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Candles and Ticks highlights the price action of the S&P 500 (SPX) and E-Mini (ES) futures. Occasionally, there will be analysis of other assets and commentary on other financial topics. I wanted a name that represented numbers and charts. So Candles and Ticks refers to candlestick charts and ticks, the minimum price movement of a security.

This Substack is written by an engineer embarking on a journey to become a consistently profitable short-term investor / intra-day trader. Candles and Ticks functions as the author’s journal. It is comprised of unbiased observations and data on the market with regard to price, structure and trend. The charts that will be used in this newsletter will come from Ninja Trader, TradingView and TD Ameritrade’s Think or Swim platform. I have no affiliation with any of these platforms. This newsletter should not be used as financial, investment or trading advice. There will be no trading entries, methodologies, strategies or signals discussed or provided. Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.

About the Author

Candles and Ticks is written by me, Clyde, 1/2 of Helo Ventures and an IT professional with 15+ years of experience, specializing in data networks and unified communications. Nearly a decade of that experience was with some of the largest financial institutions in the world with operations in New York City, Japan and Paris. I helped design, optimize and support the networks, private lines and hoot-n-holler systems, also known as squawk boxes, that were used daily on the trading floors. It was during this time that I developed an interest in the markets.

I have always been a passive index investor with a long-term focus. Occasionally, I have made speculative investments in individual stocks and cryptocurrencies. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, I was among the millions of retail investors who became fascinated with short-term, intra-day trading. Eventually, I was lured and began to focus on trading futures. The main instrument that I concentrate on is the /ES.

For the past year or so, I watched the markets every day. This included about 9-10 months of paper trading prior to trading live with my own capital. In notebooks and other media, I would scribble my thoughts and notes. Each day I kept track of the price ranges from high to low, as well as the opening and closing prices of various symbols. This became part of my daily routine. Over time, I updated and tried to nail down a system or process.

I begin to draft each post during the overnight session or prior to the US open. It serves as one component of my overall trade plan for the day. I then update it as the day unfolds. I publish the final version once all the relevant information for the completed session is entered. Whether Candles and Ticks is read by one or one-hundred people, I decided to create this newsletter to keep myself accountable and intent when studying the market. In addition, I am leveraging Substack to store all my research and thoughts in a central location that I can go back and access from anywhere, at anytime.

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