trading session. Limits get expanded each day if a market trades at limit the previous day. The limits “halt” the ability of a market to trade beyond that point. In the case of limit up moves, buyers can place bids (buys) at the limit price. They may or may not get filled at that price. It all depends on whether sellers think they can get more (a higher price) or whether they decide to sell into the bid. Watch as the Footprint chart captures this dynamic in the video.

In this real time video capture we see an example of limit up, which represents buyers willing to pay the highest possible price the commodity is allowed to trade at for the session. You can see the quantity and how many contracts there are to buy at “limit up”. The Footprint captures exactly how much trading is occurring at these limit prices and allows for great transparency chance for opportunity.

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Posted in Commodities

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Unique Footprint Pattern to Watch For

June 27th, 2012 11:04 AM UTC

In this video I was able to capture a great example of what an iceberg order at a high volume level can look like…all in real time. It was the iceberg that was indeed creating and building this level and making it significant as more volume traded here, but nonetheless, watch how the market responds.

This is one of the chart patterns that the Footprint acts considerable value and can help provide and edge over other traders who are left in the dark to this kind of activity.

In this example the price ladder / DOM on the right is MarketDelta Trader and the program on the left is MarketDelta Charts. Trader can be used as a free data source for Charts and offers direct trading integration, chart trading, and more.

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Posted in Basics, Commodities

MarketDelta Adds a Trading Room

June 8th, 2012 1:05 PM UTC

For anyone interested in learning more about the Footprint and especially how to apply it to trading, MarketeDelta recently launched live trading room.

The room is moderated by a professional trader and someone who has actually been trading for a living for over a decade and is a member of the exchange. These 2 things give the room a lot of credibility.

http://www.marketdelta.com/products/tradingroom

The room offers is very well suited for anyone looking to learn more about applying the Footprint, see and hear how a professional trader analyzes the market, and how a professional trader manages a trading position. For $99/month this is a great value.

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Posted in Basics, Commodities, Crude Oil Futures Contract, E-mini S&P 500 Futures Contract, Forex / FX, International Markets, MarketDelta Trader, Stocks

Corn…Limit Up

June 9th, 2011 10:00 AM UTC

What does a limit up move look like on a Footprint chart you ask? Let me show you.

Corn Futures Limit Up

Click for a larger view

 

This is corn futures from June 8th, 2011.  Here is an article discussing why it was limit up.  Anytime a market is limit up or limit down suggests the market is out of balance and seeking value beyond a level that the Exchange as deemed price to fluctuate on a given day.  When locked limit up or limit down trading is basically paused at that level while buyers and sellers decide if that limit price suffices as “value”.  It is like a time out in a sporting event. Each side has time to regroup and go back out on the field.  In this case the screenshot speaks for itself about the usefulness the Footprint chart can provide in a situation like this.  The “time out” gave the sellers reason to come in aggressively and reject the limit price as value…for the time being at least.

The transparency to see when and how hard sellers are hitting the bit when limit up provided three fantastic intraday trading opportunities with immediate results.  Without the Footprint there is now possible way to keep track of intrabar activity like this.

Of course selling a limit bid or buying a limit offer is always dangerous, but that is trading. Every trade has a level of danger associated with it.

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Posted in Commodities