May 3rd Day Trading Recap: +6 Points – NFP Leads The Way and Starts The Weekend Early
You can almost always count on the Non-Farm Payroll report to inject a little life into the market, and today it certainly delivered. Before the ES market had even officially opened we had a runaway trend in place and the only smart bets were on more upside. Trading with an eye on the overall market context is absolutely key and is a major part of the focus of traders at Samurai Trading Academy.
The Sleepy Market Phenomenon
I'll be the first to admit that the mornings have been on the difficult side lately as they've taken some time to really get moving. As day traders, many of us look to make our profit goals within an hour or two and then simply walk away from our trading computers and enjoy our day. While this is often possible, it's important to understand that the market moves in cycles and there are going to be times when price behaviour simply isn't conducive to us maintaining a brief trading schedule. This is how the market has been lately, with limited opportunities early on only to see the potential for profit vastly improve over the New York lunch into 1:00PM EST.
I personally like to take a flexible approach to this, where I will be more than happy to call it a day if I find some good profits early but will stick to the screens for at least a few hours if profits are difficult to come by. This allows me to walk away positive most days and keeps the equity curve moving in the right direction while still providing me a fair bit of flexibility in my schedule.
For many day traders like myself, it's not about money. It's about the time freedom that trading provides and the unparalleled career and location flexibility it offers.
The Market Recap Video
As you can see in the video, today I was able to follow the plan and bank my points in about an hour. I could have kept going as the morning was starting well, but why? It's a Friday, after all! So instead of keeping to the screens I made the difficult choice to go and enjoy some sun and a few beers for a job well done.
- Strike While The Iron is Hot - March 1, 2021
- The Path to Becoming a Full Time Trader - February 22, 2021
- Looking to 2021 and Beyond - January 20, 2021
