The Breakout Trade

[mark04]

The Breakout Trade
At the beginning of the day we were below the pivot point, so our bias is for short trades. A channel formed so you would be looking for a break out of the channel, preferably to the downside. In this type of trade you would have your sell entry order just below the lower channel line with a stop order just above the upper channel line and a target of S1. The problem on this day was that, S1 was very close to the breakout level and there was just not enough meat in the trade. This can be a good entry technique for you. Just because it was not suitable this day, does not mean it will not be suitable the next day.
The Pullback Trade
This is one of our favorite set ups. The market passes through S1 and then pulls back. An entry order is placed below support, which in this case was the most recent low before the pullback. A stop is then placed above the pullback (the most recent high - peak) and a target set for S2. The problem again, on this day was that the target of S2 was to close, and the market never took out the previous support, which tells us that the market sentiment is beginning to change.
Advanced
As we mentioned earlier, there are lots of ways to trade with pivot points. A more advanced method is to use the cross of two moving averages as a confirmation of a breakout. You can even use combinations of indicators to help you make a decision. It might be the cross of two averages and also MACD must be in buy mode. In the example below the market passed through S1 and then retraced to the S1 line again. It then formed a channel. At around this time we had a cross of the averages, MACD signaled buy and there was a breakout of the channel line. This gave a great signal to go long with a target of the original pivot line. Mess around with a few of your favorite indicators to help determine an entry around a pivot level but remember the signal is a break of a level and the indicators are just confirmation.
Best Regards
Mark.