Trading the DMI with ADX, TSI and EMA (WHEATUSD)In my first article, I provided a summary of the tools I’m using plus links to some good material that gives more in-depth details of each. As I go through each concept, I’ll refer to the 3 time frames that I will use in determining a trade.
• Weekly: to get the overall bias of the market
• Daily: to identify a day to take a trade or to setup a trade
• 4 hour: to identify the timing or refine the timing of the trade
My goal is to trade a small set of markets across various types which will include E-Mini contracts of Wheat and Corn and E-Micro contracts of Euro, Aussie$, and Gold. I’ve tried to trade crude oil (wti) options with mixed success but won’t actually outline trades but use it in the examples. For the E-Mini’s, I’ll limit my initial entry to 1 contract while the for the E-Micro’s (except Gold), I’ll up limit to 2 contracts. My main goal now is to make more money than I lose to remain in market so that I can continue my education in trading.
In this article, I’ll review one of the primary aspects of the DMI as outlined by Wilder and that is the equilibrium point of a market. In his book, on page 45, he states that “Good directional movement is not simply straight up or straight down movement. It is also good up and down movement in excess of the equilibrium point. This, in effect, is what the ADX measures. The equilibrium point is reached when the +DI equals -DI.” More detail can be found in his book and various online articles.
In the example of WHEATUSD (I trade e-mini wheat but use WHEATUSD for analysis as I can get near real-time data feed on TV without additional cost), I’ve noted 3 times since April of this year that the market has been at an equilibrium point on the daily chart (A, B, and C picked to mark the spot but not to imply any type of wave stuff). In the first 2 cases, the ADX was above 20 while in the 3rd, the ADX was below 20 at the time of the cross.
General speaking, when the ADX is declining and is at 25, it is best to be cautious when the DI’s cross. However, when the ADX drops below 20, it’s best not to trade but to wait for some type of pattern to evolve and trade the breakout. I’ll go through examples of this in future articles.
For now, I’ll focus on the 3 times where the market reached equilibrium. In his book. Wilder notes that the day this happens, it is an important date to note (on the daily chart but translates into the period of chart you’re using) as it can prove to be significant in the future too. On page 47 of his book, he reviews a key concept in his systems called the Extreme Point Rule and this is either the high or low made on the day. Depending on if you’re long, you would use the low as the stop and if you were short, you’d use the high as the stop. If not in the market, you could use this point to enter the market by placing a ‘stop’ order at this point.
In reviewing these three lines, from a hindsight perspective, it’s obvious now that the markets moved in the direction you wanted but in case ‘B’ only after a considerable drawdown. And, in ‘A’ and ‘B’, potentially the same depending on your appetite for drawdowns. There are cases where the market does continue quickly in the direction of the cross but there are also times that it doesn’t immediately. This is the area I’m studying now trying to discover what conditions lead to one vs. the other. Looking at these three cases, another strategy to think about is that of placing the order at a 25-50% pullback level into the candle that caused the market equilibrium with a stop just below/above the extreme of the same day.
In my next article, I’ll focus in on the markets noted above and review the daily charts YTD to see how this strategy would have played out.
