This week, I tried to trade a premarket spiker, but I was late to the game.
Even though I did the right thing and cut losses quickly, it was a great reminder…
You MUST learn to adapt to markets.
Especially a chopfest market like we’ve seen for the past week.
In fact, the faster you can adapt to a changing market, the better.
For me, after 28 years, I adapt pretty fast.
But it still takes a conscious effort to remember that small losses are fine.
As long as you have a trade plan and follow the plan, small losses are acceptable.
Every trader loses, right?
But in this choppy market, let’s set three rules to follow with every trade:
1. Follow rule #1 and cut losses quickly (no questions and no regrets). It is MUCH better to stay safe than risk a big loss.
2. Lock in small gains FASTER. If you have small gains, it’s okay to lock ‘em in. You can still watch and learn (like I did with my trade below).
3. Accept that sometimes the best trade is no trade at all. Most spikes are fakeouts lately, so be willing to sit on your hands and wait.
My premarket trade was one of those fakeouts. It was made even more disappointing by what the stock did later…
Small Losses Are Fine. Here’s What Really Matters…
Future FinTech Group Inc. (FTFT) really looked like it was setting up for another leg.
You can see what I mean on the 5-day chart:
Source: Stocks To Trade
FTFT, 5-day, 1-min candles, prepping for another leg up.
It’s pretty crazy, right? The highlighted days (September 9 to September 11) got me thinking FTFT could spike again.
If you look at Monday on the chart above, you can see that I was right, just early.
Here’s my trade:
Source: Stocks To Trade
FTFT, 9/14/26, 1-min candles, premarket trade.
Why didn’t I hold for the big breakout?
First, based on what was happening in the overall market, it wasn’t worth the risk.
Some people want to ignore me on this. It only takes one disastrous trade to learn the lesson the hard way.
When your personal schedule gets in the way of focused trading, it’s better to cut losses (or don’t even trade).
Your Takeaway for This Choppy Market
Roughly 75% of stocks follow the overall market.
This week, the market gapped down due to more violence in the Middle East.
Here’s the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) chart showing the gap:
Source: Stocks To Trade
SPY, 9/11/26-9/14/26, choppy overall market.
Of course, the same violence caused oil prices to surge, as you can see on the United States Oil Fund, LP (USO) chart below:
Source: Stocks To Trade
SPY, 9/11/26-9/14/26, choppy overall market, know the catalyst.
The lesson is that you have to keep up with the overall market if you really want to be a successful trader.
While it’s true that on any given day, a stock can go against the overall market…
You should STILL know the overall market trend and what’s causing it.
Remember, take whatever spike you can, for as long as you can.
But you also have to adapt.
So, realize that most spikers right now fail very fast.
Don’t be afraid to lock in small gains, cut losses faster, or not even trade them.
The reality is that most of the spikers we’ve seen (especially in premarket) are fakeouts.
So, for me, it’s all about waiting for the setup to come to me, and then trading according to ALL the elements in play.
If you have any questions, email me at SykesDaily@BanyanHill.com.
Cheers,
Tim Sykes
Editor, Tim Sykes Daily
