Home › Market News › Predictions for 2021 – The Coach’s Playbook
I can’t help but find it hard to believe that after everything we’ve had to endure throughout the year, the S&P 500 is still up more than 15% in 2020. While our coaches may have been a little off on their calls last year, I think it’s safe to say that not a whole lot of people had the knowledge or foresight to predict what was coming. With the chaos of the elections nearly behind us and a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel in regards to Covid19, the Topstep coaches are here to share with you their market predictions for 2021.
As you can see, based on the predictions below, not even the oracles of Topstep could have known what we were in store for at the beginning of 2020. Yet, when you stop to consider just a few of the events we faced over the past 12-months; a global pandemic, a trade war, the end of an 11-year bull run, and a presidential election, then last year’s predictions don’t seem like they should have been that far off. Well, maybe except for those Gold and Bitcoin calls. Woof!
The point being, the markets showed remarkable resilience in the face of grim uncertainty. The question now becomes, is the stability sustainable?
Based on the predictions for 2021 below, it looks like the coaches are expecting more of the same heading into the new year. With a split congress likely to emerge from the upcoming Georgia runoff elections’ results, there shouldn’t be any massive policy changes in play for the new administration for at least two years. On top of that, a new economic relief bill is in the works, and Covid19 vaccines are starting to roll out. All things considered, the beginning of 2021 is actually looking kind of bright, from a certain point of view.
Of course, they’re not predicting that the year will be with nothing but sunshine and rainbows. The markets tend to shake a lot of weak money off the stick before making a big move. And with the way stocks have been melting up since mid-November, it feels like flush could be on its way.
This week’s prestigious Funded Trader shout-out award goes to our very LaShonda W. LaShonda has been putting up some pretty impressive numbers recently, and earlier this week, she notched a $3,400 winning day trading Nasdaq futures.
There’s an old trader adage that says you should never short a quiet market. It would appear that LaShonda has been paying attention. Now that we’re in the thick of the holiday season and with the new year being right around the corner, these markets are definitely quiet. Traders are starting to take time off, and the markets continue to melt-up. Keep those stops tight if you’re going to try selling new highs in the next few weeks.
If you’re a Funded Trader at Topstep, don’t worry, we have already taken proactive steps to help you avoid a last-minute fallout going into the final two weeks of the year. Hopefully, this is just a reminder for you, but if you didn’t know, then here it is…
Topstep does not allow trading in any LIVE Funded Accounts around the December holidays. This year, the required period of inactivity starts at 3:10 PM CT on December 18 and goes through 5:00 PM CT on January 3. Trading during this time will result in the loss of your Funded Account, without exceptions.
*Trading Combine and Pro Account traders may continue to trade in the last two weeks of the year.
Take some time over the next few weeks to really brush up on your trading plan for 2021. Go back and look closely at how you did throughout the year. Take note of any adjustments you’ve meant to make and have a plan to take action on them.
If you’re in a situation where you’re trading during these last few weeks to make up some lost ground, maybe think about taking a step back to re-evaluate your strategy. Volume is drying up, traders are taking time off, and holiday markets are notoriously unkind to impulsive traders. Try to keep that in mind.
Trade Well!
