Gaining Perspective on Markets by Shifting Perspective

Almost by definition, if you're pursuing your own, unique path--in life and in markets--you are going to face uncertainty.  If we live life solely by following tradition and consensus, we'll find the security of the known, but will never have the adventure of finding our own path by tackling the unknown.

As the recent post outlined, successful trading is all about standing apart from consensus and finding unique perspectives and edges in financial markets.  But if you pursue uniqueness, you'll pursue uncertainty--and that requires a tolerance of what is uncomfortable and unfamiliar.

Two ways of gaining perspective on markets are microanalysis and macroanalysis.  In microanalysis, we break a market down into smaller pieces and look for clues to future activity based upon the patterning of those pieces.  So, for instance, I might look at the alignment of sector behavior within the SPX to gain clues as to what is strong, what is weak, and what the patterns of strength and weakness might mean for the economy and stocks overall.  A different form of microanalysis would be to break the price action of a stock or index into intraday pieces, as in the case of tracking volume flows or upticks/downticks over short intervals.  Many times, beneath the surface, we can see evidence of accumulation or distribution that gives us a clue as to forward market behavior.

Macroanalysis, on the other hand, places market activity in a broader context and looks for patterns among larger variables.  We could aggregate global economic data, for example, and infer patterns of growing global growth and weakness that could impact the behavior of stocks.  Similarly, we could look across the policies of world central banks and assess whether monetary conditions are skewed toward liquidity or tightness.  In macroanalysis, we might view SPX as a sector itself within the broader universe of global equities.  For example, since 2015, the correlation between daily moves in shares in Europe, the Far East, Australia, and Asia (EFA) has been about +.84 with the daily moves in the U.S. (SPY).  The correlation between daily moves in emerging markets (EEM) and the U.S. (SPY) has been about +.80.  Quite simply, markets are global and what happens in one part of the world is tremendously relevant for other parts.

If you find markets are unclear and/or you find yourself trapped on a consensus path, very often the answer is to take a fresh look through a microscope or a telescope.  Looking beneath the surface of market activity by zooming in on short-term patterns can bring clarity.  Stepping back from day to day activity and focusing on the big picture can also bring fresh understanding.  To gain perspective, we have to shift perspective.  Microanalysis and macroanalysis are two ways of accomplishing that.  It is difficult to stay stuck in a perceptual rut if we have many microscopes and telescopes available to us.

Further Reading:  Market Profile as a Fresh Perspective on Trading
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