Revisting Short-term Performance After FTD's

With the markets rising more than 1% on higher volume exactly 4 days after a potential bottom, Thursday can be labeled a Follow Through Day (FTD). As I mentioned last night I did an extensive study of FTD’s on the blog back in 2008. A summary page with links may be found here:

http://quantifiableedges.blogspot.com/2008/07/follow-through-days-quantified.html

Among the links found on that page, traders might be especially interested in the study of short-term implications from Feb 1, 2008. In that post I point out that while intermediate-term traders often view the FTD with bullish optimism, swing traders may see it as a short setup since the market is now “overbought in a downtrend”. We’ve seen many, many times before that overbought doesn’t necessarily mean a downside edge and oversold doesn’t’ necessarily mean an upside edge. This is why two lines are incorporated in the Aggregator and why confirmation is needed with both lines before a position is taken. So below I’ve updated the stats showing SPX performance in the days following a FTD.

Results are solidly, though not overwhelmingly, bullish. In any case the edge appears to be to the upside and it is certainly an environment that you typically want to be cautious if trying to short.