Nirvana, "Lithium"

Solid Day

Today felt good. Not one bad loss or stubborn trade. I didn't fight the market. I missed the rally between 1 and 2 because I really don't like to trade those hours, but didn't chase it. Had I chased, I probably would have been buried. Instead, I waited and got short again.

This tape is weak.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of mediocre bounce days here and there. Tomorrow should be a telling day because of all the data to be released. Should be fun.

Anyway, once again, TNH made my day. Here are the trades I made in him.



9:33:50 Buy 100 @ 95.35 (100)
9:34:37 Sell 100 @ 95.60 (flat)
9:40:03 Buy 200 @ 97.54 (200)
9:41:00 Buy 100 @ 97.10 (300)
9:42:52 Buy 100 @ 97.86 (400)
9:44:32 Buy 100 @ 97.33 (500)
9:45:12 Buy 100 @ 97.73 (600)
9:47:40 Sell 200 @ 98.00 (400)
9:49:02 Sell 100 @ 97.65 (300)
9:50:40 Sell 100 @ 97.50 (200)
9:50:53 Sell 200 @ 97.42 (flat)
11:23:12 Buy 100 @ 94.64 (100)
11:26:44 Sell 100 @ 95.64 (flat)
11:35:27 Buy 100 @ 94.86 (100)
11:47:22 Sell 100 @ 96.08 (flat)
11:55:51 Buy 100 @ 95.89 (100)
12:13:35 Sell 100 @ 95.83 (flat)
14:52:20 Short 100 @ 94.42 (-100)
15:00:42 Short 100 @ 94.93 (-200)
15:18:40 Buy 100 @ 92.91 (-100)
15:27:33 Buy 100 @ 92.25 (flat)

It was somewhat frustrating because I had a hard time building my normal position in him today. But again, I showed restraint by just taking what I could get where I wanted it instead of chasing the stock all over.

Anyway, besides my win in TNH I had solid gains in ARD and CMI. My only triple-digit loser was in WCG. One trade, one loss. Kept me sane.

In other news, I raised some cash in my swing account (see the stockalicious ticker near the bottom of this page) by selling my laggards WAT and ARWR. It was tempting to want to sell my big winners, MVIS and KOG to lock in the gains, but I thought it was a better idea to sell the stocks that could turn into potential large losers faster. Needless to say, at this point, I'm keeping a close eye on the general market. It could be a good time to start scanning for some shorts.

I'm looking forward to trading tomorrow. I can't remember the last time I was really interested to see how the market would react to economic news, but intrigue is back!

Anyway, here's the stats:

P&L, $1230
Best, TNH, $737
Worst, WCG, -$114

shares traded, 29,200
stocks traded, 21, 11 positive, 10 negative
total trades, 203

Virtual Office, $5106. Dow, -129.95, 13295.01.

Misstrade, $3432 on 5300 shares traded.
Me, $1230 on 29,200 shares traded.
Dehtrader, $386 on 18,200 shares traded.
Denarii, $40 on 2400 shares traded.
Evolution, $18 on 30,200 shares traded.

That's what we like to see, not one red VOer today!

Anyway, as I mentioned in yesterday's post I'd be careful short term in this market. The rally that began in March (after the February "panic") is in danger of being killed here. Distribution days are piling up on all the major indexes. Bounces, such as the one that came on Friday, are coming on light volume while the selloffs are coming on higher volume. Not healthy action if you're a bull.

That said, a minor correction would be welcome... markets don't go up forever. Taking a step back would be good. Back to the VO...

Misstrade continues with his winning ways, while I had a pretty solid day myself. That brings me back into the green for the month. It would be nice to begin to build a nice cushion again so I could feel comfortable taking more risk... especially if we're going to decline a bit here.

Dehtrader had a solid bounce-back day after having a discouraging loss yesterday. Denarii makes in 9 in a row and ET barely eked out gains. But, as I like to say, green is green.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day. Lots of data out including the Beige Book at 2pm.

Do Not Ship Orders Start Tomorrow

This from Hybridtalk...

Good news if you're a little unhappy about paying .025 per share when you get an "improvement" of a penny on your order. No one likes uncontrollable fees.

UPDATE: One problem, it only applies to 28 stocks... and only to limit orders... let's hope they roll it out quickly.

The New Pornographers, "My Rights Versus Yours"

New song, can't stop listening to it. Pop perfection.

Sam Cooke, "A Change Is Gonna Come"

Believe me, I'd love to see us reverse and go positive... but with the bond yields skyrocketing, I don't see it happening... hence, this song.

Attitude Trader

Another site that I regularly monitor is Attitude Trader. Here's a guy that is trying to get back into trading. The best thing is that his focus, front and center, is on keeping his attitude correct and approaching the market from a good place mentally.

He gives himself a +1 for a good attitude day and a -1 for a bad attitude day. I joked with him awhile back that my Attitude Index for the year was a -72 or something.

Even if you don't keep a graph of your mental ups and downs (as he does) it's an important reminder to just check in with your 'tude' and notice how it changes the way you approach the market each day.

Short Da Bull

Hey, just a reminder. Don't forget to check this new website. I think it's a great idea that just needs more users to really get off the ground. It has already provided me with some stories that I wouldn't have found on my own.

If you see a story that you like, just click the "vote" button with the number on it to the left of the story. If you see one you don't like, you click "bury".

That said, don't bury mine, mmmkay?

Check it out!

Panda Bear, "Comfy In Nautica"

From Panda Bear's recent solo effort. Think of what Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys would have sounded like if he did even MORE drugs...