Momentum Trading Strategies Quick Guide With Free PDF (2024)

Are you looking to profit from strong market moves? Momentum trading allows you to seize profitable opportunities by identifying markets and time frames with significant momentum. In this post, we will explore the essence of momentum trading and how it helps you discover high-probability trades.

Get ready to unlock the power of momentum and elevate your trading game!

Note: You can get your free Momentum Trading Strategies PDF download below.

Free PDF Guide: Get Your Momentum Trading Strategies PDF Guide

Table of Contents

What is Momentum Trading?

Momentum trading focuses on identifying markets that have experienced distinct upward or downward movements. In a momentum trade, the goal is to capitalize on a strong upward push in price. By buying during this momentum and selling as prices continue to rise, traders aim to profit from the prevailing trend.

Take a look at the chart example below, where price exhibits a robust upward movement.

In such cases, one could have sought to enter the trade with the prevailing momentum and profit from the ongoing price increase. Effective momentum strategies involve locating markets and time frames with clear short-term trends. Although there is always a risk of the trend reversing, trading in line with the trend and momentum often enhances the reliability of your trading setup.

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Short-Term Momentum Trading

Many traders will use momentum trading to find short-term intraday day trades.

Many traders employ momentum trading to seek short-term intraday opportunities. This approach involves focusing on smaller time frames, like five minutes or 15 minutes. The appeal of this strategy lies in its ability to facilitate quick trade entry and exit, allowing trades to be closed before logging off your computer.

In contrast, trading higher time frames, such as four hours or daily charts, often entails holding trades for several days and incurring additional costs like rollover fees. By trading smaller time frames, such as the 15-minute charts, you gain access to a greater number of trading opportunities across various markets due to the faster-changing trends.

Momentum Breakout Strategy

Two of the simplest ways to find momentum trading setups are to look for momentum breakout trades or use an indicator.

There are two simple ways to identify momentum trading opportunities: by looking for momentum breakout trades or using indicators. A momentum breakout occurs when the price has already made a strong move in one direction and then consolidates, forming a box-like pattern. When the price breaks out of this pattern, momentum traders will trade in the direction of the breakout and ride the momentum.

Take a look at the example chart below, where the price initially rises, pauses to consolidate in a box, and then breaks out higher, continuing the momentum.

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What is the Best Momentum Indicator?

One of the most favored indicators for identifying momentum trades is the moving average.

The moving average is popular because it can indicate the formation of trends and the strength of those trends. A common approach involves employing two moving averages in conjunction.

In the chart below, you can see the 50 EMA (exponential moving average) and the 200 EMA. When the 50 EMA crosses below the 200 EMA, it signals a downtrend in price.

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Momentum Trading Setups Examples

Most traders want to get into the market at the best price. This is no different with momentum trading.

A common strategy used to do this is to wait and watch for price to pullback into a supply or demand zone within the momentum.

The first step to doing this is identifying when price is making a strong momentum move. The chart example below highlights this with a strong move lower.

After this, we are looking for a pullback higher so we can find a potential entry. As the example shows below price pulls back into the recent resistance level. This could be a possible entry level to go short with the momentum lower.

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Lastly

Momentum trading can be highly profitable when done correctly. Many traders will use the strategies discussed in this post and add their other favorite tools and techniques to find high probability entry points.

These include strategies such as using Japanese Candlesticks, using price action clues to confirm breakouts or their other favorite indicators.

Remember: always test any new strategies, systems or indicators on free demos or virtual charts to make sure you are successful with them before ever risking real money.

Note: You can get your free Momentum Trading Strategies PDF download below.

Free PDF Guide: Get Your Momentum Trading Strategies PDF Guide

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Momentum Trading Strategies Quick Guide With Free PDF (2024)

FAQs

What is the 5 minute momentum strategy? ›

The 5 Minute "Momentum" Trading Strategy

As the name suggests, the strategy helps the trader to find momentum bursts on short-term (5-minute) charts. There are two indicators used in this strategy, namely 20-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD).

What is momentum trading pdf? ›

The chapter explores the potential profitability of a momentum strategy for a private investor. Such a strategy is based on price continuation and requires buying stocks that have performed well in the past while short selling underperforming stocks.

What is the best momentum strategy? ›

Momentum trading strategies capitalize on the continuation of existing market trends by buying securities in an uptrend and selling them as they peak, embodying the 'buy high, sell higher' philosophy and often relying on technical indicators over fundamental analysis.

Do momentum strategies still work? ›

Momentum investing can work, but it may not be practical for all investors. As an individual investor, practicing momentum investing will most likely lead to overall portfolio losses.

What is the most effective momentum indicator? ›

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

The RSI is one of the most widely used momentum indicators. It shows the momentum of an asset's price and can be used to identify potentially overbought or oversold situations.

What is the 5 3 strategy? ›

Clear guidelines: The 5-3-1 strategy provides clear and straightforward guidelines for traders. The principles of choosing five currency pairs, developing three trading strategies, and selecting one specific time of day offer a structured approach, reducing ambiguity and enhancing decision-making.

How to build a momentum strategy? ›

The market has grown more unpredictable in recent years, and yet, at its most basic, a successful momentum strategy still involves these four elements:
  1. Choosing the assets you want to trade.
  2. Getting into each trade “on time”
  3. Sizing your positions correctly.
  4. Knowing when to exit.
Nov 17, 2023

What is the momentum trading algorithm? ›

A Simple Momentum Trading Strategy

This algorithm uses two moving average lines. The two moving averages are the slow-line, or the slow-moving average with a larger lookback period, say 50 days. And the fast-line, or the fast-moving average with a smaller lookback period, say 10 days.

What is the 11am rule in trading? ›

It is not a hard and fast rule, but rather a guideline that has been observed by many traders over the years. The logic behind this rule is that if the market has not reversed by 11 am EST, it is less likely to experience a significant trend reversal during the remainder of the trading day.

How to learn momentum trading? ›

Momentum trading summed up
  1. Momentum trading is the practise of buying and selling assets according to the recent strength of price trends.
  2. They will open a position to take advantage of an expected price change and close the position when the trend starts to lose its strength.

What is the best momentum indicator for day trading? ›

Top momentum indicators every trader should know
  • Relative Strength Index. ...
  • Average Directional Index. ...
  • Stochastic Oscillator. ...
  • Moving Averages. ...
  • Moving Average Convergence Divergence. ...
  • Rate of Change. ...
  • Bollinger Bands. ...
  • Ease of Movement.

Why doesn't momentum trading work? ›

The success of momentum can be explained by a variety of behavioral, market friction, and risk considerations. Under certain conditions, momentum will tend to not work, including post-decimalization, after bear markets, during periods of volatility, and when value stocks outperform.

What is a momentum trap? ›

Edit Title. Momentum Trap stocks are those with low durability scores, expensive valuation, but high momentum. These stocks are risky bets that investors may be drawn to due to changes in share price. They however do not necessarily justify existing valuations and share price gains.

What is the weekly momentum strategy? ›

The Pure Momentum Strategy chooses stocks gaining in momentum every week. Stocks are cycled weekly. A weekly alert is recommended on this strategy.

What is the 5 moving average strategy? ›

A 5-day moving average would average out the closing price for the first 5 days as the first data point. The next data point would drop the earliest price, add the closing price on Day 6, then take the average, and so forth.

What is the best moving average strategy for a 5 min chart? ›

For example, a 10 and 20-period simple moving average (SMA) would be the best option for intraday trading off 1-min charts. While the combination of 12 & 24 SMAs and 5, 8 & 13 SMAs fit the 5-min chart.

How does momentum strategy work? ›

Momentum traders will seek to identify how strong the trend is in a given direction, then open a position to take advantage of the expected price change and close the position when the trend starts to lose its strength.

What is the 5 minute chart strategy? ›

Key Elements of the 5-Minute Chart Trading Strategy

Identifying Trends: Traders use technical indicators, such as moving averages and trendlines, to identify trends on the 5-minute chart. A common approach is to look for higher highs and higher lows in an uptrend or lower highs and lower lows in a downtrend.

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