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Swing Trading

I am a swing trader holding from a few days to a couple of weeks. I always struggle when a strong stock has headed down and I am waiting to get back in when it starts to come back. I watch the indicators and try to pick the best time frame to get back in. Is there a time frame that generally gives the best chance of getting back in? Is it 15 min-30 min-60 min-2 hr.-daily etc.

Comments

  • lmkwinlmkwin ✭✭
    I can't help you with this other than to ask why do you think that you are struggling? I don't ever use intraday charts for much of anything but I doubt that making a fews days to a couple weeks decision is best made using anything less than a 60 minute chart. Depending on the security, you may need more information (low/no volume in time period) to go longer.

    I make my decisions based on the Point and Figure charts. You can set those up to the lower time frames as well. Maybe, just maybe, check those out with your intended target to see what that chart is showing. If you have an example of the type of stock you are talking about, it would make it easier to discuss / illustrate.

  • Thanks for the feedback. I am not real familiar with P & F charts, but you appear to think they are very powerful as opposed to all the other indicators.
  • lmkwinlmkwin ✭✭
    I believe that PnF charts give a clear picture of the price action. On time based charts, there is a mark created for every time period. A security/index can move significantly or not, and it's marked on the chart. Some people may call insignificant price movements, "noise". A PnF chart can remove the noise. But don't get me wrong, you can make a PnF chart very noisy depending on your settings for the chart.

    Are Point and Figure charts better or worse than other chart types? That is for you to decide. ALL charts types and styles use the exact same data. The differences are in how the data is presented and what makes more sense to you and your eye.

    The only drawback on PnF charts on StockCharts.com, for me, is in the Scan Engine. You can't scan for a PnF moving average cross, not a traditional trendline break, nor using alternate PnF chart scaling methods, etc. You can scan for many very important PnF chart characteristics based on the Traditional scaling and you can also add time based filters into the mix creating a hybrid research scan. I try to follow a simple technique/ set of conditions to create a pool of 'investible" ideas for me to consider and then review the charts to see if they are actionable for my needs.

    On a time based chart, I think that the Price Channel is a very powerful visual. They show clearly the highs and lows of the period and whether those highs and lows are rising or falling. This visual is very similar to a PnF chart representation by the way. Price channels can show you where consolidation is occurring, represented by flat lines of the channel. They also show clearly when the break up or down occurs.




    I don't consider PnF charts superior or inferior, but do recommend checking them as a part of the review process. You can customize and save your Gallery View charts, including the PnF, to reflect your personal viewing preferences as well. Gallery View is a multi time frame chart view. You can even put two symbols into the header on Gallery View to see two symbols side by side

    https://support.stockcharts.com/doku.php?id=other-tools:gallery-view






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