Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) got a boost on December 23 after flashing what traders call a Power Inflow signal, one of those technical indicators that sounds like something from a sci-fi movie but actually tracks real buying pressure.
Here's what happened: At 10:38 AM EST, Amazon was sitting at $230.21, looking pretty sleepy. The stock had been going nowhere fast during the opening hours, even dipping slightly before the signal hit. Then the Power Inflow alert triggered, suggesting that both institutional players and retail traders were suddenly leaning into buy orders. The stock responded by climbing to $232.44, a nearly 1% pop that gave early-bird traders a quick win.
What's a Power Inflow Signal Anyway?
The Power Inflow alert comes from TradePulse and is designed to catch moments when order flow tilts heavily toward the buy side. It only fires during the first two hours of trading, which is when liquidity is highest and institutional money tends to make its moves. The idea is simple: when you see a meaningful shift in buying activity, there's a decent chance the stock has room to run for the rest of the day.
Order flow analytics go beyond just watching the price bounce around on a chart. They dig into the actual transactions happening in real time, looking at volume, timing, and order size from both retail investors and big institutions. It's like seeing who's actually pulling the strings behind the price movements, which can give traders a much clearer picture of market sentiment.
Amazon's Move in Context
When the Power Inflow signal flashed, Amazon was trading at $230.21. The stock had been flat or slightly down earlier in the session, which made the subsequent rally more notable. Following the alert, AMZN climbed to an intraday high of $232.44, marking a 0.97% gain from the signal price.
This kind of setup is exactly what order flow enthusiasts look for: a stock that appears stuck or drifting lower suddenly finds buying interest, and the momentum shifts. Traders who acted on the signal could have captured that quick intraday move, which is the whole point of tracking these alerts.
The case also illustrates why some traders swear by order flow data. Traditional technical analysis might have kept you on the sidelines while Amazon looked sluggish. But if you're watching where the actual buy and sell orders are stacking up, you get an earlier read on when sentiment is changing. It's not foolproof, but it's another lens to view what's happening beneath the surface.
For active traders, these kinds of signals can mean the difference between catching a move early and chasing it after it's already happened. The Power Inflow alert on Amazon was a textbook example of how real-time order flow can highlight bullish momentum before it fully shows up on a price chart.