Chart: HAL

HAL (Halliburton Co.) wiped out a month's worth of gains on an insane amount of volume. However, it did not knock out any major resistance points and handles the 50 day MA quite well. Take a look at the tail the stock printed as the stock briefly dipped below the moving average. There seems to be strong support at that level.

While I always watch HAL, I won't touch it unless it does on of two things. Either it :

• breaks near term resistance at $32.50, or
• drops into the $28-29 range.
  

There's a lot of support in the $28-29 range, so this area would present a good buying opportunity. Shorter term traders could place a stop just under this range, while longer term traders could do so under the next level of support at $26.50. Note that this area could also provide another good buying point.

For the bears out there, I currently do not see a good, *low risk* short setup. You'll have to wait until price by volume support is broken at $28.

Trade Updates: QID, VLO, HAL, LEH, STLD, AAPL

I was stopped out of my 350 share position of HAL at $30.44 for a $388 loss (-3.7%).

I sold 350 shares LEH at $72.71 for a $231 gain (.9%). The total gain for the 700 share position was $696 (+1.4%). I was hoping for a bigger gain, and decided to bail on the trade because I think the bounce might be over.

I bought 500 shares of QID at $54.46. I've been waiting for QID to near support. Let's see if it holds.

Along with the QID position above, I am also long 200 shares of VLO, 500 more shares of QID, short 200 shares AAPL and short 500 shares STLD.

Monday's Gameplan and a Look at Some Energy Plays

Not much has changed for me heading into this week. I still plan to short strength and cover weakness. Much of the market is looking oversold, so I won't initiate anymore shorts until I see a decent sized bounce.

I am interested in watching for longs in energy, especially oil drillers and refiners. I still have a long position in HAL, and will be looking to buy VLO if it tags it's 20 day moving average.

I will also keep a close eye on XLE, the energy ETF. It has tagged it's 200 day moving average and could put in a nice bounce.


Take a look at TSO. This oil driller has a really nice looking long setup, which has been a rarity in this market. I may buy a tag of the middle bollinger band.

Another update: QID and HAL

I bought 350 shares of HAL at $31.55.

I bought 500 shares of QID at $56.64.

See the last post for the rest of today's trades.