So the new year has officially started with the market running on the 2nd. This late rally can be called many things. Bear market rally, Santa Clause Rally, January Effect, and other names involving existing or non existing characters. That means it unclear which way the markets will trend. If they’ll trend, that is. The market may just stay in a range for a little while before defining a direction.
This means to a daytrader that they will have to start monitoring closely to see if the market is range bound or starting a trend. Depending on that, a daytrader will have to use the correct strategy.
Additionally, many securities are running on their own a little and not mirroring the DOW. Which is good and bad. It’s good for those that may find a good trend and benefit. It’s bad, because it may not help identify a trend early enough.
Leaving all the market stuff aside, it’s a good time at the beginning of the year to sit down and make some trading decisions. The last year has been educational. I will be refining my trading rules and will be defining a clear risk management strategy for my trading in the coming year.