CISCO Futures
                      14571 E. Mississippi Ave.  #202
                              Aurora, CO 80012
               303-306-1521     800 800 7227     fax 303-306-1572
          http://www.cisco-futures.com        dljones@cisco-futures.com





Liquidity Data Bank(LDB)(tm) Report with Market Profile

Prices

$ 30 for all CBOT commodities for one month $ 35 for all CME commodities for one month $ 65 for all CBOT+CME commodities for one month Exchanges covered: CBOT and CME Futures: Int. Rates: U2, T2, TB, ED, F2 Indexes: SP, MB Currencies: JY, DM, SF, BP, CD Metals: Grains: S, BO, SM, W, C, O Oils: Softs: LB Meats: LC, LH, PB, FC Click here for explanation of commodity symbols Historical data is available on diskette and from the CISCO BBS Click here to sign-up to get paid-for LDB data Click here for sample LDB report

Liquidity Data Bank: Data for Trading

Market understanding is the key to successful trading. Data is the key to market understanding. The Liquidity Data Bank (LDB) is by far the best information available to the Public trader. The LDB shows who is doing what, at what price, when and how much and at that price. Since time and volume are both part of the database, it becomes easy to show that all prices should not be weighted equally. The quickly rejected price at low volume is of little moment to one's analysis.

Markets exist to promote (facilitate) trade. An auction market offers price as the inducement to trade. If the price is too high, buyers stay away. If too low, the sellers will not trade. Thus, the auction process is constantly seeking the 'just right' price. This is called the 'fair price' because it encourages two sided trade. It is the fair price that gets the volume. As conditions and perceptions in the market change, so does the fair price. The net result is a bell shaped curve.

The trader is interested in the details of the data. What can it tell that will help one's trading? What are the measurables. That is the subject of the rest of this report.



Liquidity Data Bank: General
..Only source of current day volume (no spreads, etc)
..Only source of volume by price
..Only source of volume by trader type
..Only source of volume Value Area
..Identifies high volume and low volume prices ==> acceptance/rejection
..Shows which member type is active at a given price
..Shows relative importance of various member types
..Permits calculation of Commercial Capping and Buffering
..Permits day-to-day measure of member types and averages
..Carries the 'correct' Market Profile
..Supports measurement of ticks with actual volume


Liquidity Data Bank: Trader Uses
..Finding tenor of the market from volume & its distribution
..Locating unusual activity, e.g. Commercial capping, Public driving
..Evaluation of 'important' prices, those with high volume
..Identification of high volume outside the value area
..Opening range volume (strong or weak)
..Volume in Initial Balance (as predictor of days activity)
..Deciphering details of Commercial & Public activity points
..Measurement of 'normal' behavior and 'change' behavior
..Volume measure of price acceptance or rejection
..Evaluation of trend continuation probability

Part 1. Examples of Liquidity Data Bank Reports
 1.  Typical LDB Report for 'normal' day  U2, Feb 14, 1997
 2.  Up-action and Commercial cap  U2, Jan 24, 1997
       Measuring commercial action at extremes 
 3.  Low-action and Commercial cap  U2, Jan 27, 1997
 4.  Commercial-drive  U2, Jan 23, 1997
 5.  Public-drive  U2, May 3, 1996
 6.  Market Phases: Balance, Test, Trend, Test: 4/25, 4/26, 4/29, 4/30, 5/1/96

Part 2. Workout of a Trend Trade
     Defining a Balance phase:  Overlay Demand Curves
       Five days of Market Profile
       Overlay Demand Curve of same five days (with gap)
       Overlay Demand Curve of same five days + 20 day Overlay
       LDB for 5/1/96
       20 day Overlay + 5 day for 5/2/96
       LDB for 5/2/96  Trade short from Overlay
       LDB for 5/3/96 
       LDB for 5/6/96  Cap

Part 3. Hourly Liquidity Data Bank Reports from the CBOT

Part 4. New Ideas:  Buy-Sell Data, Night Trading
       LDB Report 7/22/98
       Buy-Sell   7/22/98
       Overnight  7/22/98



> References
>   Mind Over Markets, Dalton, et al, p135-162 Probus 1991
>   CBOT Market Profile(tm) Sec. 6, 1991 (1800THECBOT)
>   Applications of the Market Profile(tm), Index, Jones, 1988 (CISCO)
>   Value Based Power Trading, p34-46, Jones, 1993 (CISCO)



Part 1.  Displays of LDB Action, with Commentary


1.  A Typical Medium to High Volume Day in the T-bonds

                        CBOT VOLUME REPORT            

CONTRACT: MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY     TRADING DATE:  02 14 97
 
TRADING BEGINS 0720 (CST);CLOSES 1405;TPO SYMBOLS ARE Z$ABCDEFGHIJKLM
FIRST PERIOD IS 10 MINS;  SUBSEQUENT PERIODS ARE 30 MINS

      PRICE   VOLUME  %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*)

      11403     7184   1.1  49.1   3.3   0.7  46.8 $
      11402     4896   0.7  48.2   3.1   4.5  44.2 $
      11401     7084   1.0  55.1   4.2   1.3  39.5 $
      11400    16372   2.4  47.2   8.6   4.1  40.1 $
      11331    19596   2.9  48.8   6.9   3.5  40.8 $ADI
      11330    68960  10.2  54.6   5.9   4.5  35.0 $ADHI
      11329    67608  10.0  60.1   6.2   5.7  28.1 $ADFGHI
      11328    59766   8.8  57.4   5.3   6.9  30.4 $ADFGH
      11327    57208   8.4  59.8   8.4   5.2  26.6 $ACDEFGH
      11326    87684  12.9  61.5   7.6   4.4  26.5 $ABCDEFG
      11325    60158   8.9  58.3   6.8   6.9  28.0 $ABCDEFG
      11324    52612   7.8  59.3   8.8   7.5  24.4 $ABCDEG
      11323    47976   7.1  58.9   7.1   6.9  27.1 ZABCDE
      11322    40318   5.9  60.1   5.2   6.3  28.5 ZABCDE
      11321    33546   5.0  59.6   4.0   7.5  28.9 ZBE
      11320    23264   3.4  55.0   1.8   6.2  37.1 ZB
      11319    11826   1.7  52.6   5.5   4.8  37.1 ZB
      11318    10714   1.6  55.2   5.2   3.6  35.9 Z
      11317      872   0.1  55.0   0.0   6.8  38.2 Z

                                                     %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4
VOLUME FOR MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY        677644     57.8   6.4   5.7  30.0
VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) DAY           684378     57.9   6.4   5.6  30.1

70% VOLUME SUMMARY
      PRICE   VOLUME  %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS
      11330   501972  74.1  58.8   7.0   5.8  28.4 Z$ABCDEFGHIPQR
      11323

O/H/L/C SUMMARY
      PRICE   VOLUME  %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS
 OPEN 11320    45804   6.8  54.4   3.6   5.2  36.8 ZB
      11318
 HIGH 11403     7184   1.1  49.1   3.3   0.7  46.8 $
  LOW 11317      872   0.1  55.0   0.0   6.8  38.2 Z
CLOSE 11331    88556  13.1  53.3   6.1   4.3  36.3 $ADHI
      11330

QUADRANTS
      PRICE   VOLUME  %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS
 QD 1 11403   191700  28.3  55.0   6.1   4.5  34.4 $ADFGHI
      11329
 QD 2 11328   264816  39.1  59.5   7.1   5.7  27.7 $ABCDEFGHPQR
      11325
 QD 3 11324   174452  25.7  59.4   6.6   7.0  26.9 Z$ABCDEG
      11321
 QD 4 11320    46676   6.9  54.4   3.5   5.2  36.8 ZB
      11317

               TPO ANALYSIS FOR CURRENT DAY

VALUE AREA FROM TPOS:  UPPER 11329   CONTROL 11326   LOWER 11322

           ALL  Z   $   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M
TPO-UPR    30   0   0  10  10  11  16  17  20  23  27  30  30  30  30  30
TPO-LWR    34   0   0   8  18  22  26  31  32  34  34  34  34  34  34  34

TPO-TOT    78   7  19  29  37  43  53  60  65  71  75  78  78  78  78  78
PRC-TKS    19   7  19  19  19  19  19  19  19  19  19  19  19  19  19  19
TF-FAC    4.1 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.9 2.3 2.8 3.2 3.4 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1



Details of the report for a typical day

The typical Liquidity Data Bank Report is in three parts:  The Volume
Report, The Price Report and the TPO Report.


The Volume Report
The graphic lists volume at each price and allocates the individual
percentages of the floor members (cti1), commercial members (cti2), members
trading off floor (cti3) and members trading for the public and all others.
Additionally, the TPO's are tabulated for each price as the 'Brackets'.
Volumes are in one-half round turns.  Divide by two to compare these
volumes with the ones found in the newspaper.

Highest volume at 113:26 defines the 'point of control'.  This is the
center of value for the day, defining fair value.  The distribution of
volumes is bell-shaped about the center, indicating a balanced market.
The Market Profile (letters on the right) confirm the balance.  Price
rotation started up on the open ($ period), came down to bottom out in the
next (Z) period and continued up and down the rest of the day.

Cti1 (floor traders), Cti2 (commercials) and Cti3 (members off floor) all
tended to trade more heavily nearer the center.  The Public (Cti4) had
higher percentage volume at the top and bottom.  This shows the public
'pushing the envelope', looking for trends.  The members are more satisfied
with balanced markets where the risk is small.

A two line table carries the total volume for the future and summed
volume for all futures in that commodity group.  Volume for the March
T-bond above is 677,644 sides, or 338,822 contracts traded.

The next table, the 70% Volume Summary, provides the volume Value Area.
The Value Area is the central 70% of the day's trading, centered about
the 'Point of Control' (POC).  The POC is the highest volume point.


The Price Report
The Price Report classifies the trading volume by Open, High, Low
and Close and also by Quadrants (quarters of the trading range).

Tabulation by Open, High, Low and Close gives a feel for the activity
at these specific prices and ranges (for open and close).  

Quadrants show relative trading amounts throughout the range.  Quadrants
are figured as one-quarter of the total range, with the extra (one to 
three) prices added to the one of the quadrants--usually the top one.


The TPO Report
TPO's are available for all futures, LDB's only for CBOT and CME.  CISCO
computes the Value Area from the TPO's to be compared with the volume
Value Area above.  Also in the table is a period-by-period listing of
the numbers of TPO's above and below the Point of Control, where now
the POC is centered around the price with the maximum TPO's.

Also listed are the TPO totals as a function of time (half-hours), the
price ticks, or range in time (PR-TKS) and the developing trade 
facilitation factor (TF-FAC).  The TF factor is the total price ticks
divided into the total TPO's, or the average TPO's per price.


Commentary
On the price-volume display note:
 1) The volume is heaviest in the middle and feathers out at the
    upper and lower price limits.
 2) Cti1, the floor member's volume percentage, is relatively even
    throughout the range.  The scalper is the middleman--everyone
    trades through them.
 3) Cti2, the commercial members are also relatively evenly spread
    over the range.  If there were 'commercial buffering' one would
    see excessive commercial volume near the top or bottom of the 
    range.
 4) Cti3, the member's trading is also spread relatively evenly over
    the entire range. 
 5) Public trading, Cti4, is heaviest near the price limits, where
    price is often rejected.  Public demand normally drives price away
    from balance, oftentimes only to be brought back sharply by the
    commercials (capping).

The Price Reports, O/H/L/C Summary and Quadrants can show asymmetries
that indicate demand fall-off or enhancements.
 1) O/H/L/C Summary reports low volumes at the top and bottom and a
    narrow trading range, indicative of little new demand.
 2) Quadrants volume are relatively equal, except for the bottom
    one, QD 4, which is much smaller.  This might indicate quick
    rejection at the bottom and argue for somewhat higher prices
    in the near term.  However, the day is in balance and any
    tendency is questionable.  It is true that in moving markets,
    closes tend to lie in the quadrant nearest the direction, QD 4
    for down trends, QD 1 for up trends.

The TPO Report helps catalog the development of the day.
 1) In this case, the TPO count upper and lower deviated
    little throughout the day.  Recall that the dividing line
    between upper and lower is the POC.  In a balanced market
    the POC deviates little.  If the market is moving the
    POC also moves and the upper/lower results tend to lose
    significance.  Here, the imbalance, while small, does
    show some latent demand on the upside.
 2) Total TPO's and Price ticks, as they develop, are another
    measure of market movement.  Today, the maximum range was 
    reached by TPO period $, very early on.  So the market spent
    the day rotating or balancing.
    The pair is the raw material for the TF factor.  A factor of
    4.1 is relatively high, meaning the market is not facilitating
    trade very well.  If, at period F, say, the market started moving,
    PRC-TKS would start increasing and the TF factor would drop.
   


2.  Commercial Capping at the Top



                      CBOT VOLUME REPORT              LDB.UPACTION

CONTRACT: MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY     TRADING DATE:  01 24 97
 
TRADING BEGINS 0720 (CST);CLOSES 1405;TPO SYMBOLS ARE Z$ABCDEFGHIJKLM
FIRST PERIOD IS 10 MINS;SUBSEQUENT PERIODS ARE ALL 30 MINS

      PRICE   VOLUME  %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*)
      11021     5144   0.6  61.9   5.5   4.0  28.7 A
      11020    14792   1.7  60.7  10.0   2.8  26.5 AB    <== Comml
      11019    18870   2.2  57.7  11.6   2.5  28.2 ZAB
      11018    24750   2.9  64.7   2.8   5.8  26.8 Z$AB
      11017    26416   3.1  63.5   6.4   4.0  26.1 Z$AB
      11016    27500   3.2  64.7   5.2   2.4  27.7 Z$ABC
      11015    31434   3.7  63.9   5.7   4.1  26.3 Z$ABC
      11014    49398   5.8  67.3   5.4   5.1  22.3 Z$BC
      11013    21270   2.5  54.8   8.5   4.1  32.6 Z$BC
      11012    37534   4.4  61.3   7.4   4.8  26.5 $BC
      11011    23372   2.7  63.6   4.5   5.6  26.3 BCD
      11010    35890   4.2  60.9   6.6   3.5  29.0 BCD
      11009    22878   2.7  56.1   7.3   3.5  33.1 BCDLM
      11008    28954   3.4  56.5  10.0   6.3  27.3 DLM
      11007    37888   4.4  61.3   6.7   3.9  28.1 DELM
      11006    25458   3.0  52.4   8.3   3.4  36.0 DEILM
      11005    30626   3.6  49.3  15.0   4.8  30.9 EHIJL
      11004    29198   3.4  45.6  10.5   4.1  39.8 EGHIJL
      11003    45294   5.3  54.8   8.0   4.9  32.4 EGHJKL
      11002    55636   6.5  52.9  10.6   4.6  32.0 EFGHJKL
      11001    67648   7.9  56.3  12.9   4.3  26.6 EFGHJKL
      11000    71224   8.3  54.1   8.2   4.1  33.5 EFGHJKL
      10931    34482   4.0  58.3   9.1   4.0  28.6 EFJK
      10930    48864   5.7  55.4   7.9   4.0  32.7 EJK
      10929    27894   3.3  56.7   4.6   5.3  33.4 EJ
      10928    12078   1.4  52.0   5.9   3.5  38.6 EJ
      10927     3682   0.4  45.6   3.1   3.0  48.4 J

                                                     %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4
VOLUME FOR MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY        858174     57.6   8.2   4.3  29.9
VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) DAY           859160     57.6   8.2   4.3  30.0


70% VOLUME SUMMARY
      PRICE   VOLUME  %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS
      11013   616216  71.8  55.7   9.1   4.3  30.8 Z$BCDEFGHIJKLMPQR
      10930



Commentary
Cti2 (commercial) volumes at 11020 and 11019 are well above their daily
average of 8.2 percent.  Near the top, where volume is already waning, 
Commercial selling of 3,000 or so contracts has a large effect.  We can
infer that this happened late in A period (8 to 8:30 AM) because the market
moved down in B period.  It was a cap and had its effect as late as J
period (12:30 to 1:00 PM).  The capping is calculated using the method
explained in Value Based Power Trading, pg 34ff.


3. Commercial Capping at the Bottom
CBOT VOLUME REPORT CONTRACT: MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING DATE: 01 27 97 TRADING BEGINS 0720 (CST);CLOSES 1405;TPO SYMBOLS ARE Z$ABCDEFGHIJKLM FIRST PERIOD IS 10 MINS;SUBSEQUENT PERIODS ARE ALL 30 MINS PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 11010 362 0.1 50.6 6.9 0.0 42.5 $ 11009 10646 2.4 58.6 2.2 9.5 29.8 $ 11008 15460 3.5 64.8 5.6 4.8 24.8 Z$ 11007 19814 4.5 60.6 4.9 4.7 29.8 Z$ 11006 13740 3.1 63.8 5.9 4.1 26.2 Z$AC 11005 9466 2.1 55.8 4.4 1.5 38.3 Z$AC 11004 13778 3.1 59.0 14.6 1.5 24.8 ZABCHI 11003 30584 6.9 56.7 5.4 5.0 33.0 ABCDEGHI 11002 46294 10.4 59.7 8.5 5.3 26.6 ABCDEGHIJ 11001 46332 10.4 61.0 7.6 4.2 27.1 ABCDEGIJ 11000 37486 8.5 58.3 10.4 4.0 27.2 ABCDEFGJ 10931 31524 7.1 59.9 10.1 7.1 22.9 BCDEFGJ 10930 16270 3.7 62.5 7.2 4.2 26.2 CDEFJK 10929 6436 1.5 60.6 1.2 1.4 36.8 CDFJK 10928 5678 1.3 53.2 6.2 2.7 38.0 K 10927 10126 2.3 61.8 4.5 2.5 31.2 K 10926 4172 0.9 56.2 4.8 5.5 33.5 KL 10925 13056 2.9 54.8 4.8 8.7 31.6 KLM 10924 36820 8.3 57.7 6.4 7.9 28.0 KLM 10923 37204 8.4 60.3 9.8 5.3 24.6 KL 10922 17324 3.9 61.1 5.9 4.6 28.4 KL 10921 8954 2.0 61.9 8.8 8.5 20.8 K 10920 8620 1.9 60.8 10.6 7.3 21.4 K <== Comml 10919 3294 0.7 48.5 6.6 0.5 44.4 K %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 443440 59.6 7.5 5.2 27.8 VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 450634 59.5 7.4 5.1 28.0 70% VOLUME SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 11009 313634 70.7 59.9 7.5 4.6 28.0 Z$ABCDEFGHIJKPQR 10927 Commentary Unusually high Commercial action in K period (1:00 to 1:30 PM) occurred so late in the day that there was inadequate work-out time to tell if the Commercials were buying (capping) or 'going with' the downward move. One piece of evidence for it being capping is that the close is 5 ticks above the cap. Another is the lack of public volume on the downside. Normally, the public starts the trend. On the next day, the open at 109:24, the previous close, indicates a lack of strength on the downside. Shortly after the open, price began to climb, convincing evidence for a cap. 4. Commercials Driving Price Down CBOT VOLUME REPORT CONTRACT: MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING DATE: 01 23 97 TRADING BEGINS 0720 (CST);CLOSES 1405;TPO SYMBOLS ARE Z$ABCDEFGHIJKLM FIRST PERIOD IS 10 MINS;SUBSEQUENT PERIODS ARE ALL 30 MINS PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 11107 5900 1.2 58.8 14.9 4.1 22.2 C 11106 11294 2.3 52.6 10.3 3.9 33.2 $AC 11105 29098 5.9 62.8 5.7 5.3 26.2 $ABCD 11104 39278 7.9 61.6 6.0 2.8 29.6 Z$ABCDFJ 11103 66946 13.5 61.7 7.0 4.1 27.2 Z$ABCDFGIJK 11102 66452 13.4 59.3 10.3 4.4 26.0 Z$ABCDFGHIJK 11101 54656 11.0 58.2 8.7 5.0 28.1 Z$BCDEFGHIJK 11100 36146 7.3 55.4 6.0 5.4 33.3 $DEFGHIJK 11031 42568 8.6 63.6 9.0 5.1 22.3 $EGHIJK 11030 17676 3.6 55.8 8.9 4.4 30.9 $EGIJK 11029 3038 0.6 57.1 5.5 3.3 34.1 $K 11028 5150 1.0 51.7 10.1 2.1 36.0 K 11027 8666 1.7 58.6 6.0 1.0 34.4 KLM 11026 6698 1.3 52.9 7.6 4.3 35.2 KLM 11025 18996 3.8 59.4 8.5 4.6 27.5 KL 11024 35446 7.1 58.7 12.1 5.0 24.1 KL 11023 28376 5.7 61.0 10.4 2.8 25.9 KL 11022 15188 3.1 53.8 12.7 2.6 30.9 KL 11021 4626 0.9 56.2 17.0 5.1 21.6 KL <== Comml 11020 76 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 L %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR MAR 97 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 496274 59.4 8.7 4.3 27.7 VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 497036 59.4 8.7 4.3 27.7 70% VOLUME SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 11105 352820 71.1 60.1 7.9 4.5 27.5 Z$ABCDEFGHIJKPQR 11030 Commentary We calculate Commercial action on the lows, but observation shows more than a couple of high Commercial volume prices, in fact the Commercials appeared bearish for 11028 on down. As in the case before, the action is late in the day, without adequate work-out time to be sure of the type of action. However, this is a Commercial-drive situation and the likelihood is large that the Commercials are intending to move the market rather than buffering. However, the close was up six ticks on what appears to be light volume in L period (last period of the day 1:30 to 2:00; M period is only a couple of minutes for settling up). The next day's open was at 11024. Price fell to 10927. So the Commercials were selling on January 23. 5. Public Traders Driving Price Down CONTRACT: JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING DATE: 05 03 96 PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 10807 1732 0.2 50.9 0.0 4.0 45.0 $ 10806 4750 0.5 41.0 5.4 2.9 50.7 $ 10805 6692 0.7 53.7 4.3 0.5 41.6 $ 10804 5484 0.6 50.6 12.9 2.5 34.0 $ 10803 1594 0.2 54.3 11.3 1.3 33.1 $ 10802 2702 0.3 51.2 5.9 1.7 41.2 $ 10801 4688 0.5 55.5 10.2 2.6 31.7 $ 10800 24252 2.5 47.6 9.2 3.0 40.1 $ 10731 14952 1.5 50.4 9.0 2.2 38.4 $E 10730 24238 2.4 50.0 7.5 1.6 40.9 $E 10729 24024 2.4 51.5 8.8 2.5 37.3 $E 10728 19506 2.0 50.4 7.0 2.8 39.8 $AE 10727 20636 2.1 58.5 11.6 4.3 25.6 $AE 10726 29474 3.0 53.4 13.4 2.9 30.3 $AE 10725 41166 4.2 51.3 12.3 2.3 34.2 $AE 10724 35596 3.6 55.3 8.2 4.6 31.9 $ADE 10723 34320 3.5 54.4 12.0 3.7 29.9 $ADE 10722 30580 3.1 58.2 7.8 3.7 30.3 $ADE 10721 22494 2.3 62.0 7.6 4.4 26.1 $ADEF 10720 33832 3.4 51.5 15.4 2.8 30.2 $ADEF 10719 22646 2.3 57.2 13.5 4.0 25.3 $ADEF 10718 25916 2.6 56.3 11.4 3.1 29.2 $ACDEF 10717 32940 3.3 55.2 9.2 2.6 32.9 $ACDFG 10716 34812 3.5 55.5 10.4 2.3 31.8 $ABCDFGH 10715 23462 2.4 56.1 6.9 4.8 32.3 $ABCDFGHI 10714 32822 3.3 56.5 12.6 4.6 26.3 $ABCDFGHI 10713 37708 3.8 55.0 14.3 4.9 25.8 $ABCDFGHI 10712 27324 2.8 55.1 7.7 3.4 33.9 $ABCDFGHIK 10711 15422 1.6 57.7 8.4 6.4 27.6 $ABCDFGHIJK 10710 34094 3.4 53.9 9.6 2.5 34.0 $ABCDHIJK 10709 37368 3.8 60.4 7.7 6.3 25.7 Z$BCHIJK 10708 31024 3.1 54.0 14.5 6.8 24.7 ZBCIJK 10707 22010 2.2 58.3 10.3 6.4 25.0 ZBCIJK 10706 18452 1.9 52.7 14.5 4.0 28.8 ZBIJK 10705 13526 1.4 56.7 13.2 8.7 21.4 ZBJK 10704 27842 2.8 60.3 6.9 9.0 23.8 ZJKL 10703 32572 3.3 54.2 10.0 7.6 28.1 ZJKL 10702 16884 1.7 55.3 11.3 6.6 26.8 ZKL 10701 10290 1.0 56.0 8.5 3.1 32.4 ZL 10700 8360 0.8 49.9 4.5 1.1 44.4 ZL 10631 1116 0.1 47.4 0.2 0.0 52.4 ZL 10630 1016 0.1 34.4 18.5 4.4 42.6 L 10629 5068 0.5 49.9 13.6 3.2 33.4 L 10628 9002 0.9 52.9 12.6 1.7 32.8 L 10627 14544 1.5 54.4 3.7 4.3 37.7 L 10626 12570 1.3 53.2 10.5 3.6 32.8 L 10625 12208 1.2 55.9 10.0 4.2 29.9 LM 10624 21000 2.1 51.8 7.5 6.2 34.5 LM 10623 17756 1.8 50.8 7.9 12.8 28.5 LM 10622 6858 0.7 46.2 8.0 3.6 42.2 L %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 989324 54.5 10.1 4.3 31.0 VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 995662 54.5 10.1 4.3 31.1 Commentary The Public traders are normally the ones who drive prices out of balance. On May 3 the market opened with a wide swinging Initial Balance (first two periods, $ and Z). Late in the day, the Public started selling around 10701. They pushed price as low as 10622, to close at 10624. Note the high Cti4 volumes at nearly every price. Part 2. Balanced Markets: Overlay Demand Curve-Market Profile-LDB It is a truism in futures trading that balanced markets are the genesis of low risk trends. The reason is largely that a trend is volatile and unpredictable, but a good place to make sizeable profits. The unpredictability argues against trying to second-guess the trend, i.e. getting out and then reentering at a better price. The ideal situation is to enter the trend as it starts and then one is left with only a single decision; when to exit. Most trends start with the breakdown of a balanced market; they rarely just come out of nowhere. The problem of trend trading simplifies to being able to identify balanced markets. On a day-to-day basis, many balances are hard to recognize, as the market profiles(tm) of the five day period April 25, 1996 through May 1, below. The CISCO Five Day Market Profile(tm) Display T-BOND (CBOT) DAY JUN 96 First date: 4 25 96 Last date: 5 1 96 25 26 29 30 1 11016 BHIJKL 11014 ZBHIJKL 11012 Z$BCDHIJL 11010 Z$ABCDEFGHLM 11008 Z$ABDEFG 11006 ADEF 11002 Z 11000 LM ZJKL 10930 LM ZDIJKL 10928 ABL Z$DEHIJKLM 10926 ABCDL Z$ABCDEFGHILM 10924 $ABCDKL $ABCDEFG Z$ 10922 Z$ABCDEKL $ABCE Z$AB 10920 Z$ABCDEK BC Z$ABC 10918 Z$AEFGHJK BC $ABC 10916 $EFGHIJK ABC 10914 $FGHIJ AC FG 10912 $HI C FGHK 10910 H CH DFGHIK 10908 CHIJ DEFHIJK 10906 CDEFGHIJLM CDEFIJKLM 10904 CDEFGJKLM CDEJKLM 10902 CDEFJKL CDEJKL 10900 CEJKL CJL 10830 CL CJL 10828 CL BCJ 10826 Z$ABC 10824 Z$ABC 10822 Z$BC 10820 $B 10818 B VALUE AREA, VOLUMES & OPEN/CLOSE STATISTICS AVAILABLE ONLY FROM CBOT LIQUIDITY DATA REPORTS VA HI 10925 11014 10930 10908 10914 VA LO 10915 11008 10923 10828 10831 VOL 477298 333814 326332 622798 654514 OPEN 10918- 10920 11008- 11007 11002- 10931 10919- 10921 10824- 10822 CLOSE 10930- 11000 11009- 11010 10926- 10927 10906- 10904 10903- 10905 These five days certainly do not appear to form a balanced ensemble. If anything, they seem to be trending down. Yet, when we combine them by simply adding all the TPO's at each price, we find: OVERLAY DEMAND CURVE TPO VOLUME OVERLAY DEMAND CURVE AND PRICE ROTATION PROFILE JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 04 25 96 TO 05 01 96 PRICE DYS L/F ROT PROFILE * TPOS TPO VOL OVERLAY * 11016 1 6 4 XXXX 11014 1 6 6 XXXXXX 11012 1 6 9 XXXXXXXXX 11010 1 6 11 XXXXXXXXXXX 11008 1 6 7 XXXXXXX 11006 1 6 6 XXXXXX 11004 Gap 11002 Gap 11000 2 5 57 3 XXX 10930 2 5 57 6 XXXXXX 10928 2 5 57 9 XXXXXXXXX 10926 2 5 57 16 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10924 3 5 578 15 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10922 3 5 578 18 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10920 3 5 578 13 XXXXXXXXXXXXX 10918 3 5 578 11 XXXXXXXXXXX 10916 2 5 58 11 XXXXXXXXXXX 10914 3 59 589 13 XXXXXXXXXXXXX 10912 3 59 589 8 XXXXXXXX 10910 3 59 589 8 XXXXXXXX 10908 2 9 89 12 XXXXXXXXXXXX 10906 2 9 89 15 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10904 2 9 89 16 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10902 2 9 89 14 XXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10900 2 9 89 9 XXXXXXXXX 10830 2 9 89 5 XXXXX 10828 2 9 89 4 XXXX 10826 1 9 9 4 XXXX 10824 1 9 9 4 XXXX 10822 1 9 9 2 XX 10820 1 9 9 2 XX 10818 1 9 9 1 X Commentary Legend: Column 1 is price, high to low; column 2 counts the number of days that traded at each price; column 3, L/F is the earliest (5 is April 25, 9 is the latest day May 1; the ROT PROFILE shows each price traded for each day--a way to find the rotation; TPOS in column 5 lists the number of half-hour periods that traded at each price and the last item, the x's are column 5 extended, a graphic of the counts. The gap on April 26 is clearly an isolated incident, a probe up that failed in a single day. We can discard it. The remaining data form a well defined balance. Now we can look for departures from the balance to alert us to a potential trend beginning. An up trend begins at prices above 110:00, a down trend, below 108:24. Everyone realizes that a five day balance is possibly just one element in a longer balance. A longer term Overlay Demand Curve, 20 days is shown below, with the 5 day above alongside. To see both Overlays side-by-side decrease the font size to the minimum. TPO VOLUME OVERLAY AND PRICE ROTATION PROFILE JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 04 04 96 TO 05 01 96 20 Day X 4 PRICE DYS L/F ROT PROFILE * TPOS TPO VOL OVERLAY * 11200 1 N N 1 X 11128 1 N N 7 XXXXX 11124 1 N N 6 XXXXX 11120 1 N N 4 XXX 11112 1 O 1 X 11108 1 O 1 X 11100 1 O 1 X 11028 2 OZ 3 XX 11024 2 OZ 7 XXXXX 5 Day Overlay 04 25 - 05 01 11020 2 OZ 8 XXXXXX 11016 4 OVZ4 11 XXXXXXXX 11016 1 4 4 XXXX 11012 6 OVZ124 22 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 11012 1 4 9 XXXXXXXXX 11008 8 OUVXZ124 33 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 11008 1 4 7 XXXXXXX 11004 7 OUVWX12 35 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX *** Gap on 04 26 11000 11 OTUVWXY1235 33 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 11000 2 3 35 3 XXX 10928 10 OTUVWXY235 53 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10928 2 3 35 9 XXXXXXXXX 10924 10 OTUWXY2356 44 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10924 3 3 356 15 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10920 8 OTWXY356 13 XXXXXXXXXXXXX 10920 3 3 356 23 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10916 6 OQTX36 24 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10916 2 3 36 11 XXXXXXXXXXX 10912 8 7 OQRTX367 29 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10912 3 37 367 8 XXXXXXXX 10908 6 7 QRTX67 36 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10908 2 7 67 12 XXXXXXXXXXXX 10904 6 7 PQRT67 29 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10904 2 7 67 16 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10900 5 7 PRT67 22 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10900 2 7 67 9 XXXXXXXXX 10828 4 7 PR67 13 XXXXXXXXXX 10828 2 7 67 4 XXXX 10824 5 7 PRST7 20 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10824 1 7 7 4 XXXX 10820 5 7 PRST7 18 XXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10820 1 7 7 2 XX 10816 3 PST 12 XXXXXXXXX 10812 3 PST 9 XXXXXXX 10808 2 ST 8 XXXXXX 10804 1 S 9 XXXXXXX 10800 1 S 3 XX 10728 1 S 1 X 10724 1 S 1 X Commentary Indeed, the five day is just a part of the 20 day. Actually, the 20 day Overlay shows a 19 day balance. The N letters at the top are the trading for April 4 and they are not part of the bell-shaped balance area. Each day of the last 20 can be identified by the ROT PROFILE, where O is the range for April 5, P is April 8 and so on until 7, which is the range for May 1. The ROT PROFILE traces out a substantial amount of rotation in the last 19 days, which is normal for a market in balance. The trader now has two reference points for upside breakouts and two for the downside. One might ask: Why not have another intermediate time Overlay, say 10 days, and obtain yet another pair of reference points? Yes, it can be done. The limitation is only in having reference points too close together, cluttering the display. In fact, we have found that a set of 5 days, 10 days, 15 days and 20 days adequately covers all time frames from very short to a longer term position trade. For this illustration upside breakout is 110:00 for the five day Overlay and 110:24 for the twenty day. Downside breakout is 108:24 for the five day balance and 10804 for the twenty. What does the Liquidity Data Bank report for May 1 T-bonds show? CBOT VOLUME REPORT CONTRACT: JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING DATE: 05 01 96 TRADING BEGINS 0720 (CST);CLOSES 1405;TPO SYMBOLS ARE Z$ABCDEFGHIJKLM FIRST PERIOD IS 10 MINS;SUBSEQUENT PERIODS ARE ALL 30 MINS PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 10915 2012 0.3 40.6 17.4 1.6 40.5 G 10914 11438 1.7 56.9 6.2 3.7 33.2 FG 10913 14950 2.3 63.6 6.9 4.3 25.2 FG 10912 24704 3.8 58.8 10.0 3.8 27.5 FGK 10911 24550 3.8 59.0 12.0 3.6 25.5 FGHK 10910 18768 2.9 52.7 9.8 2.6 34.9 FGHK 10909 23556 3.6 62.8 11.4 2.3 23.5 DFGHIK 10908 35444 5.4 57.6 10.1 4.4 27.9 DFHIJK 10907 48786 7.5 60.0 7.5 3.9 28.6 DEFHIJK 10906 29038 4.4 58.8 12.7 3.5 25.0 DEFIJK 10905 25686 3.9 57.7 8.1 3.4 30.8 CDEFIJKLM 10904 44398 6.8 60.6 10.0 3.8 25.6 CDEJKLM 10903 44974 6.9 63.7 8.2 5.6 22.5 CDEJKLM 10902 43112 6.6 62.7 9.0 3.5 24.7 CDEJKL 10901 29800 4.6 62.3 9.7 4.5 23.5 CJKL 10900 27196 4.2 56.1 11.4 3.5 29.0 CJL 10831 15544 2.4 49.9 11.9 3.3 34.9 CJL 10830 6572 1.0 51.9 15.7 3.5 29.0 CJL 10829 3532 0.5 47.8 9.6 1.3 41.3 CJL 10828 4528 0.7 58.2 7.8 2.9 31.0 BCJ 10827 11038 1.7 54.5 13.6 7.1 24.8 BCJ 10826 11946 1.8 55.8 15.6 4.2 24.4 $ABC 10825 40542 6.2 58.9 13.9 4.4 22.9 Z$ABC 10824 42264 6.5 58.8 9.3 5.0 26.8 Z$ABC 10823 35852 5.5 59.6 11.4 5.1 23.9 Z$ABC 10822 19756 3.0 59.3 8.5 6.1 26.2 Z$BC 10821 6862 1.0 64.3 3.5 6.4 25.9 Z$B 10820 6916 1.1 56.3 4.3 2.3 37.0 $B 10819 506 0.1 47.8 6.9 2.2 43.1 $B 10818 244 0.0 62.3 0.0 0.0 37.7 B %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 654514 59.2 10.1 4.1 26.6 VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 658098 59.1 10.0 4.1 26.8 70% VOLUME SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 10914 461944 70.6 59.6 9.6 3.9 26.9 CDEFGHIJKLM 10831 Commentary on the LDB Report Volume was on the heavy side at 654,514. There was a Commercial cap at the bottom, early in the day, in B period. However, the bubble around the opening and Initial Balance (periods Z and $), may have been misleading in view of the relatively heavy Commercial activity throughout the entire range. The Public behaved normally for a balanced market. Close was near the middle of the day's range, also normal for balances. Turning to the next day, the Overlays show a downside breakout for both the five and 20 day balances. To see both Overlays side-by-side decrease the font size to the minimum. TPO VOLUME OVERLAY AND PRICE ROTATION PROFILE JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 04 05 96 TO 05 02 96 20 Day X 4 PRICE DYS L/F ROT PROFILE * TPOS TPO VOL OVERLAY * 11112 1 O O 1 X 11108 1 O O 1 X 11100 1 O O 1 X 11028 2 O OZ 3 XX 11024 2 O OZ 7 XXXXX 5 Day Overlay 04 26 - 05 02 11020 2 O OZ 8 XXXXXX 11016 4 O OVZ4 11 XXXXXXXX 11016 1 4 4 4 XXXX 11012 6 O OVZ124 22 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 11012 1 4 4 9 XXXXXXXXX 11008 8 O OUVXZ124 33 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 11008 1 4 4 7 XXXXXXX 11004 7 O OUVWX12 35 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX *** Gap on 04 26 11000 11 O OTUVWXY1235 33 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 11000 1 5 2 XX 10928 10 O OTUVWXY235 53 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10928 1 5 7 XXXXXXX 10924 10 O OTUWXY2356 44 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10924 2 56 10 XXXXXXXXXX 10920 8 O OTWXY356 23 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10920 2 56 5 XXXXX 10916 6 O OQTX36 24 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10916 1 6 3 XXX 10912 8 O OQRTX367 29 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10912 2 67 5 XXXXX 10908 7 8 QRTX678 37 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10908 3 8 678 13 XXXXXXXXXXXXX 10904 7 8 PQRT678 30 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10904 3 8 678 17 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10900 6 8 PRT678 23 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10900 3 8 678 10 XXXXXXXXXX 10828 5 8 PR678 14 XXXXXXXXXXX 10828 3 8 678 5 XXXXX 10824 6 8 PRST78 21 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10824 2 8 78 5 XXXXX 10820 6 8 PRST78 19 XXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10820 2 8 78 3 XXX 10816 4 8 PST8 13 XXXXXXXXXX 10816 1 8 8 1 X 10812 4 8 PST8 11 XXXXXXXX 10812 1 8 8 2 XX 10808 3 8 ST8 12 XXXXXXXXX 10808 1 8 8 4 XXXX 10804 2 8 S8 15 XXXXXXXXXXX <== Lower Bracket Limit 10804 1 8 8 6 XXXXXX 10800 2 8 S8 10 XXXXXXXX 10800 1 8 8 7 XXXXXXX 10728 2 8 S8 6 XXXXX 10728 1 8 8 5 XXXXX 10724 2 8 S8 5 XXXX 10724 1 8 8 4 XXXX 10720 1 8 8 2 X 10720 1 8 8 2 XX 10716 1 8 8 3 XX 10716 1 8 8 3 XXX 10712 1 8 8 2 X 10712 1 8 8 2 XX 10708 1 8 8 1 X 10708 1 8 8 1 X Commentary The breakout on the five day resulted in a run-pause scenario, with the pause at 108:00 and then a close substantially lower, at 107:15. On the 20 day, the trading filled in the spaces and the 20 day now has a balance pattern, with a new lower breakout at 107:24. However, the close at 107:15 is outside the balance pattern and hence the 20 day is now in trend phase also. The May 2 LDB report confirms the trend action: Day 1. Start of trend. Breakout down at 10822 No Commercial action Average Commercial % 9.1 (last 6 days) Average Public % 28.9 CONTRACT: JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING DATE: 05 02 96 PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 10908 320 0.0 48.4 0.0 3.1 48.4 Z 10907 2570 0.3 57.4 8.1 14.4 20.1 Z$ 10906 8402 0.9 62.6 7.6 10.6 19.3 Z$ 10905 4842 0.5 52.4 17.5 4.9 25.3 Z$ 10904 4192 0.4 46.7 4.4 7.0 41.9 Z$ 10903 402 0.0 50.7 0.0 0.2 49.0 Z$ 10902 22 0.0 95.5 0.0 0.0 4.5 $ 10901 28 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 $ 10900 1260 0.1 16.3 0.0 0.0 83.7 $ 10831 400 0.0 52.7 0.0 5.0 42.3 $ 10830 1918 0.2 40.6 36.5 4.7 18.2 $ 10829 198 0.0 52.5 25.3 0.0 22.2 $ 10828 1260 0.1 50.8 7.9 6.7 34.6 $ 10827 890 0.1 49.8 7.9 4.9 37.4 $ 10826 1758 0.2 56.4 10.6 0.7 32.3 $ 10825 1360 0.1 47.6 4.4 9.9 38.1 $ 10824 2576 0.3 48.3 5.0 0.1 46.5 $ 10823 1574 0.2 43.6 15.9 1.9 38.6 $ <== 5 day Enter Short 10822 1876 0.2 55.8 12.6 2.1 29.5 $ 10821 3748 0.4 55.1 4.6 1.8 38.4 $ 10820 5602 0.6 47.5 13.5 1.2 37.9 $ 10819 1452 0.2 51.6 8.6 5.7 34.1 $ 10818 1042 0.1 27.7 0.0 6.7 65.5 $ 10817 3464 0.4 54.8 14.3 4.5 26.4 $ 10816 13952 1.4 50.9 12.6 4.3 32.2 $ 10815 15816 1.6 52.3 12.4 2.8 32.5 $ <== VA upper 10814 11714 1.2 55.0 17.9 2.0 25.1 $A 10813 21612 2.2 55.8 15.1 3.8 25.3 $A 10812 27426 2.8 52.5 11.6 3.6 32.3 $A 10811 25084 2.6 59.5 8.7 4.7 27.1 $A 10810 40798 4.2 51.4 13.6 4.5 30.5 $A 10809 16918 1.8 59.8 14.9 3.9 21.5 $A 10808 23496 2.4 56.3 11.8 2.5 29.4 $ABC 10807 33928 3.5 59.5 9.4 3.5 27.6 $ABCF 10806 30680 3.2 59.5 10.5 4.5 25.6 $ABCF 10805 40708 4.2 54.3 9.1 5.8 30.8 ABCDEF 10804 47094 4.9 53.9 10.5 5.8 29.8 ABCDEF 10803 53172 5.5 57.1 12.3 4.8 25.8 BCDEFG <== 20 day entry 10802 37956 3.9 57.0 10.2 4.3 28.5 BCDEFG <== node 10801 35570 3.7 59.1 11.4 6.0 23.6 BCDEFG 10800 36120 3.7 55.5 11.5 4.4 28.6 BCDEFG 10731 20750 2.1 58.7 7.7 3.5 30.1 BCDG 10730 17702 1.8 58.0 8.3 3.8 29.9 CGH 10729 19812 2.1 61.8 7.7 4.1 26.4 CGH 10728 20696 2.1 54.4 10.2 4.9 30.6 CGHI 10727 22594 2.3 53.9 12.7 9.6 23.8 CHI 10726 24492 2.5 56.6 11.1 5.7 26.5 CHI 10725 16844 1.7 53.8 9.7 5.4 31.0 CHI 10724 14584 1.5 53.1 15.2 3.5 28.3 CHI 10723 10162 1.1 58.1 4.8 4.8 32.4 CHI 10722 10552 1.1 54.7 10.9 8.6 25.8 HIJ <== VA lower 10721 15322 1.6 49.7 7.6 5.8 36.9 HIJ 10720 18266 1.9 57.6 7.8 7.5 27.1 IJ 10719 14468 1.5 60.5 11.0 6.8 21.6 IJ 10718 8296 0.9 50.4 3.0 6.8 39.8 IJ 10717 6654 0.7 55.8 7.1 3.8 33.4 IJKL 10716 15686 1.6 58.1 4.4 6.8 30.7 IJKLM <== node 10715 35130 3.6 54.5 11.7 6.1 27.7 JKLM <== Close 10714 38836 4.0 55.9 6.5 5.1 32.4 JKLM 10713 33158 3.4 55.9 7.7 4.5 31.9 JKLM 10712 19428 2.0 57.1 13.0 5.9 24.0 JKL 10711 11548 1.2 63.9 11.3 5.9 18.9 KL 10710 5434 0.6 55.6 4.9 5.6 33.9 KL 10709 814 0.1 47.3 18.6 8.4 25.8 KL 10708 1184 0.1 50.3 2.8 7.6 39.3 L %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 965612 55.8 10.5 5.0 28.7 70% VOLUME SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 10815 676280 70.0 56.2 11.1 4.7 28.0 $ABCDEFGHIJ 10722 Commentary Note the unusually heavy Commercial selling all the way down to the close. There was no capping. Both items confirm the trend. A red flag is the spotty Public selling late in the day. The node, or pause at 107:17 to 107:12 is expected in a trend. Net, the trend is intact. Now, we go to the May 3 LDB report to search for signs of an ending to the trend, or at least signs of change in the market. Day 2 of the Trend CONTRACT: JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING DATE: 05 03 96 PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 10807 1732 0.2 50.9 0.0 4.0 45.0 $ 10806 4750 0.5 41.0 5.4 2.9 50.7 $ 10805 6692 0.7 53.7 4.3 0.5 41.6 $ 10804 5484 0.6 50.6 12.9 2.5 34.0 $ 10803 1594 0.2 54.3 11.3 1.3 33.1 $ 10802 2702 0.3 51.2 5.9 1.7 41.2 $ 10801 4688 0.5 55.5 10.2 2.6 31.7 $ 10800 24252 2.5 47.6 9.2 3.0 40.1 $ 10731 14952 1.5 50.4 9.0 2.2 38.4 $E 10730 24238 2.4 50.0 7.5 1.6 40.9 $E 10729 24024 2.4 51.5 8.8 2.5 37.3 $E 10728 19506 2.0 50.4 7.0 2.8 39.8 $AE 10727 20636 2.1 58.5 11.6 4.3 25.6 $AE 10726 29474 3.0 53.4 13.4 2.9 30.3 $AE 10725 41166 4.2 51.3 12.3 2.3 34.2 $AE 10724 35596 3.6 55.3 8.2 4.6 31.9 $ADE 10723 34320 3.5 54.4 12.0 3.7 29.9 $ADE 10722 30580 3.1 58.2 7.8 3.7 30.3 $ADE 10721 22494 2.3 62.0 7.6 4.4 26.1 $ADEF 10720 33832 3.4 51.5 15.4 2.8 30.2 $ADEF 10719 22646 2.3 57.2 13.5 4.0 25.3 $ADEF 10718 25916 2.6 56.3 11.4 3.1 29.2 $ACDEF 10717 32940 3.3 55.2 9.2 2.6 32.9 $ACDFG 10716 34812 3.5 55.5 10.4 2.3 31.8 $ABCDFGH 10715 23462 2.4 56.1 6.9 4.8 32.3 $ABCDFGHI 10714 32822 3.3 56.5 12.6 4.6 26.3 $ABCDFGHI 10713 37708 3.8 55.0 14.3 4.9 25.8 $ABCDFGHI 10712 27324 2.8 55.1 7.7 3.4 33.9 $ABCDFGHIK 10711 15422 1.6 57.7 8.4 6.4 27.6 $ABCDFGHIJK 10710 34094 3.4 53.9 9.6 2.5 34.0 $ABCDHIJK 10709 37368 3.8 60.4 7.7 6.3 25.7 Z$BCHIJK 10708 31024 3.1 54.0 14.5 6.8 24.7 ZBCIJK 10707 22010 2.2 58.3 10.3 6.4 25.0 ZBCIJK 10706 18452 1.9 52.7 14.5 4.0 28.8 ZBIJK 10705 13526 1.4 56.7 13.2 8.7 21.4 ZBJK 10704 27842 2.8 60.3 6.9 9.0 23.8 ZJKL 10703 32572 3.3 54.2 10.0 7.6 28.1 ZJKL 10702 16884 1.7 55.3 11.3 6.6 26.8 ZKL 10701 10290 1.0 56.0 8.5 3.1 32.4 ZL 10700 8360 0.8 49.9 4.5 1.1 44.4 ZL 10631 1116 0.1 47.4 0.2 0.0 52.4 ZL 10630 1016 0.1 34.4 18.5 4.4 42.6 L 10629 5068 0.5 49.9 13.6 3.2 33.4 L 10628 9002 0.9 52.9 12.6 1.7 32.8 L 10627 14544 1.5 54.4 3.7 4.3 37.7 L 10626 12570 1.3 53.2 10.5 3.6 32.8 L 10625 12208 1.2 55.9 10.0 4.2 29.9 LM 10624 21000 2.1 51.8 7.5 6.2 34.5 LM 10623 17756 1.8 50.8 7.9 12.8 28.5 LM 10622 6858 0.7 46.2 8.0 3.6 42.2 L %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 989324 54.5 10.1 4.3 31.0 70% VOLUME SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 10730 693414 70.1 55.2 10.6 3.8 30.4 Z$ABCDEFGHIJK 10707 Commentary The day opened at 107:16 and traced out a very wide Initial Balance from 108:07 to 106:31. There was a lot of rotation on that base for the rest of the day until the last trading period (L = 1:30 to 2:00 PM). The close at 106:24 argued for continuation of the down trend. But the market's congestion for most of the day places the continuation in doubt. Also, trading back into the first node (centered around 108:03) is a sign of weakness for the trend. Still, there was no Commercial capping calculated, the Value Area is large and the volume remains high, so, on balance, this down trend must assumed to be intact. Day 3 of the Trend. Upper Commercial action, Lower Commercial action (Capping) (Capping) CONTRACT: JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING DATE: 05 06 96 PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 10709 454 0.1 50.7 44.1 0.7 4.6 CD 10708 12630 3.7 56.0 11.9 9.5 22.5 $CDEL <== U Comml 10707 40158 11.8 55.7 8.4 10.7 25.2 $BCDEL 10706 48672 14.3 56.6 10.2 5.9 27.3 $BCDEIJLM 10705 48048 14.1 58.3 12.3 3.8 25.6 $ABCDEFIJKLM <== Clo 10704 52676 15.5 55.1 9.2 6.1 29.6 $ABEFGHIJKL 10703 34430 10.1 56.6 9.9 5.0 28.5 $ABEFGHIJKL 10702 16226 4.8 56.1 5.1 5.8 33.0 Z$ABFGHJKL 10701 24006 7.1 55.3 11.8 3.5 29.3 Z$FGHJKL 10700 26192 7.7 56.7 12.5 4.3 26.5 Z$GHJKL 10631 18082 5.3 54.9 12.2 5.5 27.4 ZGHJ 10630 10030 3.0 58.5 10.0 5.4 26.1 ZGHJ <== L Comml 10629 7146 2.1 54.0 3.9 2.1 40.0 ZG 10628 1208 0.4 53.5 14.1 0.0 32.5 G %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR JUN 96 T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 339958 56.3 10.2 5.8 27.7 VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) DAY 343824 56.3 10.1 5.8 27.9 70% VOLUME SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 10708 252840 74.4 56.4 9.8 6.4 27.4 Z$ABCDEFGHIJKLMPQR 10702 Commentary The puzzle is complete. Volume is off, the Value Area has shrunk to almost disappearing, the market is congesting and today showed lower Commercial capping. The trend is finished, certainly in the short term. Part 3. Hourly Liquidity Data Bank Reports from the CBOT The Chicago Board of Trade is now releasing within-day clearing, as the trading is reconciled. Included are the total volume at each price, Cti1, 2, 3, 4 volumes at each price and the Market Profile (tm); i.e., the Liquidity Data Bank. Release times are approximately hourly, starting just before 9 AM and ending around 6:00 PM. There are eight releases in all, nine if you count the 'second reconciliation' which normally arrives between 6:30 and 7:00 PM. Hourly LDB data represent the first ever case of actual volume becoming available during the trading day. The trader can follow volume changes as they are cleared, tracking demand as it changes throughout the day. ***HOURLY LDB REPORT, TABLE AND PROFILE*** Download number 1 on 24-NOV-1992 at 08:51 Download finish time Download number 2 on 24-NOV-1992 at 10:04 Download number 3 on 24-NOV-1992 at 11:14 Download number 4 on 24-NOV-1992 at 12:20 Download number 5 on 24-NOV-1992 at 14:14 Download number 6 on 24-NOV-1992 at 15:58 Download number 7 on 24-NOV-1992 at 16:57 Download number 8 on 24-NOV-1992 at 18:25 For download number 1 which occurred at 08:49 CBOT VOLUME REPORT TRADING DATE: 11 24 92 CONTRACT: DEC 92 US T BOND (CBOT) DAY TRADING BEGINS 0720 (CST);CLOSES 1405;TPO SYMBOLS ARE Z$ABCDEFGHIJKLM FIRST PERIOD IS 10 MINS;SUBSEQUENT PERIODS ARE ALL 30 MINS PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 10318 350 2.7 48.6 2.9 0.3 48.3 ZB 10317 2470 19.1 64.7 8.5 0.2 26.6 ZAB 10316 1778 13.8 51.6 21.0 0.0 27.4 Z$AB 10315 508 3.9 64.4 0.4 0.8 34.4 Z$AB 10314 376 2.9 69.9 6.9 0.3 22.9 Z$A 10313 1870 14.5 54.0 5.7 3.4 37.0 $A 10312 2142 16.6 55.9 19.9 0.7 23.4 $A 10311 1762 13.6 51.7 10.2 0.7 37.4 $ 10310 626 4.8 66.1 8.0 0.0 25.9 $ 10309 52 0.4 48.1 38.5 0.0 13.5 $ 10308 978 7.6 50.0 21.5 0.0 28.5 $ PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 70% 10317 10906 84.5 57.1 12.1 0.9 29.9 ZAB$ V-A 10311 %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR DEC 92 US T BOND (CBOT) DAY 12912 56.7 12.5 0.8 30.0 VOLUME FOR ALL US T BOND (CBOT) DAY 15195 50.7 11.3 1.8 36.2 TPO ANALYSIS FOR CURRENT DAY : VALUE AREA FROM TPOS UPPER 10318 LOWER 10314 CONTROL 10315 ALL Z $ A B TPO-UPR 9 0 4 8 9 TPO-LWR 7 0 0 4 7 TPO-TOT 24 5 14 20 24 PRC-TKS 11 5 11 11 11 TF-FAC 2.2 1.0 1.3 1.8 2.2 ***Commentary on market as of 8:49 The ticker, monitored separately, shows a range of 10307 to 10318 for the time frame from 7:20 to 8:49. Evidently, the 10307 report is an error that was removed from the data during the clearing. The first two periods (initial balance) set a base from 10308 to 10318. Then a bell distribution formed from 10312 to 10318, centered at 10315. Peak volume at 10317 indicates an upward bias to the distribution. Low volume at 10318 indicates rejection. Price movement above 10318 or below 10312 would be considered breakouts initially, then, possibly extension or growth of the bell distribution. For download number 2 which occurred at 10:02 : PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 10326 57 0.1 82.5 0.0 0.0 17.5 D 10325 60 0.1 61.7 0.0 0.0 38.2 CD 10324 243 0.3 32.9 26.7 0.8 39.5 CD 10323 360 0.4 17.8 8.6 11.9 61.7 CD 10322 268 0.3 0.0 3.7 24.3 72.0 C 10321 914 1.1 0.0 0.0 5.5 94.5 C 10320 48 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 C 10319 4 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 C 10318 756 0.9 56.0 2.0 1.3 40.7 ZBC 10317 11590 14.2 72.5 7.0 1.8 18.7 ZABC 10316 8238 10.1 50.0 12.1 1.9 36.0 Z$ABC 10315 4032 4.9 60.9 2.8 1.2 35.1 Z$ABC 10314 6176 7.6 57.9 5.8 2.3 34.0 Z$AC 10313 16346 20.0 66.3 9.4 3.4 20.9 $A 10312 15744 19.3 64.2 10.0 3.3 22.6 $A 10311 8640 10.6 62.5 8.4 2.7 26.3 $ 10310 5480 6.7 58.0 3.9 5.9 32.2 $ 10309 638 0.8 46.9 14.1 0.2 38.9 $ 10308 2032 2.5 44.8 17.6 0.0 37.5 $ PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 70% 10317 70766 86.7 63.4 8.6 2.6 25.3 ZABC$ V-A 10311 %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR DEC 92 US T BOND (CBOT) DAY 81626 61.2 8.4 2.9 27.6 VOLUME FOR ALL US T BOND (CBOT) DAY 85203 61.0 8.0 2.8 28.2 TPO ANALYSIS FOR CURRENT DAY : VALUE AREA FROM TPOS UPPER 10320 LOWER 10311 CONTROL 10316 ALL Z $ A B C D TPO-UPR 13 0 4 8 9 7 13 TPO-LWR 13 0 0 4 7 13 13 TPO-TOT 40 5 14 20 24 36 40 PRC-TKS 19 5 11 11 11 18 19 TF-FAC 2.1 1.0 1.3 1.8 2.2 2.0 2.1 ***Commentary on market as of 10:02 The ticker, monitored separately, shows a range of 10316 to 10317 from 8:50 to 9:00, 10317 to 10322 from 9:00 to 9:15, 10321 to 10326 from 9:15 to 9:30, and price then ranging from 10323 to 10325 until the download. Price breakout at 10319 moved up to 10326 before rotating back into the range 10323 to 10325 to possibly start another bell curve. At this time there are two distributions; a 'double distribution up day' or a 'trend day' in Market Profile parlance. Peak volume in the new distribution is 360 at 10323. It is too early in the development of this distribution to tell if it is real or just a pause in an up move. Price above 10325 would be evidence for continuation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 4. New Ideas: Buy-Sell Data, Night Trading The futures markets are undergoing large changes. Computerized exchanges are coming. Twenty four hour world-wide markets are here for some commodities. More and better data is available faster. T-bonds have a foot in the old world of open outcry on the floors of exchanges and one foot in the computer trading world. The CBOT exchange T-bond pits open at 7:20 AM and close at 3 PM. Then computer trading (Project A) begins at 3:30 and goes through the night. Soon the membership will vote on having Project A on line 24 hours a day. The Public will have access to many markets around the clock. Techniques to handle one's time must be developed. More analytical work will migrate to personal computers. The trader will need to be more organized and more disciplined. Data like the LDB will be promoted from incidental to necessary. Below is a LDB Report for the entire 24 hours. Below that is the Buy/Sell data for the same day. Lastly, we show the half-hour tick bars for the same period. These data are needed for the 24 hour markets. CBOT VOLUME REPORT CONTRACT: SEP 98 T-BOND (CBOT) D+E+G TRADING DATE: 07 22 98 PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS(*) 12308 258 0.1 23.6 43.8 0.0 32.6 O 12307 10072 2.0 36.6 21.5 0.6 41.2 OYG 12306 18886 3.8 46.7 15.5 2.4 35.4 OYFG 12305 33554 6.7 49.8 7.2 1.9 41.1 OY$FGHIJ 12304 46818 9.4 50.6 9.3 4.7 35.4 Y$FGHIJK 12303 68460 13.7 54.0 8.5 5.6 31.9 Y$ABFGHIJK 12302 74458 14.9 54.1 7.4 5.8 32.8 YZ$ABEFGHIJKL 12301 61518 12.3 56.3 8.1 3.7 31.9 YZ$ABDEGHIKL 12300 76690 15.4 55.6 6.2 6.1 32.2 Z$ABCDELM 12231 54834 11.0 59.5 8.9 4.6 27.0 ZABCDELM 12230 35274 7.1 53.7 7.8 5.7 32.8 BCDLM 12229 12878 2.6 54.6 8.7 9.3 27.3 BCDLM 12228 5410 1.1 58.9 11.5 2.6 27.0 BC %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 VOLUME FOR SEP 98 T-BOND (CBOT) D+E+G 499110 54.0 8.5 4.9 32.7 VOLUME FOR ALL T-BOND (CBOT) D+E+G 499802 54.0 8.5 4.9 32.7 70% VOLUME SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS 12304 382778 76.7 55.1 7.9 5.2 31.8 YZ$ABCDEFGHIJKLM 12231 O/H/L/C SUMMARY PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS OPEN 12306 18886 3.8 46.7 15.5 2.4 35.4 YFGO HIGH 12308 258 0.1 23.6 43.8 0.0 32.6 O LOW 12228 5410 1.1 58.9 11.5 2.6 27.0 BC CLOSE 12300 179676 36.0 56.4 7.5 5.8 30.4 Z$ABCDELM 12229 QUADRANTS PRICE VOLUME %VOL %CTI1 %CTI2 %CTI3 %CTI4 BRACKETS QD 1 12308 62770 12.6 46.7 12.1 1.8 39.4 Y$FGHIJO 12305 QD 2 12304 189736 38.0 53.2 8.3 5.4 33.1 YZ$ABEFGHIJKL 12302 QD 3 12301 193042 38.7 56.9 7.5 4.9 30.6 YZ$ABCDEGHIKLM 12231 QD 4 12230 53562 10.7 54.5 8.4 6.3 30.9 BCDLM 12228 TPO ANALYSIS FOR CURRENT DAY : VALUE AREA FROM TPOS UPPER 12305 CONTROL 12302 LOWER 12231 ALL P Q R S T U V W Y Z $ A B C D E F G H I J K L M TPO-UPR 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 7 8 8 13 14 13 19 22 25 28 30 30 30 TPO-LWR 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 9 12 20 19 21 28 29 30 31 31 32 37 41 TPO-TOT 84 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 11 17 22 30 35 40 44 49 56 61 66 70 74 80 84 PRC-TKS 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 9 9 9 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 TF-FAC 7.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.2 1.9 2.4 2.5 2.9 3.3 3.7 4.1 4.7 5.1 5.5 5.8 6.2 6.7 7.0 *The MARKET PROFILE is a registered trademark of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago 1984. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This report may not be reproduced or retransmitted without the express written consent of CISCO. Liquidity Data Bank (R) Net Buy and Sell To see the full display decrease the font size to the minimum. Updated on July 22, 1998 at 21:12 for US 98U Traded on July 22, 1998 Net Buy and Sell/Bracket Information ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Price Volume CTI1b CTI1s CTI1n CTI2b CTI2s CTI2n CTI3b CTI3s CTI3n CTI4b CTI4s CTI4n Half-hour Brackets ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12308 258 27 34 -7 100 13 87 0 0 0 2 82 -80 g 12307 10072 1199 2491 -1292 1349 817 532 4 58 -54 2484 1670 814 GWg 12306 18886 3898 4924 -1026 1624 1296 328 123 329 -206 3798 2894 904 GVWg 12305 33554 8204 8506 -302 863 1538 -675 190 456 -266 7520 6277 1243 GPVWXabg 12304 46818 11922 11749 173 2216 2156 60 1004 1197 -193 8267 8307 -40 GPVWXabc 12303 68460 18896 18091 805 3262 2575 687 2223 1577 646 9849 11987 -2138 GPQRVWXabc 12302 74458 19974 20274 -300 3741 1782 1959 2493 1800 693 11021 13373 -2352 GOPQRUVWXabcd 12301 61518 18625 16033 2592 3111 1883 1228 1173 1087 86 7850 11756 -3906 GOPQRTUWXacd 12300 76690 20736 21897 -1161 3255 1467 1788 2261 2416 -155 12093 12565 -472 OPQRSTUde 12231 54834 16105 16530 -425 3516 1337 2179 1131 1410 -279 6665 8140 -1475 OQRSTUde 12230 35274 9349 9599 -250 1791 964 827 1120 891 229 5377 6183 -806 RSTde 12229 12878 4091 2944 1147 389 734 -345 753 445 308 1206 2316 -1110 RSTde 12228 5410 1579 1608 -29 47 575 -528 78 61 17 1001 461 540 RS ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Grand 499110 134605 134680 -75 25264 17137 8127 12553 11727 826 77133 86011 -8878 Total ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To see the full display decrease the font size to the minimum. CONTRACT: T-BOND (CBOT) 09,98 DATE: 07/22/98 ALL TPO PERIODS BEGIN AND END ON HALF HOUR: Z IS FOR 7AM-7:30AM, $ FOR 7:30AM TO 8:00AM ETC ldb.mp980722 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm 12am 1am 2am 3am O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O N O a b c P Q R S T U V W X + d e f g h i j k l m n o 12308 6 2 10> 12 12307 58 42> 41 13 7 1 1 18 1 1 6 12306 > 65> 23 6 25> 1 > 5> 5> 5> 3> 11> 10 12> 13 26 12305 16 8 1 6 3> 1 > 16> 3> 6> 3 1> 1> 3> 28 7 10 13 10 12304 1 1 1 4> 1 1 1 13> 43 9 28> 6> 25 12303 4> 30> 12 16 12302 41 7 5> 12301 12300 12231 12230 12229 12228 145 75 57 50 1 0 13 6 6 21 17 14 14 13 17 4 7 7 2 2 4 73 54 80 57 19 56 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm O O O O O O D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D p q r s t u Z $ A B C D E F G H I J K L M 12308 1 12307 2 6 12306 2 5> 10 2 1 2 12305 9 3 9 13 4 7 4 8> 3 12304 3 29 27 6 20 3 12 11> 12 7> 7 11 12303 15> 25 7 5> 33> 25 1 28 4 7 1> 4 11 12> 6 3 14 8 12302 45 1> 44> 61 1 6> 22 19 12 1 7 3 1 7> 18 12301 1 4 3 > 11 10> 18> 18 3 11> 8 8> 2 12300 5 2 6 13 13> 8 5 12 3 12231 13 7 5 8 7* 12230 8> 3 1 2 12229 3 64 64 55 69 63 32 23 93 47 74 29 26 21 36 46 34 18 20 35 54 14