QUARTERLY RESULTS - HOW TO TRADE!This is an educational video explaining the set-ups to trade the quartely results.
Feedback and queries are welcome!
This video is for information/education purpose only. you are 100% responsible for any actions you take by reading/viewing this post.
please consult your financial advisor before taking any action.
----Vinaykumar hiremath, CMT
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Altavics Group: Why Smart Investors Embrace CryptoVolatility Isn't the Enemy — It's the Opportunity
The crypto market is known for its fast and sharp moves. Yes, Bitcoin can drop 10% in a day. But it can also rise 40% in a month.
This is exactly why cryptocurrency remains one of the most profitable asset classes over the past decade.
At Altavics Group, we believe that fearing short-term price swings means missing out on long-term strategic opportunities.
Why Invest in Crypto?
1. Blockchain is not the future — it's already here
Web3, DeFi, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are shaping a new financial system, where cryptocurrencies are the backbone of innovation.
2. Limited supply = growing value
There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoins. That makes BTC a digital equivalent of gold. In a world of inflation and excessive debt, scarcity is strength.
3. Portfolio diversification
Crypto assets help reduce exposure to traditional markets. Especially in times of geopolitical or economic instability, decentralized currencies offer a non-political, borderless hedge.
What if the market crashes?
Crypto corrections are not the end — they’re accumulation phases. Some of the best opportunities are found when the market is fearful.
Bitcoin dropped to $3,000 in 2018. Today it trades above $90,000.
Ethereum was $80 in 2019. Today it’s over $1,600.
The history of crypto is one of crashes and recoveries. Those who stay in smartly — win big.
What Altavics Group Offers
A secure, advanced platform for buying, storing, and trading cryptocurrencies
Real-time analysis and expert trading signals
Custom investment strategies aligned with your goals and risk appetite
Education for beginners and seasoned investors
Altavics Group’s Final Word
Investing in crypto doesn't mean taking blind risks. It means thinking ahead.
Those afraid of volatility today may regret missing the upside tomorrow.
Strong investors don’t chase comfort — they seek potential. And crypto is exactly that: proven potential.
How Many Trades Does It Take to Get Rich?Let me tell you straight — one trade won’t make you rich. It’s almost impossible. The odds are simply too low. And that’s the very foundation of my approach — an approach that has already brought me meaningful results.
The Myth of the One Trade
The biggest trap traders fall into is placing all their hopes on a single trade — one that’s supposed to fix everything. That’s where the problems begin: oversized positions, impatience, emotional attachment... and eventually, tilt. And tilt does exactly the opposite — it wipes out your account.
The solution? Stretch the process out over time. Doing this alone significantly increases your chances of actual profit — instead of blowing everything up in a short burst.
What That Creates
By shifting away from the “one big trade” mindset, you remove urgency, bring risk under control, and turn your trading into a stable process. That’s the core of what I teach: break your trading into as many small, manageable episodes as possible.
Divide your “luck” into smaller parts — and you’ll be able to attract it in the long run.
This mindset comes with far more advantages than downsides. And deep down, you already know that. So start applying it — make this your starting point toward meaningful results.
Letting Go of the Old Way
Don’t worry about how long it might take to see significant growth in your account. You can always go back to your old way of trading — jumping in and trying to “make money today.” But ask yourself: how many times do you need to get burned before you finally shift from a short-term mindset to a long-term one?
Add to that some information isolation — stop feeding your brain constant news noise. Let go of headlines that pretend to predict the market. Free yourself from that influence, and you’ll start to see the charts clearly — without the illusions, without the made-up narratives.
One Last Thing
If you’re still holding on to the idea that you can achieve serious results without deeply studying this craft — and without putting in real time — let me suggest something: drop that belief now, before you even begin.
You don’t have to. But eventually, after enough feedback from the market, you’ll let it go anyway. It’s just a matter of time. The sooner you accept this, the easier your path will become.
And if you can’t let go of that illusion — your only real option is to leave the market.
Social media exists to drive engagement. And where there’s engagement, there’s exaggeration. That’s what feeds the false ideas you might unknowingly absorb about trading and beyond.
People show the upside — but rarely the downside.
This is a divergence cheat sheet showing how to identify and intGreat — now we’re looking at a full reference chart that summarizes all four types of divergence using price action vs RSI. It’s super well-organized. Let me break it down for you clearly:
📊 WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATION REPRESENTS:
This is a divergence cheat sheet showing how to identify and interpret:
🔁 Regular Divergence (signals a potential reversal)
Regular Bullish Divergence (bottom right)
Price: lower lows
RSI: higher lows
🔁 Reversal to the upside possible (after a downtrend)
Regular Bearish Divergence (top center)
Price: higher highs
RSI: lower highs
🔁 Reversal to the downside possible (after an uptrend)
🔄 Hidden Divergence (signals trend continuation)
Hidden Bullish Divergence (bottom left)
Price: higher lows
RSI: lower lows
🔄 Suggests uptrend will continue after a pullback
Hidden Bearish Divergence (top right)
Price: lower highs
RSI: higher highs
🔄 Suggests downtrend will continue after a pullback
💡 Summary Table:
Type Price Pattern RSI Pattern Interpretation
Regular Bullish Lower Lows Higher Lows Reversal to upside
Regular Bearish Higher Highs Lower Highs Reversal to downside
Hidden Bullish Higher Lows Lower Lows Continuation uptrend
Hidden Bearish Lower Highs Higher Highs Continuation downtrend
Ultimate Guide to Liquidity Sweeps: Trading Smart Money MovesIn the world of Crypto and other financial markets, liquidity sweeps are deliberate price moves designed to capture liquidity sitting above or below key price levels. These moves are not random, they are orchestrated by large players who need to fill significant orders efficiently. By pushing price into zones where stop-losses and pending orders accumulate, these entities access the liquidity required to open large positions without causing excessive slippage.
Liquidity sweeps offer sharp insights into market structure and intent. Understanding how they work and recognizing them in real-time can significantly enhance a trader’s edge, especially in environments dominated by algorithmic and smart money behavior.
Defining the Liquidity Sweep
A liquidity sweep is characterized by a quick push through a well-defined support or resistance level, typically a recent high or low, followed by a swift reversal. These zones are hotspots for stop orders placed by retail traders, such as long stop-losses placed under swing lows or short stops above recent highs. When these stops are triggered, they act as liquidity pools.
Large players anticipate these zones and use them to enter positions. The sweep creates an illusion of breakout or breakdown, luring reactive traders in, only for the price to reverse direction once the necessary liquidity is absorbed. This mechanism reveals the strategic manipulation often present in efficient markets.
Structure and Behavior of a Sweep
The process typically starts with the market forming a recognizable range, often between a defined high and low. Price then consolidates or slowly trends toward one edge of the range, building tension. As the market reaches that boundary, a sudden surge beyond the level occurs, this is the sweep. Importantly, price does not sustain above or below the level. Instead, it quickly retraces, printing a rejection wick or reversal pattern.
Following the reversal, the market often resumes its original trend or begins a new leg in the opposite direction of the sweep. For traders, this offers a clear point of entry and invalidation, allowing for precise trade setups.
Bullish Scenario, Sweep of Lows
When Bitcoin approaches a prior low, especially one that marked a swing point or a support level, many traders place their stop-losses just below that low. This creates a pocket of sell-side liquidity.
In a bullish liquidity sweep, price will spike below this prior low, often triggered by a news event, a large market order, or a sudden increase in volatility. The market will quickly wick below the level, triggering stop-losses and perhaps inviting new short positions. However, instead of continuing lower, price snaps back above the broken level and begins to climb.
This reversal indicates that large players were absorbing liquidity at the lows and are now positioned long. Traders can look for bullish confirmation via engulfing candles, reclaim of the low, or a fast return into the previous range.
Bearish Scenario, Sweep of Highs
Conversely, when Bitcoin grinds higher toward a prior swing high or resistance level, traders anticipating a breakout may enter early, while others have stop-losses on short positions resting above the level.
A bearish liquidity sweep occurs when price spikes above the prior high, triggering those buy stops and breakout entries. Almost immediately, the market reverses, showing rejection at the highs. This action signals that buy-side liquidity has been used by larger players to enter short positions.
Once price fails to hold above the breakout level and begins to drop, the sweep is confirmed. Traders aligned with this read may look for bearish structure to form, such as a lower high, and enter short with a defined invalidation above the sweep.
Common Pitfalls and Misinterpretations
One of the most frequent mistakes traders make is confusing a sweep for a breakout. Liquidity sweeps are often mistaken for the beginning of a new trend leg, leading to premature entries that quickly get reversed.
Another pitfall is ignoring the broader market context. Liquidity sweeps are most reliable when they occur at logical levels aligned with higher time frame bias. Without that alignment, the sweep may simply be part of a choppy, indecisive range.
Lack of confirmation is also an issue. Entering trades immediately after a wick without seeing structure reclaim, volume shift, or candle confirmation can lead to unnecessary losses.
Confirming a Valid Sweep
To increase confidence in a sweep setup, traders should watch for several confirming behaviors. Volume often spikes during the sweep itself, followed by a drop in volatility as the market reverses. Divergences on momentum indicators like RSI or OBV can also support the idea of an exhausted move.
Most importantly, the reaction after the sweep matters more than the sweep itself. If price fails to reclaim the swept level or continues trending, the move was likely a true breakout, not a manipulation.
In high-probability sweeps, price often reclaims the level and begins forming structure in the opposite direction. Watching for breaker blocks, fair value gaps, or inefficiencies being respected in this phase can also strengthen the case for entry.
Conclusion
Liquidity sweeps are one of the clearest footprints left behind by smart money. While they can be deceptive in the moment, with enough practice and context awareness, they become one of the most powerful tools in a trader’s arsenal.
The key lies in understanding that these moves are engineered, not accidental. Recognizing where the market is likely hunting liquidity, and how it behaves after collecting it, can dramatically improve your ability to enter trades with precision, confidence, and clear invalidation.
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Market Psychology and ImpressionsHi There,
Right now, BTCUSDT looks like it’s going up, but the price movement isn’t very stable. It could still go higher—but there’s also a chance it might drop. The market is kind of in a tricky area where it’s not clear what will happen next. This is where a Fibonacci tool can be useful to spot areas of interest drawn from a High to Low and take note of 0.618 and 0.5. Never chase the market; only react. Let price come to your area and give you a clear signal in terms of higher lows and lower highs for entry with some confirmation.
This is the kind of situation where people often get caught up in FOMO, jumping in too fast because they’re afraid of missing a big move. But that can lead to getting stuck if the price suddenly moves the other way.
When the market is behaving like this—unpredictable and uncertain—it’s often better to just watch and wait.
Remember: not every move needs to be traded. Sometimes, the best position is no position at all.
Stay sharp and trade smart.
Khiwe.
Discipline in Trading: The Indicator That Works 100% of the TimeEvery trader has that one folder — “Winning Indicators,” “Secret Scripts,” or the iconic “Final Strategy v12_REAL_THIS_ONE_WORKS.” It's where we hoard indicators like Pokémon, convinced the next RSI+MACD+SMA combo tweak will finally reveal the holy grail of trading.
Spoiler: it won’t. Because the real indicator that works — actually works — isn’t on your chart. It’s not in a TradingView script. It’s not even on your screen.
But it’s there — etched into your trade history, tattooed into your losses, and reflected in your ability (or inability) to stop yourself from clicking “buy” because Elon Musk tweeted a goat emoji.
It’s called discipline . And it’s the only thing in trading that has a 100% hit rate… if you let it.
Let’s talk about why discipline isn’t just a virtue — it’s the foundation of every successful trader you admire. And why, ironically, it’s forged in the moments you want to throw your monitor out the window.
👋 Everyone’s a Genius — Until the Market Slaps You
When things are going well, discipline feels unnecessary. You enter a trade on a hunch, it flies. You skip the stop loss, and price reverses right where you “felt” it would. You’re up three trades in a row, so clearly you’ve transcended markets and deserve your own hedge fund. Right?
Until you don’t. And the one time you triple down on a loser “because it always bounces”… it doesn’t. And suddenly you're not a genius — you’re Googling how to recover a blown account and wondering if that crypto bro who offered signals still has his DMs open.
The reality is that everyone trades well in good times — bulls make money in rising markets and bears make money in falling markets. But real traders are made in the bad times. That’s where discipline is forged.
🧐 No Pain, No Gain
Here’s the deal: discipline is not something you're born with. It’s built, brick by painful brick, on the smoldering ruins of your worst trades.
The overleveraged EUR/USD short you held through an ECB rate hike? Discipline.
The meme stock you bought at the top because your barista mentioned it? Discipline.
The four back-to-back trades you entered on revenge mode after getting stopped out? Discipline — with a side of therapy.
These moments suck. But they’re also where the learning happens. You don’t develop discipline from your wins. You develop it from losses that leave a mark. The kind of mark you think about while brushing your teeth. The kind that whispers: “maybe follow the plan next time.”
🤝 Success Leaves Clues
You’ve probably heard the phrase “plan your trade and trade your plan” so many times it’s lost all meaning. But it’s the foundation of discipline. Not because rules are fun, but because rules are the only thing that can protect you from… well, yourself.
Let’s be honest — if left to your own devices, you run the risk of:
Entering too early because “it looks like it’s going to move.”
Exiting too late because “it might come back.”
Increasing the leverage because “I’m due for a win.”
Successful traders are those who follow a disciplined, rule-based approach to trading. Discipline says no. It says “this is the plan” and makes you stick to it — even when your ego is telling you to wing it. Discipline doesn’t care about your feelings. It cares about consistency. And that’s what makes it powerful.
🎯 Hedge Fund Bros Who Didn’t Win by Binge-Clicking
Let’s talk about those who actually did launch a fund — and didn’t blow it up in three months. Stanley Druckenmiller, former lead portfolio manager for George Soros’s Quantum Fund who later went on to launch his own Duquesne family office, famously said:
“The key to making money in markets is to have an opinion and to bet it big. But only when the odds are heavily in your favor.”
Notice what he didn’t say: “Click as many buttons as possible and hope it works out.”
Druckenmiller didn’t trade because he was bored. He waited. He watched. And when his setup came, he struck with discipline. Not with fear. Not with greed. With process.
If one of the greatest macro traders of all time had the patience to wait for his edge, maybe you don’t need to scalp every green candle on the 1-minute chart.
Ray Dalio — the one who built Bridgewater into a hedge fund juggernaut — doesn’t sugarcoat it: trading is hard. And mistakes are inevitable. Discipline, Dalio says, is what turns mistakes into evolution. His famous mantra?
“Pain + Reflection = Progress.”
He built a company culture (and a personal philosophy) around radical transparency — writing down every mistake, analyzing every trade, and building systems that override ego.
Most traders experience pain. Very few pause to reflect. Fewer still build processes to avoid making the same mistake twice. So next time you get stopped out for the third time in a row, don’t curse the chart. Open your journal. Write it down. Check what you missed. That’s what turns amateurs into professionals.
👀 Discipline in Trading: How It Actually Looks
Discipline isn’t glamorous. You won’t post it on Instagram (maybe it's good for LinkedIn, though). But here’s what it looks like in the wild:
Passing on a trade that doesn’t check all the boxes — even though you’re “pretty sure it’ll work.”
Taking a small win and moving on, even when your gut says to hold and “let it ride.”
Staying flat on FOMC day because you know news candles have a personal vendetta against your stop-losses.
Journaling a bad trade and owning the mistake. No excuses. Just honesty.
💪 How to Build Discipline
Building discipline isn’t about becoming a robot. It’s about creating a process that works even when your emotions don’t.
Here’s how to start:
Journal everything : Not just your trades, but your thoughts before and after. Discipline grows in awareness.
Have a checklist: Make it stupidly simple. If a trade doesn’t check every box, don’t take it.
Pre-set your risk: Before the trade. Not after. You’re not negotiating with yourself mid-trade.
Set trade limits: Three trades per day. One setup per session. Whatever keeps you from spiraling.
Take breaks: If you’re chasing losses, walk away. The markets will be there tomorrow. Will you?
📌 Final Thought: Why Discipline Works
You can have the best tools, the slickest chart setup, and the strongest trade ideas. But if you can’t follow your own rules, you won’t go far.
Discipline isn’t flashy. It doesn’t promise 1,000% returns or viral content. It just works. Quietly. Relentlessly. Predictably.
And when the market turns — because it always does — discipline is what will keep you standing.
Because it’s not the indicator that matters. It’s the trader using it.
So, be honest—where has discipline made (or broken) your trading? And what’s your best tip for sticking to the plan when your brain wants to do anything but?
What Is a PD Array in ICT, and How Can You Use It in Trading?What Is a PD Array in ICT, and How Can You Use It in Trading?
The PD array, or Premium and Discount array, is a key concept within the Inner Circle Trader methodology, designed to help traders map market movements and identify high-probability zones. By breaking down price behaviour into premium and discount levels, along with tools like order blocks and fair value gaps, the PD array provides a structured framework for analysis. This article explores its components, applications, and how traders can integrate it into their strategies.
What Is a PD Array?
An ICT PD array, short for Premium and Discount array, is a concept developed by Michael J. Huddleston, the mind behind the Inner Circle Trader (ICT) methodology. At its core, the PD array is a framework used to organise price levels and zones on a chart where significant institutional activity is likely to occur. These zones highlight areas of interest such as potential support or resistance, points where liquidity resides, or regions that might attract price movement.
The PD array divides the market into two primary zones: premium and discount. These zones help traders gauge whether the price is above or below its equilibrium, often calculated using the 50% level of a significant price range. In practical terms, prices in the premium zone are typically considered attractive in a downtrend and unattractive in an uptrend, while prices in the discount zone are more attractive in an uptrend and less attractive in a downtrend.
Beyond premium and discount zones, PD arrays include specific elements like order blocks, which are regions linked to institutional buying or selling, and fair value gaps (FVGs), which are imbalances or gaps in price that the market often seeks to revisit. Together, these elements create a structured roadmap for traders to interpret price behaviour.
Unlike a static indicator, an ICT PD array is dynamic and requires traders to interpret price movements in real time, considering the broader market context. It’s not a quick fix but a methodical approach to understanding how price delivers across different levels, offering a clearer view of where high-probability reactions could occur. The PD array is often combined with other ICT concepts, like market structure shifts or SMT divergence, to sharpen analysis and focus on precise market opportunities.
Premium and Discount Zones of a PD Array
The foundation of a PD array starts with defining the premium and discount zones. This is typically done by identifying a significant price swing—either a low to a high or vice versa—and applying a Fibonacci retracement. The 50% level of this range serves as the equilibrium point, dividing the chart into two zones:
- Premium zone: Price levels above 50%, often considered less attractive in an uptrend and more attractive in a downtrend.
- Discount zone: Price levels below 50%, seen as more attractive in an uptrend and less attractive in a downtrend.
This equilibrium acts as a baseline, helping traders assess whether the price is likely to reverse, consolidate, or continue based on its position relative to the 50% mark.
Tools Within the PD Array
The PD array doesn’t rely on a fixed set of tools. Instead, it offers a collection of components traders can use to refine their analysis. While the choice of tools can vary, they’re often ranked in a loose hierarchy, known as a PD array matrix, based on their importance within the ICT methodology. Let’s break down how this structure works.
Order Blocks
Order blocks are areas where institutional traders placed large buy or sell orders, often leading to significant price moves. On a chart, they appear as the last bullish or bearish candle before a sharp reversal. Order blocks are highly prioritised within the PD array because they indicate zones of potential support or resistance.
Fair Value Gaps (FVGs)
FVGs are gaps between price levels that form when the market moves too quickly to fill orders evenly. These imbalances create "unfinished business" in the market, and price often revisits these areas to restore balance. They are especially useful for spotting potential reversals or continuation points.
Breaker Blocks
Breaker blocks form when order blocks fail. When supply or demand zones are unable to hold and the market structure shifts, breaker blocks emerge, highlighting key levels to monitor.
Mitigation Blocks
Mitigation blocks are related to breaker blocks but form after a market structure shift, where the price makes a lower high (in an uptrend) or a higher low (in a downtrend). They function the same as breaker blocks, but the key difference is in the failure of a new high/low before the trend reverses.
Liquidity Voids
Liquidity voids are areas on the chart where there’s little to no trading activity, often following sharp price movements. These large FVGs are often revisited by price as the market seeks to rebalance liquidity, making them significant for identifying future price movements.
Rejection Blocks
ICT rejection blocks are similar in concept to order blocks but consist of the wicks present on a given timeframe where an order block could be drawn. They are essentially a refined version of an order block where the price may reverse.
Old Lows or Highs
Old lows or highs represent liquidity pools where traders place stop orders. These levels are magnets for the price, as the market often seeks to trigger these stops before reversing. Identifying these points helps traders anticipate where the price might gravitate.
Using ICT PD Arrays for Trading
Let’s consider how to use the PD array of the ICT methodology.
Evaluating Trend Structure
Before anything else, traders typically assess the broader trend by analysing highs and lows. The goal is to identify the current structure and wait for the market to form a new significant high or low that aligns with the existing trend. For instance, in an uptrend, a trader might wait for a new higher high to form, followed by a retracement.
Once the new high or low is established, traders often draw a Fibonacci retracement tool between the previous low and the recent swing high (or vice versa for a downtrend). This creates a clear division of the price range into premium and discount zones, providing the foundation of the PD array.
Retracement into the PD Array
As the price retraces within the range, traders watch for it to reach the premium zone in a downtrend or the discount zone in an uptrend. This positioning is essential—it signals that the price has reached an area where the risk-reward profile may be more favourable.
Finding Specific Setups
Within these zones, traders use the tools of the PD array to refine their approach. For instance, an FVG might act as a key level, particularly if it sits just ahead of an order block. Alternatively, a breaker block might signal a potential reversal if the price aligns with the broader trend structure. By combining these elements, traders can narrow their focus to setups that align with both the PD array and the underlying market conditions.
The Limitations of ICT PD Arrays
While ICT PD arrays offer a structured framework for analysing price behaviour, they’re not without their challenges. Traders relying on this methodology should be aware of its limitations to avoid potential pitfalls. Here are some key considerations:
- Subjectivity in Marking Zones: Identifying premium and discount zones, as well as order blocks or other components, can vary between traders. This subjectivity means that no two analyses are identical, which may lead to inconsistent outcomes.
- Experience Required: Effectively using PD arrays demands a solid understanding of market structure, liquidity concepts, and the ICT methodology. It can feel overwhelming for beginners without adequate practice.
- Higher Timeframe Dependence: While PD arrays are valuable, they’re more popular on higher timeframes. Traders focusing solely on smaller timeframes might encounter more false signals.
- Dynamic Nature: Markets evolve quickly, and PD arrays require traders to adapt in real time. This dynamic quality can be a challenge for those who struggle with decision-making under pressure.
- Overfitting Risk: With so many tools available within the ICT framework, it’s easy to overanalyse or misinterpret signals, leading to analysis paralysis.
The Bottom Line
ICT PD arrays offer traders a structured framework to analyse market movements and identify key price zones, helping them refine their strategies. By combining these arrays with other tools and techniques, traders can gain deeper insights into institutional activity.
FAQ
What Is the ICT PD Array?
The ICT PD array meaning refers to a Premium and Discount array, a trading concept developed within the Inner Circle Trader (ICT) methodology. It organises price levels and zones into premium and discount areas, helping traders analyse where the price is likely to react and reverse and place entry and exit points. The framework includes tools like order blocks, fair value gaps, and liquidity voids to identify potential areas of institutional interest.
What Is a Premium Array in Forex?
A premium array in forex refers to the portion of a price range above its equilibrium level, typically the 50% mark of a significant swing high and low. Traders consider this zone less attractive for buying, as it’s closer to overvaluation, and often watch for potential selling opportunities.
What Is a Discount Array in Forex?
A discount array is the zone below the equilibrium level of a price range. It represents a potentially more favourable area for potential buying opportunities, as prices are considered undervalued relative to the swing high and low.
This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.
The Importance of Framing a NarrativeIn this video I go through a trade setup and the importance of framing a narrative in your trading. This allows you to wait for trades to come to you, rather than making up trades out of thin air, which we all know does not usually end well.
I hope you find this video insightful.
- R2F Trading
How to use Correlation for your tradingHello,
Understanding correlation is key to elevating your trading success for two main reasons:
Avoid Trading Against Yourself: When you buy one asset and sell another that is positively correlated, you risk offsetting your gains with losses. This often results in a zero-sum outcome, as one trade may profit while the other incurs a loss. Recognizing correlated pairs helps you avoid this pitfall and trade more strategically. Using the chart below its clear that it will be unwise to sell GBPUSD while buying EURUSD since both pairs move in the same direction.
Capitalize on Lagging Pairs:
Identifying correlated pairs and their movement patterns enables smarter trading decisions. By spotting which pair tends to lead and which lags, you can focus on trading the lagging pair to increase your probability of success. While risks remain, this approach allows for more calculated and potentially profitable trades.
The charts provided illustrate the positive correlation between GBPUSD and EURUSD, showing how they move in tandem. This insight allows you to confidently buy or sell one pair based on the movement of the other, optimizing your trading strategy.
Goodluck in your trading.
Disclosure: I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analysis.
Best Liquidity Grab / Sweep Strategy For Trading Forex & Gold
Learn how to trade liquidity grab / sweep with multiple time frame analysis.
Discover how to combine top-down analysis and smart money concept SMC for trading forex and gold.
You will get a complete step by step trading strategy with entry, stop loss and target.
1. In order to trade liquidity grab / sweep properly, you need to find liquidity zones first.
For this trading strategy, the best liquidity zones will be on a daily time frame.
Check these 2 significant liquidity zones on EURAUD forex pair on a daily.
The zone where the selling activity concentrate will be called a supply zone. While the zone with a strong concentration of a buying activity will be a demand zone.
2. After that, you should look for a liquidity grab / sweep.
For a valid liquidity grab / sweep the daily candle should violate the liquidity zone only with the tail / wick of the candle , while the body should stay within the zone.
Above is the example of a liquidity grab of a demand zone.
While the daily candle closed within the underlined area, the wick went beyond that.
3. After you identified a liquidity grab/sweep, start analyzing lower time frames . For this strategy, the best time frames are 4H and 1H.
On these time frames, you should look for a consolidation and a formation of a horizontal range.
Here is such a range on EURAUD on a 4H.
These ranges will be used for confirmation .
Your bullish signal will be a breakout of the resistance of the range ,
it will confirm a strong buying interest after a liquidity grab.
That is the example of such a confirmation.
4. After that, set a buy limit order on a retest of a broken resistance of the range. Take profit will be the closest strong resistance, stop loss will be below the support of the range.
That is how we trade a liquidity grab/sweep of a demand zone.
With the supply zone liquidity grab trading strategy, you should wait for a bullish liquidity sweep followed by a bearish breakout of a range on a 4H / 1H time frames.
I always say to my students that a single time frame analysis is not sufficient for profitable trading SMC.
A proper combination of multiple time frames is the key to consistent profits.
Following this strategy, you should achieve up to 80% winning rate trading liquidity grabs / sweeps.
❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analysis.
Emotional Management — The Hidden ComponentIn this piece, I’ll touch on one of the most important topics — a core obstacle on the path to consistent and profitable trading.
We need to explore where certain emotions come from and how to work with them in order to better understand ourselves. What truly fits our nature, what common mistakes we make, and how to avoid them moving forward.
Until we learn how to navigate these internal roadblocks, we won’t be able to achieve stable financial results.
The Scariest Part
Let’s get straight to the point. The scariest thing that can happen to us in trading is a stop-loss being hit — in other words, taking a loss on a trade.
Scary? I don’t think so. This is a parameter we can control ourselves.
If we’re building a setup, we must define the size of the stop-loss — the amount we’re willing to risk if things go wrong.
And keep in mind: this risk will always be there, no matter how experienced or skilled you become. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that this time is different — that this setup feels so strong, so obvious, that there’s no way it could fail.
Spoiler: that’s exactly when you should start tracking your trades.
Every time you feel this kind of overconfidence, log it in a spreadsheet. I can already tell you what you’ll find: 1 to 3 out of 10 of those “super strong” setups will end up hitting your stop. Which means — your feeling of conviction had zero correlation with how price actually moved. The market simply didn’t care what you thought about it.
And one step further: even if your technical model is solid and well-developed, you still can’t predict the future with certainty. That means you also can’t ever be 100% sure your stop won’t get hit.
Does that make sense? Good — let’s move on.
Loss
Since we’re not all-powerful, we have to use stop-losses — and calculate them in a way that, at the very least, doesn’t make us feel pain when they’re hit. At the same time, the stop should be set at an optimal level, so we still feel the potential for profit. Otherwise, our brain won’t engage with the market properly — it won’t sense the reward, and that can distort our analysis.
This often leads to vague, low-quality setups — but even that is far less dangerous than oversizing positions to the point where potential losses feel unbearable.
See that fine line? Most of trading psychology and emotional control comes down to how we relate to loss. That’s where the real pressure is rooted.
Emotional Space
We experience both negative and positive emotions — that’s the full spectrum.
Your trading will only be high-quality if you avoid emotional imbalance. In other words, you need to stay centered and calm. Any excess emotional charge — whether negative or positive — will inevitably work against you.
If you’re stuck in the negative zone, you’ll start feeling anger and frustration, which will cloud your judgment and prevent you from thinking clearly during the trading process.
But being too far into the positive zone is just as dangerous — it leads to greed and overconfidence, which often result in oversized positions and dangerously wide stop-losses.
Both ends of the spectrum, if left unchecked, will push you into tilt — a state where you can no longer evaluate reality objectively and start making impulsive decisions. This is how traders end up losing a significant part — if not all — of their account.
The Algorithm
Let’s go back to what we covered earlier — the core catalyst behind tilt: violating your predefined stop-loss size.
You must first determine a loss amount that feels emotionally tolerable to you. Ideally, this number should be fixed, and you should never exceed it (except later, as your account grows). Once you’ve done that, you now have a simple algorithm: you build your setups using the same fixed-risk amount — and under no circumstances should you go beyond that limit.
This creates awareness in the brain. It knows the predefined threshold, is prepared for a negative outcome, and remains calm. Imagine a circle — as long as you stay within it, in your zone of comfort, you can operate with clarity and discipline.
But the moment you step outside that circle, your mind starts to feel stress. And if you don’t catch yourself in time, that stress escalates — leading you straight into a tilt state.
Emotional Triggers
Here’s where it gets both complicated — and surprisingly simple. All you need to do is follow one rule. But even that becomes difficult for many, because they give in to greed — the kind that pushes you to increase position size just because the setup “feels certain” (something I’ve already mentioned before).
On the other side of the spectrum, anger and frustration start to build — especially if you’ve just taken a loss and your mind shifts into “recovery mode.”
That emotional urge makes you want to win it all back quickly, so you raise the size of your next trade — planning to return to your original account balance first, and then go back to your normal risk-management rules. That’s a fatal mistake.
Here’s my advice: when you're in a drawdown — emotionally and financially — you should actually lower your stop size, not increase it, until you get back to a neutral baseline.
Both negative emotions (sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment) and positive ones (joy, excitement, euphoria) can push you to break your risk limits. The emotional trigger may be different, but the outcome is the same: you oversize.
The only time you should be trading is when you're in a neutral state of mind — for example, operating from a place of interest or curiosity.
It’s All in Our Hands
Understand this: we are the only ones truly responsible for executing our plan. If we increase our position size beyond what we should — that’s on us. If you know you’re making a mistake, why let it happen anyway? We control the entire process. If we truly don’t want to blow the account, we won’t — because we’ve calculated the risk beforehand.
Let me repeat: if we follow the plan and don’t act impulsively, we will never blow our account. That’s the foundation for building consistency in trading.
But the more unstable our emotional state becomes, the easier it is to step outside that “mental circle” and trigger a stress response. That stress inevitably leads to tilt. You’ll start reacting to everything — someone was rude to you, a fear of not having money for food, whatever. It all begins to pour into your trading: chaotic entries, random sizing, total abandonment of your risk rules. And in most cases, this spiral ends with one thing — a blown account.
The Solution
That’s why you should always monitor your emotional state — and ideally, keep a journal where you track how you feel each day. The moment you notice that you’re starting to lose control, step away from trading immediately. That’s the smartest decision you can make. I say this from experience — it’s been proven many times.
Yes, it’s hard to do — I get it. But remind yourself of this: if you keep trading in that state, there’s a high chance you’ll lose a significant part of your account. And when that happens, you’ll feel even worse — blaming yourself for not stepping away when you could have.
So yes, it’s difficult — but still far easier than dealing with the damage. The best move is to shut down your trading platform and avoid looking at charts for at least three full days. Shift your focus to something else entirely — anything that helps you stop obsessing over the market.
When those thoughts disappear — the ones about urgently making money back or hitting a certain target — that’s when you’re ready to return to trading with a clear and steady mindset.
The Takeaway
This is the core of what happens inside us — and how to respond to it. In most cases, this is the exact cycle that plays out. Everything else — more unique emotional patterns, sudden urges to break your own limits — will emerge with time.
Your job is to learn how to spot those triggers, notice your internal reactions, and pull yourself away from the screen before the damage is done.
Wishing you strength and clarity on this path.
Breakout or Fakeout? How to Spot the Difference and Trade.Trading breakouts can be exciting - and profitable - when they're real. But how do you avoid getting caught in those frustrating false breakouts (fakeouts) that trap many traders?
In this clear and practical guide, you'll learn exactly how to identify genuine breakouts, avoid traps, and improve your trading decisions instantly.
Here's what we'll cover:
✅ Real Breakouts vs Fakeouts: Why it matters.
✅ Market Psychology: Why false breakouts happen.
✅ Volume: Your best friend for spotting authenticity.
✅ Price Structure & Context: When breakouts mean business.
✅ Momentum Confirmation: The hidden indicator that changes everything.
Let’s dive in!
🚩 Real Breakout vs Fakeout: Know the Difference
A breakout occurs when price decisively moves beyond a clear support or resistance level. Imagine Bitcoin breaking above $50,000 or Gold dropping below $1,900.
A fakeout happens when price briefly breaks these key levels—but quickly reverses, leaving traders stuck on the wrong side of the market.
Why it matters: Fakeouts aren't just frustrating—they’re costly. They drain your capital and confidence. Recognizing them early keeps you profitable and disciplined.
🧠 Why Do Fakeouts Happen? (The Psychology)
Fakeouts thrive because traders chase excitement and fear missing out (FOMO). Here’s the secret many traders overlook:
Bull and Bear Traps: Institutional traders deliberately push prices slightly past key levels to trigger stop orders—only to reverse the price sharply.
FOMO-driven trades: Retail traders jump in excitedly at any small breakout, providing fuel for these short-lived moves.
Understanding these tactics can help you stay calm and avoid impulsive entries.
🔥 Volume: The Ultimate Breakout Indicator
Want to know if a breakout is real? Look at volume—it reveals the market’s true intention.
High Volume: Means broad market participation and conviction, supporting a genuine breakout.
Low Volume: A red flag! This signals low market conviction and a higher likelihood of reversal.
Example: If Ethereum breaks above $4,000 with unusually high volume, that's a strong signal. But if volume remains low, beware—it's likely a fakeout.
📐 Context and Price Structure Make a Difference
Not all breakouts are created equal. Pay attention to these key context clues:
Trend Alignment: Breakouts in the direction of a clear existing trend are more reliable.
Significance of Level: Breakouts of major support/resistance levels (weekly or monthly highs/lows) have higher odds of success.
Follow-through and Retests: Genuine breakouts often retest broken levels, turning old resistance into new support.
⚡ Momentum Confirmation: Your Secret Weapon
Momentum indicators (like RSI or MACD) tell you what's happening beneath the surface. They help confirm or reject breakout validity:
Strong Momentum: If indicators confirm the breakout direction, the breakout is more reliable.
Divergence (Warning Sign): If price makes a new high but momentum indicators show lower highs, beware—a fakeout could be near.
Use momentum as your final confirmation step. It’s the missing piece that many traders ignore.
🎯 Quick Breakout Checklist
Use this simple checklist next time you're assessing a breakout:
🚦 Trade Breakouts Wisely: Final Tips
Be Patient: Waiting for breakout confirmation saves you from costly mistakes.
Set Clear Stops: If a breakout fails, exit quickly. Small losses protect your capital.
Scale into Trades: Enter gradually to manage your risk effectively.
Mind Market Context: Always align breakouts with the broader market direction.
Trading breakouts doesn't have to be stressful. When you know what signs to watch for, you trade with confidence—not guesswork.
🚀 Conclusion: Trade Better, Not Harder
Avoiding fakeouts is all about patience, confirmation, and understanding market psychology. By using volume, context, and momentum effectively, you'll greatly improve your breakout trading.
Now, put these strategies into practice. Stop guessing—start confidently trading real breakouts today!
Happy Trading!
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#TradingTips #Breakouts #TechnicalAnalysis #TradingEducation #Crypto #Forex #StockTrading
MAY 1-1-1 TRADING CHALLENGEI’ve been thinking about how messy trading can get.
One day you're watching a video on scalping, the next you're trying to swing trade five different pairs. Then before you know it, your screen is cluttered with a million indicators, your confidence is shot, and your results? Even worse.
So for the month of May, I’m doing something different.
I’m calling it the 1-1-1 Challenge
1 Mentor. 1 Instrument. 1 Setup.
For me, that means:
- I’m sticking with Tori as my mentor. No other videos, no mixed signals.
- I’m focusing only on Crude Oil. That’s my chart, my market.
- And I’m trading only Trendline Breaks. Clean and simple.
That’s it. Pure focus. Pure discipline.
Let’s see what happens when I stop trying to trade everything — and start mastering one thing.
If you’ve been feeling the same kind of overwhelm, maybe this challenge is for you too.
Want to join me in May?
Let’s go all in:
1 Mentor
1 Instrument
1 Setup
I'll be sharing my progress and documenting my journey here. Follow me!
No Setup, No Trade: Staying Sane in Gold’s MadnessToday, Gold hit $3500.
And while that may not sound like a shock on its own, what is unprecedented is the fact that in the past 10 days, Gold has climbed 5,000 pips.
That's not a normal rally.
That’s a vertical explosion.
And yes — it is looking “overextended”, but so it dit at 3300...
But then it went up another 2000 pips.
Will it drop? Probably — and hard.
When? No one knows.
Will it rise another 2000 pips before that?
Again, no one knows.
This is where most traders lose themselves — not because they don’t have tools, but because they pretend to know what’s unknowable.
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🎯 The Strongest Skill: Admit When You Don’t Know
Every trader wants clarity.
But real professionals know when they’ve entered the fog.
The market is not obligated to give you structure just because you want to trade.
And the worst trades often happen when:
• You think it's overbought (but it keeps going)
• You think it’s due for a correction (but it doesn't care)
• You think it can't go higher (but it does)
This isn’t analysis — it’s wishful thinking.
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🧠 Do You Actually Have Edge? Ask Yourself:
1. Do I see a structured setup, or just a reaction to “how far it’s gone”?
2. Can I define my entry, stop, and exit in advance?
3. Am I trading because I have a plan — or because it feels like a top (or simply have nothing better to do)?
If you can’t answer these — you don’t have edge.
You’re just guessing with conviction.
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✅ The Only Thing That Matters: A Valid Trade
If you’re going to trade this madness, make sure your trade is:
• Planned (with defined risk)
• Repeatable (not emotional)
• Based on structure or volatility patterns
Otherwise, it’s just ego vs. market.
And the market always wins that fight.
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🧘♂️ Final Thought: When Things Get Wild, Stay Sane
There’s no shame in stepping aside when things make no sense.
In fact, that’s where the real skill begins.
“Knowing when you don’t know isn’t weakness — it’s your strongest edge.”
So take a breath.
Zoom out.
And wait for the moment when you actually know what you're doing — not just think you do.
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And remember:
No setup, no trade. No clarity, no risk. No ego, no drama.
Disclosure: I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analyses and educational articles.
Are You Backtesting or Backfilling Your Ego?You build the setup.
You run the test.
It’s not quite what you hoped for…
So you tweak it. Then tweak it again. Then again. And again.
Before you know it, you’re not testing a strategy anymore
you’re editing reality until it flatters you.
That’s not refinement.
That’s backfilling your ego.
The urge to make it look right
We’re human.
Nobody likes drawdowns.
Inconsistency feels uncomfortable.
And let’s be real.. win-rates under 50% just look bad.
We don’t want to see our promising idea fall apart in the data.
So instead of facing it, we start sculpting the results to make them easier to accept.
We don’t want to see our promising idea fall apart in the data.
So instead of facing it, we start sculpting the results to make them easier to accept.
Widen the stop just a little.
Tighten the take-profit, Perfect! Now my win-rate is 60%
Add a filter that “feels logical.”
Nudge the indicator setting.
Remove the choppy day, “that was news anyway.”
And just like that, the curve is smoother.
The stats are cleaner.
You feel better.
But here’s the problem:
You’re not building a strategy that works.
You’re building a strategy that looks like it works.
Optimization isn’t the enemy, but your intentions might be
Of course, tuning is part of the process.
You should test different inputs and variables.
But stop and ask yourself: why are you doing it?
If you're refining to understand the behavior of your system, that’s good.
If you're changing things to avoid discomfort? That’s not testing. That’s denial.
The market doesn’t care how hard you worked.
It doesn’t reward effort. It rewards resilience.
If your strategy only performs when everything’s perfectly aligned
when the moving average is exactly 13.53661,
and the RSI is 42.122 instead of 40,
and your entry is two bars after a wick touch…
Then you don’t have a strategy.
You have a sandcastle.
And when the tide shifts, it’s gone.
All because you wanted it to work so badly, you sculpted the data until it told you what you wanted to hear.
A strategy worth trading doesn’t just survive the good times
Anyone can build a system that performs in a trending market.
Or when volatility is ideal.
Or when the dataset ends right before the storm hits.
But markets don’t hand out clean conditions on demand.
So ask yourself:
Have you tested your strategy in stress conditions?
Have you run it through market noise, sideways action, volatility spikes, and traps?
Have you studied its worst stretch and still said, “Yes… I’d take these trades”?
Because if the answer is no, your system isn’t ready.
You’re not building a strategy to trade.
You’re building one to feel safe.. and that’s far more dangerous.
Break it before the market does
The best traders do the opposite of comfort:
They try to break their systems before live money does it for them.
Run a Monte Carlo simulation.
Shuffle the order of trades.
Randomize outcomes.
Apply slippage or missed entries.
If your equity curve collapses under that pressure, if your belief in the system evaporates when the trades aren’t perfectly sequenced, then you didn’t build robustness.
You built a lucky curve.
Loss streaks aren’t a bug, they’re the cost of playing
Too many traders design systems that avoid losing…
instead of building ones that know how to lose..
Every real edge has pain points.
Every equity curve has drawdowns.
Every stretch of performance has some ugly days.
If your backtest doesn’t show that? Be suspicious, because the market will definitely do.
So stop trying to eliminate every loss, and start asking better questions:
Where does this strategy actually break?
What’s the worst losing streak I can expect?
Can I survive that financially and emotionally?
bottom line:
It’s truth over comfort.
Clarity over illusion.
Edge over ego.
Test it honestly, or the market will ..
Dealing with Stress in Trading: The Silent Killer of PerformanceTrading is hard. But not just technically or economically — emotionally, it's one of the most demanding things you can do.
Charts, indicators, news, setups — they’re all part of the job. But behind every click, there’s a person reacting to fear, frustration, regret, and pressure.
And that’s where stress creeps in.
In this article, we’ll explore:
• Why trading stress hits harder than most think
• How it manifests (and sabotages) your decisions
• Practical ways to reduce and manage stress
• The mindset shift that changes everything
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🔥 Why Trading Is Uniquely Stressful
Most jobs reward consistency. Trading, ironically, punishes it at times.
You can do everything “right” and still lose money. You can follow your plan, manage risk, and still watch a red candle wipe your equity.
The problem?
Our brains aren’t built for that kind of randomness. We crave cause-effect logic — but markets aren't and most of all don’t care.
This disconnect creates cognitive dissonance . The result? Stress builds up.
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🧠 How Stress Sabotages Traders (Without Them Realizing)
Stress doesn’t always show up as panic. More often, it shows up as:
• Overtrading (trying to ‘fix’ bad trades emotionally)
• Freezing (not taking good setups out of fear)
• Revenge trading (turning a bad trade into a disaster)
• Inconsistency (changing strategy mid-week, mid-trade, mid-breath)
• Physical symptoms (fatigue, headaches, insomnia — yes, it's real)
Left unchecked, stress creates a loop:
Stress → bad trades → more stress → worse decisions.
________________________________________
🛠️ Practical Techniques to Manage Trading Stress
Here’s what actually helps — not the Instagram-fluff, but what real traders use:
1. Create Pre-Defined Trade Plans
Stress loves uncertainty. But when you enter a trade with exact entries, stops, and targets, you leave less room for panic-based decisions.
✅ Pro tip: Write your trade plan down. Don’t trade from memory.
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2. Use the 3-Strike Rule
If you take 3 consecutive losses or bad trades — stop for the day, or if you are a swing trader, stop for the week, come back on Monday. It’s not about revenge. It’s about protecting mental capital.
“When in doubt, protect your focus. You can’t trade well without it.”
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3. Build a Trading Routine (Like a Ritual)
Start each session the same way. Same coffee, same chart review, same breathing.
Why? It anchors your brain. Predictability in your environment reduces the emotional chaos inside your head.
________________________________________
4. Step Away from the Screen (Yes, Physically)
After a tough trade, move. Walk. Stretch. Get outside. Go to gym, ride your bike(these I do most often). Reset your nervous system. Trading is mental, but stress is physical too.
You’re not a robot. Don't act like one.
________________________________________
5. Track Your Emotional State (Not Just P&L)
Keep a trading journal where you note how you felt before/after trades.
You’ll find patterns like:
• “I lose when I’m bored and looking for action”
• “My best trades happen when I feel calm and centered”
Awareness = control.
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🧭 The Mindset Shift: From Outcome to Process
This might be the most important thing I’ll ever tell you:
Detach from results. Fall in love with process.
Your goal isn’t to win every trade.
Your goal is to execute your plan with discipline.
Every time you do that — even on a losing trade — you’re winning the real game.
That’s how stress stops being the master and becomes the servant.
________________________________________
🧘 Final Thought: Stress Will Never Go Away — and That’s Okay
You’ll always feel something. But the goal isn’t to be emotionless — it’s to be aware and in control.
Trading is like martial arts: the best fighters aren’t calm because they feel nothing. They’re calm because they’ve trained their response.
So train yours.
________________________________________
💬 Remember, consistency in mindset creates consistency in results.
What Is the McClellan Oscillator (NYMO), and How to Use ItWhat Is the McClellan Oscillator (NYMO), and How to Use It in Trading?
The McClellan Oscillator is a widely used market breadth indicator that helps traders analyse momentum and market strength. It focuses on the relationship between advancing and declining stocks, offering unique insights beyond price movements. This article explains how the McClellan Oscillator works, its interpretation, and how it compares to other tools.
What Is the McClellan Oscillator?
The McClellan Oscillator is a market breadth indicator that traders use to measure momentum in stock market indices. It’s calculated based on the Advance/Decline Line, which tracks the net number of advancing stocks (those rising in price) minus declining stocks (those falling in price) over a given period.
The NYSE McClellan Oscillator is the most common variant, often called the NYMO indicator. However, it can also be applied to any other stock index, like the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, or FTSE 100.
Here’s how it works: the indicator uses two exponential moving averages (EMAs) of the advance/decline data—a 19-day EMA for short-term trends and a 39-day EMA for long-term trends. The difference between these two EMAs gives you the oscillator’s value. Positive readings mean more stocks are advancing than declining, pointing to bullish momentum. Negative readings suggest the opposite, with bearish sentiment dominating.
What makes the McClellan indicator particularly useful is its ability to highlight shifts in market momentum that might not be obvious from price movements alone. For example, even if a stock index is rising, a declining indicator could signal that fewer stocks are participating in the rally—a potential warning of weakening breadth.
This indicator is versatile and works well across various timeframes, but it’s particularly popular for analysing daily or weekly market trends. While it’s not designed to provide direct buy or sell signals, it helps traders identify when markets are gaining or losing momentum,
Understanding the Advance/Decline Line
The Advance/Decline (A/D) Line is a market breadth indicator that tracks the difference between the number of advancing stocks and declining stocks. It’s calculated cumulatively, adding each day’s net result to the previous total. This gives a running tally that reflects the broader participation of stocks in a market’s movement, rather than just focusing on a handful of large-cap stocks.
When the A/D Line shows consistent strength or weakness, the McClellan Oscillator amplifies this data, making it potentially easier to spot underlying trends in market breadth. In essence, the A/D Line provides the raw data, while the McClellan refines it into actionable insights.
How to Calculate the McClellan Oscillator
The McClellan Oscillator formula effectively smooths out the daily fluctuations in the A/D data, allowing traders to focus on broader shifts in momentum.
Here’s how it’s calculated:
- Calculate the 19-day EMA of the A/D line (short-term trend).
- Calculate the 39-day EMA of the A/D line (long-term trend).
- Subtract the 39-day EMA from the 19-day EMA. The result is the McClellan Oscillator’s value.
Giving the formula:
- McClellan Oscillator = 19-day EMA of A/D - 39-day EMA of A/D
The result is a line that fluctuates around a midpoint. In practice, a trader might apply the McClellan Oscillator to the S&P 500 on a daily or weekly timeframe, providing insights for trading.
Interpretation of the Oscillator’s Values
- Positive values occur when the 19-day EMA is above the 39-day EMA, indicating that advancing stocks dominate and the market has bullish momentum.
- Negative values occur when the 19-day EMA is below the 39-day EMA, reflecting a bearish trend with declining stocks in control.
- A value near zero suggests balance, where advancing and declining stocks are roughly equal.
Signals Generated
The indicator is popular for identifying shifts in momentum and potential trend changes.
Overbought and Oversold Conditions
- Readings at or above +100 typically indicate an overbought market, where the upward momentum may be overextended.
- Readings at or below -100 suggest an oversold market, with the potential for a recovery.
Crossing Zero
When the indicator crosses above or below zero, it can indicate shifts in market sentiment, with traders often monitoring these transitions closely.
Divergences
- A positive divergence occurs when the indicator rises while the index declines, signalling potential bullish momentum building.
- A negative divergence happens when the indicator falls while the index rises, hinting at weakening momentum.
Using the McClellan Oscillator With Other Indicators
The McClellan Oscillator is a valuable tool for analysing market breadth, but its insights become even more powerful when combined with other indicators. Pairing it with complementary tools can help traders confirm signals, refine their analysis, and better understand overall market conditions.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) measures the strength and speed of price movements, identifying overbought or oversold conditions. While the McClellan Oscillator focuses on market breadth, using RSI along with it can provide confirmation. For example, if both indicators show overbought conditions, it strengthens the case for a potential market pullback.
Moving Averages
Simple or exponential moving averages of price data can help confirm trends identified by the McClellan Oscillator. For instance, if it signals bullish momentum and the index moves above its moving average, this alignment may suggest stronger market conditions.
Volume Indicators (e.g., On-Balance Volume)
Volume is a key component of market analysis. Combining the Oscillator with volume-based indicators can clarify whether breadth signals are supported by strong participation, improving the reliability of momentum shifts.
Bollinger Bands
Bollinger Bands measure volatility and provide insight into price ranges. When combined with the McClellan Oscillator, they can help traders assess whether market breadth signals align with overextended price movements, providing additional context.
VIX (Volatility Index)
The VIX measures market sentiment and fear. Cross-referencing it with the McClellan Oscillator can reveal whether market breadth momentum aligns with changes in risk appetite, offering a deeper understanding of sentiment shifts.
Comparing the McClellan Oscillator With Related Indicators
The McClellan Oscillator, McClellan Summation Index, and Advance/Decline Ratio all provide insights into market breadth, but they differ in focus and application.
McClellan Oscillator vs McClellan Summation Index
While the Oscillator measures short-term momentum using the difference between 19-day and 39-day EMAs of the Advance/Decline (A/D) Line, the McClellan Summation Index takes a longer-term perspective. It is a cumulative total of the Oscillator's daily values, creating a broader view of market trends.
Think of the Summation Index as the "big picture" complement to the Oscillator's granular analysis. Traders often use the Summation Index to track longer-term trends and identify major turning points, while the Oscillator is more popular when monitoring immediate momentum shifts and overbought/oversold conditions.
McClellan Oscillator vs Advance/Decline Ratio
The Advance/Decline Ratio is a simpler calculation, dividing the number of advancing stocks by the number of declining stocks. While it provides a snapshot of market breadth, it lacks the depth of analysis offered by the McClellan Oscillator.
The Oscillator refines raw A/D data with exponential moving averages, smoothing out noise and making it potentially easier to identify meaningful trends and divergences. The A/D Ratio, on the other hand, is more reactive and generally better suited for short-term intraday signals.
Advantages and Limitations of the McClellan Oscillator
The McClellan Oscillator is a powerful tool for analysing market breadth, but like any indicator, it has strengths and weaknesses. Understanding both can help traders decide how best to integrate it into their analysis.
Advantages
- Focus on Market Breadth: By analysing the Advance/Decline data, the indicator provides a clearer picture of how many stocks are participating in a trend, not just the performance of index heavyweights.
- Momentum Insights: Its ability to highlight shifts in short-term momentum allows traders to spot potential turning points before they become evident in price action.
- Identification of Divergences: It excels at identifying divergences between market breadth and price, offering early signals of weakening trends or upcoming reversals.
- Overbought/Oversold Signals: Its range helps traders analyse extreme conditions (+100/-100), which can signal potential market corrections or recoveries.
Limitations
- Not a Standalone Tool: The indicator is combined with other indicators or broader analysis, as it doesn’t provide specific entry or exit signals.
- False Signals in Volatile Markets: During periods of high volatility or low trading volume, the oscillator may generate misleading signals, making context crucial.
- Short-Term Focus: While excellent for momentum analysis, it doesn’t provide the long-term perspective offered by tools like the McClellan Summation Index.
The Bottom Line
The McClellan Oscillator is a powerful tool for analysing market breadth, helping traders gain insights into momentum and potential market shifts. While not a standalone solution, it is often combined with other indicators for a well-rounded approach.
FAQ
What Is a NYMO Oscillator?
The NYMO oscillator, short for the New York McClellan Oscillator, is a market breadth indicator based on the Advance/Decline stock data of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The NYMO index calculates the difference between a 19-day and 39-day exponential moving average (EMA) of the Advance/Decline line, providing insights into stock market momentum and sentiment.
What Does the McClellan Oscillator Show?
The McClellan Oscillator shows the balance of advancing and declining stocks in a market. Positive values indicate bullish momentum, while negative values reflect bearish sentiment. It’s often used to identify potential shifts in momentum or divergences between market breadth and price.
What Is the McClellan Oscillator in MACD?
The McClellan Oscillator and MACD are distinct indicators, but both use moving averages. While MACD measures price momentum, the Oscillator focuses on market breadth by analysing the Advance/Decline Line.
What Is the McClellan Summation Indicator?
The McClellan Summation Index is a cumulative version of the McClellan Oscillator. It provides a broader view of market trends, tracking long-term momentum and overall market strength.
What Is the Nasdaq McClellan Oscillator?
The Nasdaq McClellan Oscillator, sometimes called the NAMO, applies the same calculation as the NYMO but uses Advance/Decline data from the Nasdaq exchange. It helps traders analyse momentum and breadth in technology-heavy markets.
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Death of the POPE and Economic Impact
Hi, I'm trader Andrea Russo and today I want to talk to you about an event that has deeply shaken the world: the death of Pope Francis.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was the first Latin American pontiff and the first Jesuit to hold the role of Pope. Born in Buenos Aires in 1936, he dedicated his life to serving the Church and those most in need. His pontificate, which began in 2013, was characterized by a strong commitment to social justice, peace and environmental protection. He has always tried to bring the Church closer to the faithful, promoting a message of love, humility and inclusion.
The death of Pope Francis, which occurred on April 21, 2025, left a huge void not only in the Catholic Church, but also in the hearts of millions of people around the world. His charismatic figure and his commitment to human rights and social justice have had a significant impact on many aspects of global society.
Pope Francis has been a spiritual leader who has been able to speak to the hearts of people, regardless of their faith. He has addressed complex issues such as the refugee crisis, climate change and global poverty, always seeking solutions that promote human dignity and solidarity. His encyclical "Laudato si'" has been an urgent call to the international community to take care of our common home, planet Earth.
Now, let's analyze how the death of Pope Francis could affect the stock market and forex. The passing of such an influential figure can generate uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets. Investors may react with caution, waiting to see how the Church will manage the transition and who will be the next Pope. In addition, the Jubilee of 2025, which is underway, could undergo organizational changes, affecting tourism and the economy of Rome.
In the short term, there may be some instability in the markets, with fluctuations in the values of currencies and stocks linked to sectors influenced by the Catholic Church. However, in the long term, stability could be restored once the new Pope is elected and the Jubilee celebrations continue.
The death of Pope Francis could also have repercussions on the bond market. Investors could seek refuge in safer assets, such as government bonds, increasing demand and influencing yields. In addition, companies operating in the religious tourism sector could see a temporary drop in bookings, impacting their profits.
Let's now analyze the currency pairs that could be affected by this event:
EUR/USD: The euro/dollar pair could see increased volatility, especially considering the importance of the Vatican and Rome in the European economy. Uncertainties related to the Jubilee and religious celebrations could affect the value of the euro.
EUR/GBP: The euro/pound pair could also be affected, as many pilgrims and tourists from the UK could change their travel plans, affecting the flow of capital between the two regions.
USD/JPY: The dollar/yen pair could see significant movements, as Japanese investors tend to seek refuge in safe assets such as the US dollar in times of global uncertainty.
EUR/CHF: The euro/Swiss franc pair could be affected by European investors' search for stability. The Swiss franc is often considered a safe haven in times of volatility.
Another crucial aspect will be the day of the election of the new Pope. The Conclave, which will take place between May 6 and 11, 2025, represents a moment of great expectation and hope for millions of faithful around the world. During this period, the cardinal electors will gather in the Sistine Chapel to vote for the successor of Pope Francis. The white smoke, announcing the election of the new Pope, will be a sign of stability and continuity for the Catholic Church.
On the day of the election, there is likely to be increased volatility in financial markets. Investors may react quickly to the news, trying to anticipate the economic and political implications of the new pontificate. Currencies and stocks linked to sectors influenced by the Catholic Church could see significant movements, with possible trading opportunities for those who are able to correctly interpret the market dynamics.
In conclusion, the death of Pope Francis is a major event that will have not only spiritual and social repercussions, but also economic ones. Investors should carefully monitor the developments and adapt their strategies based on the new dynamics that will emerge.
Elliott Wave Principles: A Study on US Dollar IndexHello friends, today we'll attempt to analyze the (DXY) US Dollar Index chart using Elliott Wave theory. Let's explore the possible Elliott Wave counts with wave Principles (Rules).
We've used the daily time frame chart here, which suggests that the primary cycle degree in Black weekly wave ((A)) and ((B)) waves have already occurred. Currently, wave ((C)) is in progress.
Within wave ((C)) in Black which are Weekly counts, Subdivisions are on daily time frame, showing Intermediate degree in blue wave (1) & (2) are finished and (3) is near to completion. Post wave (3), we can expect wave (4) up in Blue and then wave (5) down in Blue, marking the end of wave ((C)) in Black.
Additionally, within blue wave (3) Intermediate degree, we should see 5 subdivisions in red of Minor degree, which is clearly showing that waves 1 & 2 are done and now we are near to completion of wave 3 in Red. followed by waves 4 and 5, which will complete blue wave (3).
Key Points to Learn:
When applying Elliott Wave theory, it's essential to follow specific rules and principles. Here are three crucial ones:
1. Wave 2 Retracement Rule: Wave two will never retrace more than 100% of wave one.
2. Wave 3 Length Rule: Wave three will never be the shortest among waves 1, 3, and 5. It may be the largest most of the time, but never the shortest.
3. Wave 4 Overlap Rule: Wave four will never enter into the territory of wave one, meaning wave four will not overlap wave one, except in cases of diagonals or triangles.
Invalidation level is a level which is decided based on these Elliott wave Principles only, Once its triggered, then counts are Invalidated so we have to reassess the chart study and other possible counts are to be plotted
The entire wave count is clearly visible on the chart, and this is just one possible scenario. Please note that Elliott Wave theory involves multiple possibilities and uncertainties.
The analysis we've presented focuses on one particular scenario that seems potentially possible. However, it's essential to keep in mind that Elliott Wave counts can have multiple possibilities.
I am not Sebi registered analyst.
My studies are for educational purpose only.
Please Consult your financial advisor before trading or investing.
I am not responsible for any kinds of your profits and your losses.
Most investors treat trading as a hobby because they have a full-time job doing something else.
However, If you treat trading like a business, it will pay you like a business.
If you treat like a hobby, hobbies don't pay, they cost you...!
Hope this post is helpful to community
Thanks
RK💕
Disclaimer and Risk Warning.
The analysis and discussion provided on in.tradingview.com is intended for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon for trading decisions. RK_Charts is not an investment adviser and the information provided here should not be taken as professional investment advice. Before buying or selling any investments, securities, or precious metals, it is recommended that you conduct your own due diligence. RK_Charts does not share in your profits and will not take responsibility for any losses you may incur. So Please Consult your financial advisor before trading or investing.
Am I receiving inaccurate data on my charts?
On April 9, 2025, I conducted a chart analysis and drew a vertical line labeled WLQ (Weekly Liquidity). The following week, I observed what appeared to be a wick touching the WLQ line. I initially blamed myself for being careless and possibly overlooking this detail. However, I was fairly confident that I hadn’t made such an error.
A day or two later, upon revisiting the chart, I noticed that the wick was no longer visible and that the line was placed accurately, just as I had originally drawn it. This inconsistency was quite surprising, so I took a screenshot as evidence.
Given this experience, I’m beginning to question whether I'm receiving inaccurate or inconsistent data on my charts. Has anyone else encountered something similar, or could there be another explanation for this?
What If Trump’s Tariffs Are Actually Bullish for SPX ?Hello Traders 🐺
In this idea, I want to take a closer look at SPX and break down why the new U.S. tariffs and Trump’s economic policies could either boost or damage the U.S. economy in the coming months. So make sure to stay with me until the very end.
🔍 Let’s start with the chart:
As you can see, SPX is currently holding above a weekly support level, marked by the orange ascending trendline. So far, so good. However, we’re also seeing a massive bearish divergence on the RSI — and in my opinion, this was one of the key reasons behind the recent Black Monday-style selloff.
⚠️ But here’s the deal: If SPX breaks below this orange trendline, the next strong support is around 3375 — aligned with the 0.5 Fibonacci level and the monthly blue trendline inside our green support zone.
🤔 Should we be bearish on SPX and the U.S. economy?
That’s the big question… and it’s tricky to answer right now. Let’s break it down.
🔧 1. Tariffs and Trump: What’s really going on?
We’re currently in a pause phase of the ongoing tariff war — with countries negotiating to avoid escalation. But here’s the catch: markets hate uncertainty, and that’s why we saw panic selling recently.
Still, most people miss the bigger picture here.
The U.S. has long been a consumer-driven economy, importing heavily from other nations. Meanwhile, U.S. producers have struggled to compete — both domestically and internationally — due to low tariffs at home and high tariffs abroad.
So what do Trump’s new tariffs do?
✅ They level the playing field for U.S. companies at home
✅ They push other countries to lower their tariffs through negotiation
✅ They reduce dependency on foreign imports and support domestic production
In short, if combined with smart monetary policy, these moves could actually help revive U.S. manufacturing and strengthen the economy in the mid-to-long term.
📉 Final thoughts on SPX:
I personally don’t believe the bearish breakdown is coming — but as a trader, I focus on reality, not preference. Right now, we’re still holding above major support, and unless that breaks, the bullish scenario remains in play.
Let me know what you think about this macro setup in the comments.
And as always remember:
🐺 Discipline is rarely enjoyable, but almost always profitable 🐺
🐺 KIU_COIN 🐺
Market Structure Shift (MSS) & Break of Structure (BOS) - GuideIntroduction
Understanding market structure is fundamental to becoming a consistently profitable trader. Two key concepts that Smart Money traders rely on are the Break of Structure (BOS) and the Market Structure Shift (MSS) . While they may seem similar at first glance, they serve different purposes and signal different market intentions.
In this guide, we will break down:
- The difference between BOS and MSS
- When and why they occur
- How to identify them on your charts
- How to trade based on these structures
- Real chart examples for visual clarity
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Break of Structure (BOS)
A Break of Structure is a continuation signal. It confirms that the current trend remains intact. BOS typically occurs when price breaks a recent swing high or low in the direction of the existing trend .
Key Characteristics:
- Happens with the trend
- Confirms continuation
- Can be used to trail stops or add to positions
Example:
In an uptrend:
- Higher High (HH) and Higher Low (HL) form
- Price breaks above the last HH → BOS to the upside
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Market Structure Shift (MSS)
Market Structure Shift signals a potential reversal . It occurs when price breaks a significant swing level against the prevailing trend and is often followed by a shift in the internal structure (e.g., lower highs after higher highs).
Key Characteristics:
- Happens against the trend]
- Signals possible trend reversal
- Often occurs after a liquidity grab or stop hunt
- Optional: is created by a displacement candle
Example:
In an uptrend:
- Price takes out a significant high (liquidity grab)
- Then aggressively breaks the most recent HL → MSS to the downside
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How to Identify BOS and MSS
For BOS:
1. Determine the current trend.
2. Identify swing highs/lows.
3. Look for price breaking past these levels in the same direction as the trend .
For MSS:
1. Look for signs of exhaustion or liquidity grabs near swing highs/lows.
2. Watch for price to break against the trend structure .
3. Confirm with a shift in internal structure (e.g., lower highs start forming in an uptrend).
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Using BOS and MSS in Your Trading Strategy
With BOS:
- Use it to confirm trend continuation
- Add to your position after a retracement into an OB or FVG
- Trail your stop-loss below the most recent HL or above LH
With MSS:
- Look for confluence (liquidity sweep + MSS = strong signal)
- Use it to spot early reversal entries
- Wait for a confirmation candle or structure shift on LTF (1m, 5m, 15m)
- If the displacement candle is too big you can wait for the retest
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Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing BOS with MSS
- Ignoring higher timeframe context
- Trading MSS too early without confirmation
- Chasing BOS without waiting for a proper retracement
Pro Tip: Use BOS/MSS with confluences like SMT Divergence, IFVGs, or key session times for higher probability setups.
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Final Thoughts
Mastering BOS and MSS will give you an edge in understanding price delivery and anticipating market moves. BOS confirms strength in the current trend, while MSS warns of a possible reversal and new trend forming. Combine these with smart money tools, and you’ll be equipped to enter the market like a pro.
Happy Trading!