Timing Indicators

Trading Insights
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Timing indicators are a misunderstood class of indicators. If they're in NinjaTrader, or Tradestation, or MetaTrader, they can be easily overlooked because on the surface, timing indicators are not obvious like other lagging indicators used by traders in futures, forex, and the like.

I always tell people, timing indicators don't ask you to forget everything you've ever learned about trading the markets- but rather - they politely ask you to remember everything you've learned about trading the markets and applying that information at certain times each day. Instead of looking at head and shoulders patterns, double tops, double bottoms, or candle reversal patterns every minute of every day - timing indicators allow traders to sit and expect those patterns to recur at certain times of the day - allowing them to conserve emotional energy for the proper times.

What amazes me most about timing indicators, are their apparent disregard for news events, or outside disturbances like econs or reports. For example, look at this 60 minute chart on the Emini Nasdaq:

It's clear to see the cycles, ie the red and green markers, play out in the overall market movements. What scares most new timing cycle traders is how those times were pre-determined a week before those times were arrived at. Despite all the news - all the chaos and calamities - the cycles still kicked in.

The deeper we dig into these cycles, the more we see we have to learn and develop. It's been an amazing journey and I'd be lying if we said we thought we'd found it all. I'm glad to see that timing indicators are important to you - and we're looking forward to showing you what we've found and learned.