Another day in the books and another recap to be had. Quick and dirty since I’m at work today, unfortunately.
Trades Taken
Profit / Loss for the Day: $145
Profit / Loss Open: $115
Another good day. Slowly but surely I’m getting my bearings. The next step is to develop my own stock scans. If any of you have any tips feel free to drop by. Books or websites would be extremely helpful!
Took a quick NQ trade near the end of the day for a point scalp. I know I lose a bit on commissions but it’s more about learning than anything else. Once I’m more confident, I can begin to increase the point spreads. But for now, it’s just a matter of learning.
Solars broke out today and I was in position with JASO thanks to the OA crew. I know that most of what I trade is based off his teachings and there’s going to be a point where I need to learn how to fish for myself thus the urgency in learning proper stock screening techniques for swing traders. As with everything, it just takes time.
Tomorrow morning consists of a vet visit so I’ll be missing a bit of the morning’s actions. I need to go back and review thinkorswim’s lecture on options expiry week, but if I recall correctly, tomorrow’s going to be a big day one way or another. Yesterday and today felt very slow which may indicate consolidation so we’ll see. I’m currently in a long portfolio which somewhat scares me so I’ll need to hunt for puts over the next couple of days.
Overall, while still another loss, it wasn’t a bad day. Once again, however, tight stops on futures got the best of me. It’s a work in progress though. Once I refine my futures trading skills, I’ll be able to post more consistent profits. I did notice around lunch time trading in a zone somewhat. Remember that scene from Office Space where they head to the psychoanalyst and that funky music plays in the background as Peter’s hypnotized? Yeah, it was almost like that. Anywho…
Trades taken
- 2xNQs
- 1 June 95 V Call
- 2 June 25 JASO Calls
- 2 June 25 BBD Calls
Today’s Profit / Loss: -$25
Minor loss although off my lows for the day. Some strength near the close helped cut my NQ losses in half. Other than that, while I’m concerned I’m overly bullish, I couldn’t find many put plays today. I noticed the Option Addict boards discussing Valero (VLO), but if oil prices do begin to come down, I think VLO and other refiners benefit due to the decrease in crack spreads, making it more profitable for them to crank out the good stuff. Volume was awful as well as I’m sure others are saying. I haven’t been trading long enough to understand what the differences are between a low volume and a high volume day, but it appears there is quite the difference.
The action today was anemic. Now I understand what folks like Dinosaur Trader and others complain about when the markets behave like today. It also didn’t help that oil reached a record $126.22ish at its high. Visa took another hit today, down another 4 points. It’s reaching my entry/exit target of ~$81. My feeling is that folks will begin to buy Visa next week and perhaps pin it near the 85 strike price but only Monday can tell. There’s quite a bit of call open interest from 80, 85, and 90, so I would expect Visa to recover rather nicely. With the larger bankroll I have, I’ll probably purchase one or two May 85 calls and one or two June 90s for a longer term hold.
Trades Taken: 3 x NQ
P/L: +$10
That’s right, I’m positive on the day and trading the NQs at that! A victory is a victory.
We’re off to Yappy Hour (happy hour for dogs… don’t ask). See you tomorrow!
No trades taken yesterday due to other commitments. I was around in the morning and could have traded a perfect short on Visa but was unable to pull the trigger. I’ve noticed that happening more and more as of late which reminds me of my trading fears about 3 months ago after the markets crashed about 20%. But today’s another day and my account continues to grow from deposits. Need to work on fear… must reread Trading in the Zone…
Crude is now over $125 this morning. Be very careful. As oil goes higher, there’s very little chance the markets can follow. AIG also missed earnings last night which has helped put a damper on the markets this morning. Futures are down about 90 points with fair value around positive 40, for a net difference at the open of about -130. I don’t forsee this being a pretty day.
Took a short position with puts on Visa around the open with a stop at the high of $86.05. So far, VIsa’s holding up extremely well in what looks to be a rough day for the markets with the Dow down about 90 points. More than likely I’ll be stopped out of the position for a loss but we’ll see. I’ll update as the day goes on.
Update: As I figured, never short Visa. Ever. Out with a loss after commissions of $22.50.