Laws of Motion in the Futures Market

Movement begets movement, and momentum begets momentum. The concept that a body in motion tends to stay in motion is basic to physics, and it's called Newton's First Law of Motion.

Also known as the Law of Inertia, the principle more formally states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless an external force is applied. The concepts of motion and momentum also apply to financial markets, and they underpin market trends.

I've written about how collective signals of nascent momentum can lead to sizable market moves. Coffee, feeder cattle and the Canadian dollar serve as recent examples. ...