Trading the cart before the horse? How a catalyst can improve trading performance [Video]
|You sit down to check the markets. You review recent price movements and consider potential trade ideas. But what happens next?
- You may quickly stumble upon what seems like a great trade idea but feel uncertain if it's too good to be true.
- You spend 30-60 mins delving deeper into the markets only to find yourself trying to figure out what to do next.
- Or you're putting in a lot of effort and mental sweat to craft a high-odds trade but it's not working out.
Sound familiar? If so, now there's a temptation to skimp on crafting a trading catalyst and game plan and jumping straight into a pattern or similar, right?
But you've now inadvertently killed the golden goose. Why's that?
Let me explain. Aside from the meaningless "noise", price movements are reactions to events. And as a trader, it's your job to uncover them.
Example ideas:
- A counter move occurs in the market you trade when XYZ market opens. Not an elaborate idea, so not a large payer. But it's a catalyst that leads to tradable price movement.
- Lifting COVID restrictions in China is a boost economically. A move up in markets, even if short-lived, is likely. But difficulties of investing in China mean traders look to express the trade via a proxy market. Look for the idea, followed by the proxy market to move in tandem. The second idea is more advanced hence it provides a higher payout catalyst to the first idea.
Watch a real-time catalyst on the AUD/USD: Using live trading mentoring to illustrate, you'll see a catalyst with depth and substance crafted on a big news day when explosive fireworks in price are the norm. A high-impact economic release is chosen because if you can craft high-odds trades on the toughest days, you can nail your trade ideas daily. Right?
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.