Three Time Loser

I had some buy stops in place this morning, because I was expecting an oversold, end-of-month rally this week. All of them were triggered this morning, and I found myself in several positions, most moving strongly. I should have known what was going to happen next. This happened twice last month, and both times the market sold off hard in the afternoon, turning paper gains into realized losses, and that's what happened today. Here were my results:

FSLR: -$2
PCLN: -$2.30
GOOG: b/e

I also entered MA, and gave it a wider stop. I am still in. I sold half of my RIG position; should have sold it all.

I wasn't able to watch the market much, but I should have stuck to day trading, I would have done much better.

Holding: USO, GLD, FXE, RIG, MA

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/26/07

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

Weekly Review

So much for the rally I expected this week. I had a Buy Stop in RIG that triggered today, otherwise I did'nt do any additional trading on Friday. Here's what I'm holding:

USO, FXE, GLD, RIG

It was nice to see gold move today. Some are saying gold will go to $1,000. If it does, I'm sure it will be volatile, which will probably shake me out before it happens.

Where's The Rally?

Well, so much for the rally I was expecting this week. We have got to bounce sometime soon, right?

I did get filled on my FXE buy stop order yesterday, and I also entered GLD, and am still in USO. I don't know of anything else that's working well right now, except perhaps the double-inverse ETF's like QID or SDS. Wish I could have gotten in those earlier. There's a new fund that I've been watching, ticker symbol FXP, that is a double-inverse China fund. I would like to own a few of these, but don't think I can stomach the wild swings it has. Check it out.

Good trading to everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Anatomy of a Day Trade

I was able to make a day trade this morning.

OSIP: +$.76

I have been swing trading these last couple of months. But I will probably be day trading more in this market. So I thought I would share how I day trade. I am be no means a good trader, but I use a system that makes money more times than not. Here's what I do.

When day trading, I basically use the same system as the HCP Group, whose newsletter I used to subscribe to. I have a list of about 120 stocks that I watch, which I am constantly updating. These are mostly market leaders and momentum stocks. For the last couple of months, I haven't been looking at these charts much. I've been trading lazy. But last night, I went through each stock, looking for some setups. I added both the 50 SMA and the 200 SMA to my charts, and I was very surprised to see how many stocks, which were leaders just a few weeks ago, are now trading near or below their 200 SMA. This obviously does not bode well for the market. I saw a lot of sloppy and bearish charts. Two stocks that were showing some strength were ICE and OSIP. Zanger also had ICE in his newsletter last night, so I had these on my list this morning.

When I am planning to day trade, I sort all of my stocks in QuoteTracker by VOL%. This shows me all the stocks that are trading at higher than average volume from top to bottom. I only want to focus on the top 10 stocks or so. This morning, ICE was in the top 10, and moving fast. As I was setting up an order, it blew through my buy point before I even finished setting up. So I just sat there and watched it mover higher and higher without me. Then OSIP started moving up the list, so I put in a Buy Stop at $42.01, just a penny above what I had selected as a good breakout point. I had a stop at .05% below my buy point. After it cleared $42.50, I moved my top to b/e, then trailed it as it moved higher. I was stopped just below my last stop at $42.80 for a gain of +$.76 per share.



Not a huge trade, but I was able to catch a good part of the move. If they were all that easy, I could make a living doing this, but they’re not.

I am still holding USO; otherwise I am in cash. I know I won’t have time to trade tomorrow, and Wednesday may not be worth it. Also watching FXE.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/19/07

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

Weekly Results and Thoughts

I didnt do much trading or watching of the markets. I did take a position in USO, for what I hope is a pull-back in oil. I am also watching for an entry in FXE, for what I expect is a pull-back in the Euro. However, when I read this week that Jay-Z was flashing Euro's in his new video, I was wondering if perhaps the Dollar decline might be close to a bottom. Then I read this article, linked from the Kirk Report, which wondered the same thing. As the article says:

When people who know nothing about an investment start buying it, that's a good time to start selling it.

The Euro is stalling at the moment, and will probably pull-back, but I think it will be temporary. At least thats how I plan to invest for now. Or perhaps I am one of know-nothings jumping in?

As for stocks, I was watching, but passed TWICE on FSLR on Friday for a day trade. Too bad for me, would have been a great trade. I just froze, and saw it move higher.

I also watched a Momentum Trading DVD by Pristine. I have heard good things about them, but they just seemed too slick. The DVD is ok, but without the constant stream of cliches and over-reptition, the actual content could be posted in a small article. In summary, they advise buying pull-backs or breakouts near the 20 SMA that is rising in parallel with the 40 SMA.

I suspect there will be a low volume rally next week. I may look for some day trades. Good trading.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/12/07

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

Back In Cash

I was pretty aggressive with my stops this week. Usually when that happens, I end up regretting it, but this week, it helped me. I was stopped out of my remaining two positions on Thursday and am now in cash.

NOV: -$1.27
PCZ: +$.50

So I lost some money again this week, but not too bad considering what the market did.
I have been a bit lazy in my trading, and not doing much homework. I plan to change that this week, although I don't think I will be taking any new positions because of OE. I may look to daytrade from the office if my schedule permits.

Almost Back Out

I am out MA (which actually held up well) at b/e and PCP for a small loss after raising my stop. Still holding PCZ and NOV, but am not hopeful. Momentum is to the down side with support on the S&P broken. I should not have been so quick to dive back into the market, but I was hopeful for an end of year rally.

Back In

Just a quick post tonight. I took three new positions today:

NOV, MA, PCP

Currently holding: PCZ, NOV, MA, PCP

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/05/07

There are six stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#14, NOV:


#33, CMED:


#34, CNH:


#36, FCX:


#39, GME:


#53, LIFC:

Could Have Been Worse

I sold BIDU today. I moved my stop up to $390 after market open, and was hoping for $400. I was stopped out before it reached me target. My results were:

BIDU: +$40

Because it was a $350 stock, I didn't buy the normal amount of shares, but it was enough to cover most of my losses for the week. I am ending the week -.54%, whereas the DOW ended the week -1.53%, the S&P -1.67% and the NASDAQ -.22%. With the 2 big gap downs in my account this week, I will consider myself lucky. I am also grateful I passed on CROX earlier this week. It was on my screen on Sunday night, but I didnt put in a bid. Had I bought it, I most certainly would have been holding it during its 20% gap down this week.

I was stopped out of RIO on Thursday after moving my stop to break even, which just happened to be the dead nuts low of the day:

RIO: b/e

That's what I get for using an obvious stop. I entered PCZ today and am still holding. A Zanger pick, although he pointed it that it is not a momentum play. Otherwise, I am in cash. So much for me saying "I want to be in stocks right now" on Monday. Blogging keeps me honest.

There was an interesting discussion at Boogster's Blog on momentum trading earlier this week. I didn't participate, but I do have some thoughts. I may share them this weekend if I have time.

I'm out.

The Damage Done

When the market makes big moves, I like to check out other blogs and see how other traders reacted, and perhaps learn something. For the readers who came here yesterday, sorry I didn't have much to share. I had a very long workday, got a speeding ticket coming home, then saw that my account suffered a killshot during the day. I really didn't feel like writing about it. But now I have assessed the damage, and here's what went down yesterday:

CTRP: -$1.50

DRYS: -$2
Could have been much worse.

X: -$5.79
Gapped down below my stop on Tuesday morning. I shouldn't have bought so close to earnings.

It got even worse. This happened to me today:

LVS: -$9.13

It also gapped down below my stop.

On the bright side, I am holding BIDU, which has been acting as a buffer in my account. Without BIDU, I might be jumping out of a window right now. Please don't gap down, please don't gap down, please don't gap down,. I am also holding RIO.

EDIT: My first clue to sell came on Monday afternoon when I was in several positions, all of them up big, and I was feeling pretty good. The last time that happened was the morning of October 11. Later that same day, I liquidated my entire account during an afternoon sell-off. Next time I feel like a trading genius, I will sell immediately.

Ouch

I got my a$$ handed to me today. I haven't gone through the damage yet, since I was away from the market all day. I don't really want to right now.

Swing Trading

We are entering the time of year where swing trading can pay well. I want to be in stocks right now. Here's what I've been doing:

Last week
Out RIMM for b/e
In BIDU

Today
In CTRP, DRYS, LVS, RIO, X

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/29/07

There are nine stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#2, FTK


#4, RIMM


#15, NOV


#17, GRMN


#30, CMED


#31, FCX


#33, LIFC


#39, GME


#80, CTRP

Some Trades

I got stopped out of NVDA today:

NVDA: -$2.50

I had also taken a position in GRMN yesterday, and sold it today

GRMN: +$7.18

I am also in RIMM, which I entered yesterday. Both GRMN and RIMM are Zanger picks.

Quick Post

I was stopped out of CROX last week after moving my stop to b/e.

I am still holding NVDA.

AAPL reported blow out earnings, which could be good for tech stocks for awhile. I am watching RIMM.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/22/07

There are seven stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#5, RIMM:


#27, GRMN:



#42, AMZN:



#51, CTRP:



#69, FMCN:



#72, STP:



#92, HURN:

NVDA

Took a swing position in NVDA this morning as it broke out. This is an IBD pick. It had a good day.

I am holding CROX and NVDA. I find it best to not think of my stocks during the work day, because this market is causing me some anxiety, which sometimes is a good sign.

Cautious

I took a swing position in CROX on Monday morning, but otherwise sitting on my hands. Looks like INTC will probably take the market higher tomorrow. It's anyones guess how long it will last.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/15/07

There are seven stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#40, GME:


#44, AMZN:


#60, SLB:


#64, SII:


#70, HURN:


#71, FMCN:


#84, NVDA:

Panic Selling

Today is the kind of day that can really hurt a momentum trader, since it was the leaders who took the biggest hits in todays selloff. I had 7 swing positions going into the day, and was very excited to see these stocks doing well in the morning. When I saw the selloff in the afternoon, I liquidated my entire account. Sounds a bit extreme, I know. After I did, I felt foolish, but nearly all of my stops would have been hit anyway. Here is how my positions faired:

AAPL: +$5.05
Had been holding for awhile, and sold some on the way up. Was hoping to do a lot better. I was stopped out during todays selloff. In the end, made about $5 per share.

CROX: +$4.59
Also sold some on the way up.

FCX: +$3
Took this position last week. Sold at market during selloff.

MA: b/e
My nemesis, since I often lose money with this stock. I had moved my stop to b/e last night. Was stopped out today, although it held up well early in the selloff.

PCU: +$9.30
Bought this yesterday and sold this morning after it hit my initial target. I was wishing I hadn't sold in the morning, now I am thankful I did.

GME: -$1.35
Blah. Nothing to say, Panic sold this.

GNK -$1.40
Ditto.

Sold my remaining CTRP earlier this week for a total gain of:

CTRP: +$1.80

I can't be upset because most of these were sold for gains, but I had so much more.

Right now, cash is king. we'll see what happens from here.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/08/07

There are seven stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

CYNO


AMZN


FLIR


NVDA


HURN


FMCN


WFR

Weekly Review

Here is how my trading went this week. I will start off with the big loser, Las Vegas Sands, which I bought on Tuesday, then gapped down huge on Wednesday morning:

LVS: -$6.36

My second big gap down this week. I also had another loser, and that was FCX, which I had been watching as a gold play:

FCX: -$3

I had two swing positions that I held for a couple of days that sold after hitting my initial targets:

MA: +$3.40
CMI: +$4

MA had been an avoid for me, but it looked like easy money, so I took it. CMI I would have like to have held longer. I usually place a Buy Stop+TTO order, which means my position is closed automatically as it hits my preset stop or target prices. If the stock is doing well, then I will often remove the orders and adjust the stop and let it run, but I didn’t have a chance to do this with CMI on Friday. I’ll take the profit though.

Closed RIG after moving my stop.

RIG: +$1

I hate oil stocks; so slippery.

Tried day trading GRMN on Friday for b/e. I also re-entered FCX on Friday for another go.

Holding: AAPL, CROX, CTRP, FCX.

AAPL and CROX are doing well.

EDIT: CTRP doesn't look too good right now. I took partial profits on Wednesday and moved my stop to b/e, so I'll just keep holding.

Out GRMN

Here’s the problem with swing trading. You take a position, and for days, maybe weeks, you watch it climb the wall of worry. The stock makes a nice gain, and you pat yourself on the back for making such a wise purchase. Then one day you wake up, and all of the gain you sweated and worried about is gone in an instant. That’s what happened to GRMN holders today who bought the most recent breakout:



That included me. The good thing was, as I mentioned in this weekends post, I sold half my position last week and moved my stop to b/e. GRMN opened below my stop, but I'm out of the trade with a profit:

GRMN: +$4.50

Selling half last week was simply luck, or fear. I knew it was due for a correction, but nothing like this. Although I would have made much more selling all last week, I am happy to get out with a profit.

I've been too busy at work lately to do any day trading. Sadly, it may be that way for awhile. I passed on some buy stops last night that I am kicking myself for now (FSLR, MPEL).

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/01/07

There are ten(!) stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

CRNT


ISRG


CNH


AAPL


CYNO


AMZN


ESI


NVDA


PCP


HURN

Trading Results for the Week

Got stopped out of two trades this last week:

FSLR: -$2
BCSI: -$3.50

I am still holding RIG, CTRP, CROX, AAPL and GRMN. These positions have been doing well, especially GRMN. I have been tempted to take some profits, in fact, I did sell half of my GRMN position and moved my stop to b/e, but I want to let these run a little longer. We are entering the 4th quarter when stocks typically do well, and a lot of charts are looking bullish. But, we need to be concerned about both the DOW and S&P potentially forming a double-top. As usual, the market could go either way.

Trading for Tuesday

Bot: CROX, AAPL

I had a buy stop for CROX at 61 for over a week, but cancelled the order last week. I saw that it broke out yesterday, so I used a limit order today to get in at 61.10. Got in AAPL at 150.

Holding: RIG, BCSI, CTRP, GRMN, CROX, AAPL

It was hard not to take some profits, but I am determined to ride these a bit longer.

Taking More Risk

I thought quite a bit about my trading this weekend. I have been far too risk adverse, and missing great opportunities. This summer, I was in some stocks early that made huge moves. Stocks like TNH and BIDU (By the way, how about BIDU today? Unreal how it just keeps going up). I wasn’t able to capitalize on these moves, because I took profits way too early. I don't like to give money back to the market. It’s nice to take profits and end the day in cash. But the real money is made in holding. That is how Nicolas Darvas made his millions. Besides, I don’t have the time to devote to day trading and grinding it out, although I wish I did. If I want to build real wealth, I need to risk more and hold longer. That doesn’t mean being careless, but risking enough to make the wins substantial, and holding to catch a large part of a move.

I knew the market was overbought, and due for a rest, but I decided to look for swing opportunities today, and use wider stops than normal. I found three stocks that I liked this morning. These are the positions I opened:

BCSI, CTRP and GRMN.

You're probably thinking, "Isn't GRMN on your do not trade list?" True. But I thought I would give it one more shot, this time with a wider stop, after Dan Zanger called it a "must own" in his Sunday night newsletter. BSCI was also a Zanger pick, and started the day strongly, but sold off. CTRP I saw on my nightly scan. It too sold off in the afternoon.

I'm still in RIG. I was prepared for today’s action in RIG, as oil was way overbought. I think long-term, it could be a good position.

There isn’t much news expected this week, but I am counting on an end of the month rally to bring these higher.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 9/24/07

There are two stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

ISRG


NILE