Many broken commodity plays, like the ag sector, have made big bounces today (as of 11:35 AM ET). Keep an eye on volume. One of two things is going to happen:
1. A low volume bounce which will be a "dead cat" signal. If this happens I will intitiate shorts in stocks like MON and TRA.
2. The sector comes storming back on strong volume. This will tell us that the recent action was merely a pullback and it's time to get long again.
Distribution patterns give the edge to the "dead cat" prognostication, but I won't enter in either direction until I get a clear signal.
Showing posts with label sentiment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sentiment. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Market Notes: Are We Oversold?
I am still finding this market tough to trade. I have no problem trading in bear markets, but my issue right now is that we are oversold, but not that oversold. So it's tough to initiate longs or shorts. If I do decide to trade, it will most likely be with an even distribution of longs and shorts.
Take a look at the chart below. It shows the percentage of S & P 500 stocks above their 50 day moving averages (I usually use Telechart's T2108 indicator, but I am away from my laptop), and is currently hitting oversold territory at 20. However, the last selloff reached all the way down to around 5. While it might be prudent to take on a few small pilot long positions, I wouldn't make any big plays just yet.
Take a look at the chart below. It shows the percentage of S & P 500 stocks above their 50 day moving averages (I usually use Telechart's T2108 indicator, but I am away from my laptop), and is currently hitting oversold territory at 20. However, the last selloff reached all the way down to around 5. While it might be prudent to take on a few small pilot long positions, I wouldn't make any big plays just yet.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
If You Feel Like Throwing up, Go Against Your Better Judgment
I subscribe to the theory that when things are at their worst, when you have that knot in your stomach that makes you want to throw up, and you feel like there's nothing but gloom ahead, that is the time to do the opposite of what your emotions are telling you to do.
I call this the George Costanza Opposite approach to trading. Pay attention, this is some of the technical stuff I have ever posted here.
George one day realized that every decision he had ever made in his entire life had been wrong. So he decided that when he had a strong instinct to do something, he would do the opposite. No surprise, the decisions that went against his better judgment turned out to be the right moves.
I only had two positions today, so I had little invested in the market. By the time the Dow was down 300 points, I was stopped out of both positions. However, once I saw the red three hundred flashing before my eyes, I got really nervous. I know, it made no sense, since I was 100 percent cash. Yet there I was, pacing back and forth at my desk. I knew I looked like a fool, so I sat down. That's when I felt the butterflies.
Since I had no positions to exit, I told myself I should sell the market. I felt like I was about to miss the big move. Then I remembered something I had read before. When you just can't take it anymore, that is when a bottom is coming. I immediately went into Zen mode and cleared my mind of all preconceptions. I took a look at some charts and noticed how oversold the market was, so I decided to buy.
I bought ZEUS and RIO, even though the steel sector is on my short watchlist. I bought LEH, AAPL, BIDU, CROX and NOV (I'll post the trades tomorrow). Note that these are very short term plays. I still think the expected bounce might not last, and we could see more to the downside.
Since everybody has analyzed the indexes, I'll refrain from posting the SPY chart. Just remember that a positive hammer stick printed right at support on heavy volume. At the least, this is a sign that we will see a short term bounce.
One last point. It seems that everybody thinks a bounce is coming. CNBC, the Fast Money guys, respected bloggers and even crappy bloggers. This worries me. When everybody thinks the market will zig, that's when it is likely to zag. Maybe this will cause the expected bounce to be short lived. Or maybe I'm just too paranoid.
I call this the George Costanza Opposite approach to trading. Pay attention, this is some of the technical stuff I have ever posted here.
George one day realized that every decision he had ever made in his entire life had been wrong. So he decided that when he had a strong instinct to do something, he would do the opposite. No surprise, the decisions that went against his better judgment turned out to be the right moves.
I only had two positions today, so I had little invested in the market. By the time the Dow was down 300 points, I was stopped out of both positions. However, once I saw the red three hundred flashing before my eyes, I got really nervous. I know, it made no sense, since I was 100 percent cash. Yet there I was, pacing back and forth at my desk. I knew I looked like a fool, so I sat down. That's when I felt the butterflies.
Since I had no positions to exit, I told myself I should sell the market. I felt like I was about to miss the big move. Then I remembered something I had read before. When you just can't take it anymore, that is when a bottom is coming. I immediately went into Zen mode and cleared my mind of all preconceptions. I took a look at some charts and noticed how oversold the market was, so I decided to buy.
I bought ZEUS and RIO, even though the steel sector is on my short watchlist. I bought LEH, AAPL, BIDU, CROX and NOV (I'll post the trades tomorrow). Note that these are very short term plays. I still think the expected bounce might not last, and we could see more to the downside.
Since everybody has analyzed the indexes, I'll refrain from posting the SPY chart. Just remember that a positive hammer stick printed right at support on heavy volume. At the least, this is a sign that we will see a short term bounce.
One last point. It seems that everybody thinks a bounce is coming. CNBC, the Fast Money guys, respected bloggers and even crappy bloggers. This worries me. When everybody thinks the market will zig, that's when it is likely to zag. Maybe this will cause the expected bounce to be short lived. Or maybe I'm just too paranoid.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Was The Market Reacting To Greenspan?
If yesterday's dip truly was a reaction to Greenspan's China comments, rather than a more natural need for a correction, I think we are going to see the garden variety one day big dip I spoke of last night, followed by a resumption of the prevailing trend. Barry Ritholtz lays out out quite nicely in this article.
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