Q&A  |  MAY 2008

Stocks & Commodities V. 26:5 (67) Q&A by Don Bright

Q&A by Don Bright MARKET ON CLOSE What significance does the 3:40 pm ending order imbalances entail for daytrading? Also, can you recommend any books that will expound on the subject? Thank you in advance. — Marcus MOC imbalances are fundamental to all types of trading. Suppose you’re trading all day long, and you’re long 2,000 shares at 3:30 or so — you think you want to get out, but you might wait until 3:40 to see if there is a buy or sell imbalance. If it’s a buy, wait; if it’s a sell, sell immediately. Of course, you’ll have to monitor each of your “children” (stocks you trade day in and day out) during all the time frames near the end of day — 3:30, 3:40, 3:50 (republish), 4:00 bell, and the final MOC price. I provide my traders with software to do that for them (with futures as well so we can tell if price movement is related to an imbalance or simply a basic market move at end of day). Hope this helps.

by Don Bright