Nimble, Quick Into Holiday, Second Quarter

No fooling, the second quarter appears to be setting up with as many unexpected twists and turns as the start of the year.

The stock market surged Thursday to end a short week on a high note and set the pace into a new month. All three major indexes closed positive.

The overall first quarter was challenging for traders, so are there profits ahead in this “rip up, pull back, repeat” market?

John Carter, Founder of Simpler Trading, showed there are gains to be made after he closed another $1 million trade. This setup and delivery came Thursday in GOOGL.

There are opportunities throughout the market, so traders have to find their style, a personalized plan, and a set level of risk tolerance to get in on the possibilities.

Simpler’s traders are looking for a good start to the month followed by volatility. This pattern sets up more in line with what has happened over the past 12 months (and historically in the market) vs. any current events.

When looking at a one-year chart of the S&P 500, there has been a steady overall rise higher in this long-term channel. As the second quarter gets underway, the market doesn’t appear as scary based on the last year.

As bullish as this market has been, there have been significant pullbacks – even surprising gaps down – that hit the market. Still, barring any extraordinary events there are no expectations of the market rolling over any time soon.

Simpler’s traders are forging ahead with strategies, tools, and setups that have proven reliable over time. This creates a less-stress, low-risk trading environment for them.

Be nimble, take profit when you can, and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Monday will be an all-new open to set the pace going forward.

We Saw: Market opens quarter positive across the board – 

• Manufacturing setting up rapid recovery, boom
• Are all the positives hastening high inflation?
• People debating whether to  invest those stimulus checks

We’re Watching: Immediate opportunities while expecting volatility –

• How today’s spike holds through long weekend
• Effects of new stimulus money in economy
• Setups in: AMZN, GOOGL, LULU, LYV, SOXL