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I’m going to tell you something that might surprise you: There are days when I don’t trade. Wednesday was shaping up to be one of them.
I spent most of the morning staring at charts that looked busy but weren’t really saying anything.
Sure, some sectors were green — neoclouds had a little pop, oil was moving on headlines — but when I zoomed out from the five-minute view, it was much ado about nothing.
Days like this tend to fade just as quickly as they appear, and I honestly don’t think this momentum is going to last.
That’s not laziness talking. That’s experience. When you get into chewy, choppy markets, you won’t find many quality setups.
If you’ve been forcing trades on days like this, you’re probably giving back gains you worked hard to earn.
The Squeeze That Didn’t Inspire Confidence
Let me walk you through what I was seeing on the tape.
The S&P 500 (SPY) was forming a textbook pennant pattern — lower highs, higher lows, squeezing tight into a fine point. In a strong market, this is typically a classic continuation pattern that breaks to the upside.
But despite the statistically bullish bias of a standard pennant, the broader context just didn’t inspire confidence.
Why? Because most of what was moving under the hood consisted of inside days— meaning the price action was entirely contained within the previous day’s range.
When a market is flooded with inside days, it means you’ve likely already missed the significant structural moves for the week. Volatility is compressing, and major institutions are sitting on their hands.
Chasing strength inside a tight range with zero directional conviction is the easiest way for a retail trader to get completely chopped up.
Oil, News, and Why I Stayed Out
The one area showing clear direction was the Energy sector (XLE). It was strong, but it was entirely news-driven. And here’s the ultimate problem with that: Nobody knows whether that strength will hold.
Playing either side — long or short — could blow up based on a development you have zero control over. One headline drops, and the whole technical thesis changes in a millisecond.
You simply cannot rely on standard technical analysis when the market is waiting on unpredictable geopolitical announcements.
That kind of environment turns every setup into a trapdoor. It’s not a place where smart traders put real risk.
So I told myself: Be a conservative trader today. And by conservative, I mean don’t trade at all.
Cash is a Position
Look, I get it. It feels productive to always be pressing buttons and executing orders. But the traders who last in this business are the ones who recognize when the setup isn’t there.
When the market has no real structural direction, when the action is choppy, and when the only moves are confined to inside days or news-driven gambles, the correct play is to step aside.
Watching is a decision. Cash is a position. Not every day is your day, and that’s exactly how you protect your equity for the real setups.
P.S. Want to see what my brand-new scanner is flagging before it goes public? Tap here to join Ezra’s Telegram channel for free and catch the next live signal in real-time.
To better trading,
Alex Reid
WealthPin
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*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk.
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Disclaimer: We develop tools and strategies to the best of our ability, but we can’t guarantee the future. There is always a risk of loss when past performance is not indicative of future results. The profits and performance shown are not typical, and you may lose money. Since the Alpha Flow Dashboard is a tool designed to help traders make informed trading decisions, results will vary by user, as there are multiple trades to choose from.
