The Chicago Board of Trade and

WindoTrader Corporation present:

Market Profile Keys for Traders and Investors

Market Profile is a registered trademark of the Chicago Board of Trade 2003 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The following information is offered as an abridged edition of the Market Profile Basic Users Guide available through the WINdoTRADEr website at: www.windotrader.com WindoTrader Corporation thanks the Chicago Board of Trade for its support in creating the Market Profile Basic Users Guide.

CBoT Market Profile

The Market Profile was developed in the early 1980's by The Chicago Board of Trade and Peter Steidlmayer as an analytical decision support tool to organize and display market generated information. The Market Profile's key components are time, price, and volume which are then combined and displayed in a statistical distribution much like a normal bell-shaped curve to reveal pricing patterns and value.

CBoT Market Profile (cont)

The Market Profile is not a trading system. It does not give buy, sell, entry, exit, overbought or oversold indicators. The trader makes trading decisions based on an independent evaluation of market price and value information. The Market Profile trader, through study and experience, can learn to identify the market's underlying dynamics and structure (trending versus trading range) and then initiate, manage and exit trades accordingly. This differs from typical technical analysis which usually measures price movement.

What is the Market Profile?

The Market Profile is:
A structure for organizing a developing market. A horizontal and vertical display of the dynamic process of market activity. A visual display of the markets current value or fair price range.

What is the Market Profile?

The Market Profile is:
A decision support tool to help traders better understand the present condition of the market. A tool for recording the markets current activity through the organization of time, price, and volume. A graphic reflection of all market participant opinions.

(cont)

The Markets Auction Process

The markets auction process translates countless supply and demand factors into the markets current price. The markets current price is determined through the markets own price discovery or bid-offer auction process. Basically, the market auctions up until there are no more buyers, and down until there are no more sellers. This is known as a dual auction process which means the end of an up auction is the beginning of a down auction and vice versa.

The Markets Auction Process (cont)

More specifically, the market moves directionally seeking an opposing directional response resulting in the initial directional move being stopped. Understanding this auction process through the use of market tools such as the Market Profile allows traders and investors to identify and effectively respond to the markets continuation or change scenarios. A key factor in identifying potential continuation or change scenarios is the Market Profiles vertical and horizontal display of the markets own current activity and its current price / value relationships. Following are several Keys to understanding the benefits of using the Market Profile as a tool in your trading and / or investing toolkit.

Market Profile Keys

Direction Initial Balance Point of Control Range Extension Tails/Single Prints Trading Ranges Trends Volume

Direction
Understanding the market's CURRENT directional bias and STRENGTH of that bias. Auctions up until buying is exhausted. Auctions down until selling is exhausted.

Direction

Initial Balance
Range established during the first two periods of trade. Above average Initial Balance range projects potential trading range session. Below average Initial Balance range projects potential trending session.

Initial Balance

Point of Control
Point of Control Longest line of letters (TPOs) or most common price. Highlights area of highest market activity during current trading session.

Point of Control

Range Extension
Price trading beyond initial balance high and / or low. No range extension usually means the short-term trader is in control of the market. Range extension usually means longer-term trader in control of the market.

Range Extension

Tails and Single Prints

A Tail - Consecutive single prints at either a high or low extreme. Buying Tail - Formed by market moving lower and buyers entering the market aggressively. Selling Tail - Formed by market moving higher and sellers entering the market aggressively.

Tails and Single Prints (cont.)

Spikes are tails occurring in the last period of the session and are potential keys to trading the following sessions open. Single prints are found between distributions in a trading session. The length / range of the tail or single print is usually an indication of the potential strength of the tail or single print.

Sell Tail and Buy Tail

Single Prints

Trading Range
A narrow range of prices that persists through time. Initial balance range usually greater than average. Confirmed balance edges create risk and opportunity. A trading range is defined by traders timeframe.

Trading Range

Trading Range (cont.)

Primarily a short-term traders market. Usually characterized by little or no participation by the longer-term trader. One key to trading a trading range is to be patient and wait for the market to challenge the extremes and then enter on a failure to break-out of the range. More trading opportunities with limited potential.

Trends

A market moving with clear, sustained direction. Divergence of price away from value. Trends are defined by the traders timeframe.

Trends

Trends (cont.)
A trending market moves directionally until it finds value or a fair price and trade is shut-off by an opposite response. Trends are usually telegraphed by a narrow Initial Balance or news. Trade location is usually secondary to trade execution. Monitoring Value Area changes is key to trading trends.

Value
Value is identified by price acceptance, i.e., a price zone where the market trades over time. Unfair or rejected price is where market spent minimal time trading, i.e., tails / single prints. Price x Time = Value !

Value Area
The value area is that area / zone where approximately 70% (1 standard deviation) of the sessions volume was recorded. The value area - where two-sided trade primarily occurred. A key measure of overall current market activity. Value area range is one key to trading range activity or trending activity.

Value Area (cont.)

Market opening and trading above value area favors higher prices. Market opening and trading below value area favors lower prices. Many times the directional bias of the market can be determined by the TPO count.

Value Area

Volume
A primary measure of the overall quality of the current market activity. Reading volume through volume relationships, i.e., greater than, less than, or equal to previous volumes. Convergence versus divergence relationships between price and volume.

Volume (cont)

High volume areas tend to attract market activity. Low volume areas tend to reject market activity. Volume is best interpreted over time and in relation to average volume.

Low Volume

High Volume

Market Profile Trading Principles

Know when the market is in a trading range or trending mode and trade accordingly. Continually monitor value area development, value area placement, reference points and volume. Understand whats happening and why its happening! Understand whats not happening and why its not happening!

Windotrader Corporation, again, thanks the Chicago Board of Trade for its support in creating both editions of the Market Profile Basic Users Guide.

To view the unabridged version and attend a narrated presentation of the Market Profile Basic Users Guide, please go to: www.windotrader.com