The earlier a trend starts, the earlier it peters out. The markets tend to be more emotional at the beginning of the day when a good move counter to the initial opening swing can occur. If you learn to think in terms of concepts, you can master the markets instead of becoming a slave to the charts. So don't be too harsh on yourself if you feel that you are missing the majority of the movement. Overtrading suckers one into seeing only the trees and missing the forest.
Traders tend to be creatures of habit, and thus it is easy to compile market tendency charts.
There are several key patterns which have held constant over time. At this point, a large percentage of the floor traders and brokers in New York go to lunch and a countertrend correction begins. When the late stragglers get back from lunch, the morning direction tries to reassert itself again. If the afternoon rally or selloff starts too soon, it won't be able to sustain itself through the end of the day. It will die out around the bond close.