John Paul would also like to remind you to refrain from trading during half-days which occur during the holiday season. These half-days can make for unstable trading. Also, keep in mind the days when the markets will be closed. For the CME’s equity products (such as the E-mini S&P 500), here is the holiday schedule:
Tuesday, December 24 at 1:15 p.m. EST – Christmas Eve – Market closes early (half-day)
Wednesday, December 25 – Christmas Day – Market closed
Thursday, December 26 at 6:00 a.m. EST – Market opens (modified time) and closes at the regular time at 5:15 p.m. EST
(Trading resumes for the remainder of the week at regular times)
Tuesday, December 31 at 5:15 p.m. EST – New Year’s Eve – Market closes at the regular time
Wednesday, January 1 – New Year’s Day – Market closed
Thursday, January 2 at 6:00 a.m. EST – Market opens (modified time) and closes at the regular time at 5:15 p.m. EST
(Trading resumes for the remainder of the week at regular times)
The NYSE and NASDAQ will close at 1:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve (Dec. 25), will be closed on Christmas Day (Dec. 25), will be open regular hours on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31), and will be closed on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1).
Regarding the 2013 trading year as a whole, John Paul’s January Effect prediction seems to be correct – the market will likely close higher than the price at the end of January, 2013. We hope you took advantage of the many long and short trades that occurred throughout 2013 as a result of the January Effect. At the end of January, 2014 John Paul will provide insight regarding market expectations for 2014, so stay tuned. For now, John Paul also believes the markets are in need of a correction, so anyone who has benefited from his predictions should now take profit and look for new setups to occur.
Thank you and happy holidays,
John Paul and the DTTW Team