Imagine a logbook that you fill in before hitting the road. You note the sky's condition, the roadworks, the traffic. Jim Cramer's "10 things to watch" is exactly that: a checklist published by CNBC before Wall Street opens. Jim Cramer is a former fund manager turned TV host in the United States. His list doesn't say what to buy. It gathers the topics that can move prices during the day.
Why these lists exist
The US markets, that is, the major New York stock exchanges, open at 3:30 p.m. Paris time. In the meantime, companies publish their earnings, economic figures come out, executives speak. A checklist helps sort the noise from the essentials. Like when you do your grocery shopping: you don't look at the 4,000 products in the store, you follow your list. The cart fills up faster, and you forget fewer things.
This preparation has another merit: it forces you to formulate what you expect before prices move. Once the screen is on, emotions speak louder than reason. Writing your list in advance means deciding calmly what matters, rather than in the heat of the moment under the fire of quotes. It's also the reflex that the Institute's mindset coaching cultivates: discipline and emotional management are worked like a muscle, not at the moment of the gunshot.
What this changes for your charts
- US30 and Nasdaq indices: these two baskets group together the biggest American companies. The US30 tracks 30 major names, the Nasdaq leans toward technology. When a big company in these baskets publishes earnings, its move drags the entire index. A heavyweight moving 5% is like a big stone in a small puddle: the splashes hit everyone.
- Dollar: the greenback is the reference currency of global trade. When it rises, American products become more expensive for foreign buyers. The tap tightens for their customers outside the United States.
- Gold: the yellow metal often serves as a refuge when uncertainty rises. Its relationship with the dollar resembles a scale: often, when one gets heavier, the other gets lighter. Not always, it all depends on the context.
A figure to fix the idea: on a basket of €100 invested, a 1% variation represents €1 of movement. It seems little, but repeated every day, it changes the trajectory of an account. Hence the interest in knowing why it moves, and not just how much.
What to watch, in order
First look at the day's economic calendar: which figures come out, at what time. Certain events, like rate decisions or inflation figures, move the markets more than others. Then, company earnings published before the open. Then volatility, that is, the amplitude of movements: a calm session and an agitated session are not traded the same way. The dollar and gold often set the tone of the moment. Finally, keep in mind that these lists are opinions, not orders. Your trading plan remains your plan.
The classic beginner's traps
- Confusing information and signal. Knowing that a company publishes its earnings says nothing about the direction of the price. Information prepares, it doesn't decide.
- Trading the open blindly. The first minutes often concentrate abrupt movements and price gaps. Better to let the market breathe than to jump into the void.
- Multiplying positions without a plan. A list of ten topics doesn't mean ten trades. Selectivity protects capital.
- Forgetting to size. Position size matters as much as the direction of the trade. A position calculator helps avoid putting the entire account on a single idea.
How to organize concretely
A simple routine changes everything. In the morning, note the three major events of the day and the technical levels you're watching. At the open, observe without acting for a few minutes. At the end of the session, write down what happened and what you felt. This journal, kept over time, becomes your best source of progress: it shows your strengths, your repeated mistakes, and the effect of your emotions on your decisions.
To go further, the Institute's complete and structured learning path offers bootcamps, mentoring, and events to progress step by step. The member area adds progress tracking, an orientation test, a trading journal (screenshots, result, mini psychological test), and a "My Trading" hub with statistics. The investment journal, on the stocks, ETF, and crypto side, completes the picture with prices and a weekly report. And to miss nothing upon waking, the Telegram assistant sends the day's plan, a morning market brief, the news watch, and targeted reminders.
The tools that save time
The JARVIS METHOD, available on TradingView, comes with a position calculator and session and exchange markers. The principle remains simple: a clear framework, visual markers, disciplined execution. The details of the setups and rules are reserved for members, but the general idea — structuring before acting — applies to all profiles. Comparative directories of brokers and prop firms also help choose a suitable framework, with practical information such as withdrawal times. The daily blog, the "JARVIS Readings," the glossary, and the country fact sheets complete the toolbox.
Educational content, trading involves a risk of capital loss, neither investment advice nor tax advice.