Trading The Open

[Soultrader]

Some traders choose to stay away from the opening action while others seem to trade the open just fine.

Comments such as the opening is unpredictable and better to stay away is fairly common. One traders methodology may not be suited for the opening while another traders methods may be suited.

I personally find the open and the initial 60 minutes the only real action in day trading the eminis. I have a simple method I use to trade the open and offers a fairly good scalping opportunity.

What are your thoughts on the open? Do most retail traders stay away at the open? Are they mostly insitutional orders coming in? Any thoughts/comments are welcome.

[MrPaul]

Originally Posted by Soultrader Some traders choose to stay away from the opening action while others seem to trade the open just fine. Comments such as the opening is unpredictable and better to stay away is fairly common. One traders methodology may not be suited for the opening while another traders methods may be suited. I personally find the open and the initial 60 minutes the only real action in day trading the eminis. I have a simple method I use to trade the open and offers a fairly good scalping opportunity. What are your thoughts on the open? Do most retail traders stay away at the open? Are they mostly insitutional orders coming in? Any thoughts/comments are welcome.

I personally like the open, I thrive on things like gap fades, breakouts etc. I could see how the open can be a dangerous place for entry in a longer term trade though. For a swing trade I would want to wait until a more definite trend developed before finding an entry point.

[TinGull]

openings are fun! Gap fades are nice to do when the conditions are right, and I would much rather play the opening than wait until 3pm to make a trade. For institutional money at the open....I don't think it's really happening at the open. Mostly retail, I would imagine.

[torero]

Having sit through morning after morning, I've come to understand it better than the closing or in between. After a while, one can see the rhythm more or less. Although there are days where the action is wild and unpredictable, mostly due to news, once it's out of the way, the action is tradable.

[Soultrader]

Reversals often take place in the opening 5-10 minutes as well. It seems as if the markets want to test one level to see if there are enough sellers or buyers. When they are not present... it will then reverse.

The opening to the point of reversal is a scalp play. Im currently working on timing these reversal points as I tend to get in at a much higher/lower price.

[Gav]

Ok, I raised my hand. I was the one who did not trade the opening hour. But , now I am enjoying opening play. There are money to be made there.

[torero]

I usually wait to let the first push go, then when it reverses I watch to see which direction it'll go. I think the first push (Feb is in this one with his scalp) is reaction leftover from pre-market or overnight or previous day action. After that, then 2nd push (either direction) indicates the short term bias until 10am. This is just my observation as my successful entries have been the 2nd push and bad ones on the first.