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Tuesday, July 15th

“Most people you see are just sleepwalking through their roles, absent from their own lives. They’re fully in character and don’t know any other way.”

– Jed McKenna

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Markets Today

🌏 Asia-Pacific: Mixed

🇪🇺 Europe: Down

🇺🇸 United States: Up

🛢️ Oil: Down

⚡Crypto: Down

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You ever enter a trade just as the steam runs out?
You’re going to want to see this!

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Major Market Events 

• Inflation ticks up to 2.7% — CPI rises in June as tariffs begin to filter through, renewing rate cut uncertainty.
• Nvidia surges on China AI hopes — Stock jumps after U.S. signals it may allow chip sales to Chinese firms.
• JPMorgan shows economic resilience — Bank posts strong results as CEO Jamie Dimon says the U.S. economy is still chugging along.

🤔 My Thoughts

Some charts look like garbage until you add this one thing…

I’m talking about moving averages (MAs)… and no, this isn’t a beginner tutorial.

Because the truth is, I use MAs every single day. And not to tell me what already happened.

I use them to spot which setups are real and which ones are about to shake people out.

Let me show you what I mean.

First: They’re Not Magic — They’re Filters

A moving average just calculates the average closing price over a certain number of candles. That’s it.

But what makes them powerful is how they filter the noise.

Let’s say a stock is chopping sideways and you’re wondering if it’s rolling over… or just taking a breather.

When I slap a 9 and 20 EMA on the chart — maybe even a 50 or 200 for longer-term structure — I can see pretty quickly:

• Is this chop in an uptrend (aka buy the dip)?

• Or is this chop in a downtrend (aka stay away)?

That’s a huge difference — and it’s one of the main ways I avoid getting into dumb trades that look good on paper but go nowhere.

Want Momentum? Track the Slope

One of the best tells is the slope of the moving average.

• When the 9 or 20 EMA is rising steeply, it’s a strong trend.

• When it starts flattening out, things are cooling off.

• When the 9 crosses below the 20, especially after a run — heads up.
  

Those crossovers are like a signal flare — not a “go trade now” moment, but a sign the trend might be shifting. (And if you’re already in a position, it might be time to manage that risk.)

Here’s How I Actually Use Them

Let’s say I’m looking at Meta or SPY.

If price is riding above the 9 and 20, I’ll look for pullbacks to the MAs — especially if there’s a clear support level nearby or volume shelf under price.

That becomes a high-probability entry — and I can structure a short-duration options trade that benefits if it bounces within a few candles.

If price dips below those levels but is still above the 50 or 200? I wait.

No need to get chopped up trying to short an uptrend.

Final Thought: MAs Won’t Make the Trade — But They’ll Keep You Out of Bad Ones

Moving averages aren’t a strategy by themselves — but when used right, they’ll help you avoid bad entries, time pullbacks, and read the bigger picture.

I talked all about this on yesterday’s Profit Panel show… if you missed, it join us today for more actionable trading tips.

Register your spot here to join us next time we go live!

To Better Trading,

Alex Reid

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