Here we go… two days into the month of October, and two days of big market losses to start the month off with a bang…
What happened?
Take your pick… to start the month off, on Oct. 1 manufacturing numbers came out weak and the very next day job growth numbers disappointed as well… both possibly pointing towards a slowing economy…
Impeachment talk is heating up as we head towards an election year…
But that’s not all… still lurking in the shadows are the trade war worries… a slowing global economy, and in case you forgot… yes, we still have an inverted yield curve.
Two days into October and all 3 indexes are below where they were 12 months ago.
And with the payrolls report on Friday… things could get a bit hairy…
So how do you survive when the market turns on you?
In comes the importance of stops… I am going to show you how to use them to survive times like these… keeping you in the game so you can continue to pull in profits from the market…
Market Survival 101: Always Use Stops
At times like these, you need to get serious about protecting your hard-earned gains.
Listen… there is money to be made no matter which way the market goes… but part an ever so important part of making money is keeping it…
So with the market currently uncertain… you need to be able to survive and one of the most crucial elements in survival… in any market really… is using stops properly.
First off, what is a stop?
Well as with any trade you need a plan… and an important and often overlooked part of that plan is knowing when you will exit a trade when it goes against you…
So many people take trades with a clear target, but lack the foresight to have a plan to limit losses if the trade goes south…
A stop is a crucial part of that plan. This is the point at which you will exit a trade to limit your losses…
Often referred to as a stop-loss order that will automatically trigger when the stock hits that price…
When referring to a stop… it can be an order that is placed ahead of time… or for the very active day trader, it can simply be knowing the price to jump out in order to limit losses…
In trading terms, it is often just referred to as a stop for short… the key is to simply have a predetermined exit to cut losses…
As a practical example, look at the chart of GOOS.TO below…
GOOS.TO sets up with one of my favorite patterns, the Rounded Bottom Breakout (RBB).
The stock quickly goes up to test resistance, giving me the opportunity to scale out of some in order to lock in profits… another key in an uncertain market… take profits while they exist…
Next, the stock pulls back and creates support around my buy area. Once it tests this area twice and makes a move up, I am able to move my stop up…
What’s the value in this?
Well, this is the whole point of the story… having a stop keeps you from getting crushed when the trade goes against you…
And moving your stop up when an opportunity presents itself helps you to reign in losses even more… as well as lock in profits as the trade moves in your direction.
This is how you survive an uncertain market… your survival lies in having stops in place…
Look at where the stock traded by the end of the day I stopped out… and look where it went the very next day…
I actually ended up positive on the trade even though the market crushed it the last two days… if I had not stopped out, I would have taken a big hit…
If you follow the markets at all, then you know what happened those two days…
The market puked… as evident in the chart below…
And my stop is what kept me alive… and profitable… all while the market puked.
So if you want to stay alive while the world is lost… don’t take a trade without knowing your loss limits and having stops in place…
When I trade, I not only look to my patterns and indicators to get me into profitable trades… I also have a detailed plan with stops calculated before I even enter a trade.
I lock in profits along the way and continue to profit no matter what the market is doing.
If you are ready to trade with certainty in uncertain times… my simple patterns, indicators, trading plans, along with live personal mentorship will give you the confidence to get you there.
Source: PetraPicks.com | Original Link