Short-term momentum trading is one of the more difficult means of making a profit - requiring discipline to remain steadfast when the market is going your way, and to wait until targets are reached. Let's look at a few techniques:
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Techniques for Entry
The impulse system, a system designed by Dr. Alexander Elder for identifying appropriate entry points for trading on momentum, uses one indicator to measure market inertia and another to measure market momentum. To identify market inertia, you can use an exponential moving average (EMA) for finding uptrends and downtrends. When EMA rises, the inertia favors the bulls, and when EMA falls, inertia favors the bears. To measure market momentum, the trader uses the moving-average-convergence-divergence (MACD) histogram, which is an oscillator displaying a slope reflecting the changes of power among bulls and bears. When the slope of the MACD histogram rises, the bulls are becoming stronger. When it falls, the bears are gaining strength.
The major reason momentum trading can be successful in both choppy markets and markets with a strong trend is that we are searching not for long-term momentum but for short-term momentum. All markets trend within any given week, and the best stocks to trade are those that regularly exhibit strong intra-day trends. With that in mind, you must remember to step off the momentum train before it reaches the station.
As already mentioned, once you have identified and entered into a strong momentum trading opportunity (when daily EMA and MACD histogram are both rising), you should exit your position at the very moment either indicator turns down. The daily MACD histogram is usually (but not always) the first to turn, as the upside momentum begins to weaken. This turn, however, might not be a true sell signal but a result of the removal of the buy signal, which, for the impulse system, is enough impetus for you to sell.
When the weekly trend is down and the daily EMA and MACD histogram fall while you are in a short position, you should cover your shorts as soon as either of the indicators stops issuing a sell signal, when the downward momentum has ceased the most rapid portion of its descent. Your time to sell is before the trend reaches its absolute bottom. As contrasted with a carefully chosen entry point, the exit points require quick actions at the precise moment that your identified trend appears to be nearing its end.
The Bottom Line
As you have probably already noticed, the impulse system of trading on momentum is not a computerized or mechanical process. This is why human discipline continues to hold so much sway on your degree of success in momentum trading: you must remain stalwart in waiting for your "best" opportunity to enter a position, and agile enough to keep your focus on spotting the next exit signal.
