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Day trading position sizing during the volatile first 30 minutes of market open The first thirty minutes of trading represents the most volatile period of the day, requiring traders to adjust their position sizing accordingly. New traders must approach this window conservatively due to limited experience handling rapid…

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CME System Outage The CME experienced a significant system outage Friday morning, with the exchange blaming technical issues. Futures market data remained unavailable while equity and ETF data continued to flow normally. The disruption occurred during a period when the SPY was pulling back slightly from earlier gains.

SPY…

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Economic Data Releases

Multiple significant economic reports were scheduled for release, including durable goods orders, initial jobless claims, Chicago PMI, new home sales, and crude oil inventories. The new home sales data carried particular weight as housing inventory continues to tighten, making it increasingly difficult for…

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Market Conditions and Choppiness The past 4-8 weeks have presented traders with significantly more challenging conditions compared to the previous three years of relatively straightforward upward momentum. Price action has been non-directional and sloppy, with the QQQ displaying erratic movement that lacks the clean momentum…

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Market Schedule for Holiday Week The markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and will close early on Friday at 1 PM Eastern for Black Friday. Trading activity on Friday morning, particularly the first 90 minutes, typically offers decent opportunities for day traders as volume remains adequate before drying up in…

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Market Analysis and Current Positioning The S&P 500 currently sits at the 50-day moving average following a period of volatility in November. After experiencing a pullback and subsequent rebound, the market faces a critical juncture where it could either roll over or rally heading into year-end. Today’s price action showed…

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Overview of prop trading firms and their business models Proprietary trading firms operate on a prove-yourself model where traders must demonstrate their ability to manage risk effectively before gaining access to capital. The fundamental concern for these firms centers on whether traders can maintain discipline and proper…

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Technical Issues and Meeting Logistics The morning session experienced significant disruptions due to calendar problems and conflicting meeting links posted overnight and during the morning hours. Multiple links circulated among participants, causing confusion and delayed attendance. The technical difficulties required…

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Market Overview and Economic Data The first significant economic data in approximately six weeks arrived with Thursday’s jobs report, ending a period of uncertainty that left the Federal Reserve operating without key indicators following their previous rate cut. Despite some dissension within the Fed, the consensus appears to…

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NVIDIA Earnings Report and Market Impact The market showed a positive open with follow-through from the previous day’s bounce, largely in anticipation of NVIDIA’s after-hours earnings report. The expected volatility for NVIDIA stock stood at approximately $15, slightly down from the $16 estimate earlier in the week. Notably,…

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