Want to Know If the Bottom Is In? Read this.
Since $QQQ just printed a gap-up candle, the next thing I'll be watching is the Follow-Through Day (FTD).
One of William O'Neil's most important rules for confirming a market bottom.
How it works:
- Market is in a correction. The first day an index closes higher = Day 1 of a rally attempt.
- Days 2-3 don't need to be up. The rally stays alive as long as Day 1's low holds.
- Then on Day 4-7, watch for one major index (S&P 500 or Nasdaq) to gain 1.25%+ on volume higher than the day before.
That's the follow-through day. Downtrend over. Confirmed uptrend.
The rules that matter:
- Not every FTD works - many fail
- But no bull market has EVER started without one.
- Undercut Day 1's low -> the count resets
- FTDs after Day 10 carry lower success rates
What to actually do on an FTD:
Don't go all in. Buy starter positions in leading stocks breaking out of sound bases. If the rally is real, they work - and you add. If it fails, you're barely exposed.
O'Neil's whole point: you don't predict bottoms. You confirm them.
Corrections are for building the watchlist. The FTD tells you when to use it.