Day Trading Journal

SPY gapped down from the previous day but remained within the previous day's price action. I waited for price action to confirm the reaction zone around the 585.50 level.  Price generated these reaction zones the previous day and confirmed them today. I entered for the breakdown (green circle) as soon as we broke. We did not get any follow-through and ended up closing the trade for a loss. This loss sucks but was a B setup at best since we did have a 1-hour reaction zone at 585 so there was a chance for resistance or a bounce. 585 seemed like a solid demand zone, and we reached the intraday reaction zone around 586.50. This reaction zone was formed the previous day and confirmed today, so I waited for the break. I missed the initial break but decided to get in on the pullback (red circle). Once again, there was no follow-through, and I ended up closing out for a loss. The Trades: Green: RZ Breakdown (intra/PD) [Loss -5%] Red: RZ Breakout (intra/PD) [Loss -5%] I executed my trades ...

Today, SPY opened mid-range from the previous day's 1-hour price action. A reaction zone around 589 existed from the prior day, which was also confirmed with a pre-market reaction zone. This was my ideal watch for a reaction zone break to the upside. On the downside, I watched the previous day's close and a pre-market reaction zone around the 586.50-586.00 range. The price confirmed a 586.50 zone. I anticipated too early, and as soon as I entered, the price reversed completely, messing up my risk management (green circle). I gave it room to breathe and had a few chances to cut losses below my -10% plan, but I did not. There is no way around this. I failed to manage my losses and paid the price. To add to my mistake further, I thought, since price won't break and price action seems strong, why not buy and ride it back up to the upper reaction zone. So I got in one more time as price was peaking above VWAP, only for it to chop a little above and fall back below VWAP (blue ci...

The market opened up near the close of yesterday's price action. Yesterday's reaction zone around 582.50 and the previous day's close around 582.80 were key areas to watch. In addition, the hourly 585.00 reaction zone was a key zone to watch for an intra-day reaction. I was ready for the break of 585.00, but my order never filled at 2.60 (red circle). I remained patient and waited for the opportunity for the re-test/pullback. More candles went by, and nothing but more strength.  I felt the urge to chase , but left it alone and dissipated the urge.  I focused on price action and waited for any opportunity on a pullback. I marked the high, and we started to come down. I added the 20 EMA on my chart and waited for an entry. Ideally, I would have liked a re-test of 585, but price action was not volatile enough today. I waited for green to take out red near the 20 EMA, my entry signal (green circle). I was able to modify my trailing stop, but we already started to come down, so...

Today marks a positive result of the current Trade War with China. U.S. stocks surged after a 90-day U.S.-China tariff pause slashed tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% and U.S. goods from 125% to 10%, boosting the SPY around 3% this morning. With such a big move in the markets, it will take patience to wait for a solid trade. Depending on price action, we can either pull back and continue the strength upwards, pull back and find support, or continue sideways and consolidate today. It is unlikely we will just spike and come right back down to the previous session's price. These days, it is paramount to remain  unbiased  and wait for price action to  reveal  what it wants . Today, we had a nice pre-market reaction zone around the 580.50 area that confirmed on the 2-minute with two touches. This was my ideal play for a continuation play. However, we did not get the momentum or acceleration needed for the breakout. We needed to hold above VWAP and have more buyers...