Tuesday, May 8, 2007
A Good Morning, A Bad Afternoon
At 11:00 I was going to name this post, "Fuck Yeah!" or something like that. Early on, I could do no wrong. I was making excellent trades. That's exactly when I should have stopped.
The morning started off well with a position that I held short overnight, TNH. I am holding it short again tonight. But I covered it close to the open at 78 and booked a few points in profits.
When I saw the early weakness in TNH, I checked out POT which had opened close to flat. I short 200 at 189.58 and about 5 minutes later, covered 100 shares at 189.11. He then made a freakish move above the 190 level. It just seemed all wrong, the market was weak, TNH was weak, CF was weak... so I short 300 at 190.20 to make my full position in the stock -400.
He scared me a bit when he went up to 190.61, but really not to much because the market was selling hard. He broke after that run up and never saw the 190 level until late afternoon. I covered 100 at 188.96, 100 at 187.58, 100 at 187.86 and the last 100 at 188.24. When all was said and done, I had over $900 in profits in the stock. One of my best winners in a while.
At about this time, I was also shorting AGU. Now, I think I may need to check AGU a little more closely, because perhaps it's not a pure fertilizer company... whatever the case, he wasn't selling off and I got squeezed in him. But instead of continuing to fight the stock, I noted the strength and bought.
And things worked well. I only bought a little because the market was still selling, but I think I made back my losses from my earlier short. At around 12:30, I made my last good trade of the day. I picked up a pretty big position at 37.20, 2500 shares and I sold most of it at 37.30 and then the rest a bit higher. At this point, I was probably up a few hundred dollars in AGU.
At the end of the day though, he became my worst loser, at -$218. My afternoon was spent churning him and GWW which was at one point a winner and became my second worst loser at -$202. Had I left these two stocks alone in the afternoon, I'd probably have another $1000 in profits on the day.
But, I can't have that money back. That's the way the game is.
Still, despite my bad afternoon, I'm happy with the day. I hope to build on it tomorrow. Here's the stats:
P&L, $1231
Best, POT $915
Worst, AGU -$218
shares traded, 72,200
stocks traded, 21, 12 positive, 9 negative
total trades, 386
Virtual Office, $5081. Dow -3.90, 13309.07.
Misstrade, $3358 on 10,900 shares traded.
Me, $1231 on 72,200 shares traded.
NYSE Scalper, $317 on 31,600 shares traded.
One Bad-Ass Trader, $184 on 10,000 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, $76 on 56,000 shares traded.
Denarii, -$85 on 2000 shares traded.
Besides Misstrade, who, lets be honest now, seems to be a bit of a freak, things were somewhat quiet today in the VO. Although, I'll give myself some props for having a strong bounce day. I had a great morning and then probably gave at least half of my day back... in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if many traders were like me today, made early and then gave back.
This market is unbelievable... you just can't get it down!
Tomorrow is Fed day. Probably won't be interesting at all, but still, you have to watch... just in case! Man could this market use something to surprise it... one way or the other.
Fugazi, "Waiting Room"
The famous call to end apathy (too bad the country isn't listening). Anyway, I post this video as an inspiration to myself. One of my favorite bands of all time.
Although, I do understand the irony of posting a Fugazi video on a stock blog...
Time for me to wake up a little. I had some good days and then went back into a mental slumber.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Stockalicious Widget Added
I've added a Stockalicious widget down there along the right side. It details my "swing" account.
Since I'm more or less detailing my financial demise here, I figured I might as well be even more specific.
Actually, I feel the need to head in more of a "swing" direction. So I hope by putting the widget up it will get me thinking more of "swing" trades instead of just thinking about day trades.
Next, a donation widget! LOL!
Just plain discouraged
After finishing April strong and then starting May with 2 green days, I have fallen off a cliff. This is very tough to take.
March was my first negative month ever, April my second and I am in a good hole already in May.
The story of today is that I had no winners. I traded 16 stocks and had only 3 winners on the day, each of them small. I had no disastrous losers (although I barely avoided disaster today in TNH) just too many.
This game is so psychological and right now I am losing it.
I'm not going to over-analyze anything today. I almost think that I'm thinking too much. I'm going to try tomorrow to "just trade" again and let the chips fall where they may.
Here are the stats:
P&L: -$694
Best, HS $137
Worst, WCC -$243
shares traded, 39,400
stocks traded, 16, 3 winners, 13 losers.
total trades, 202
Virtual Office, $1598 Dow 48.35, 13312.97.
Misstrade, $1492 on 18,400 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, $443 on 45,600 shares traded.
Denarii, $155 on 4600 shares traded.
Scalper, $139 on 23,400 shares traded.
One Bad-Ass Trader, $64 on 10,200 shares traded.
Me, -$695 on 39,400 shares traded.
A quiet, but overall good day for the VO today.
Misstrade continued with his winning ways and EvolutionTrader had a good number for such a quiet trading day. Everyone else (with the exception of me) finished slightly positive.
Never bad to be green.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Baraka
I was surfing around the net this evening and came upon a new blog called Market Dharma. On it, was posted a movie trailer for a movie about the coffee industry. Great idea! I post a weekly music video, why not post a weekly movie trailer as well?
So from now on Sundays are movie trailer day at Dinosaur Trader. And, since I'll post the trailer on Sunday, it gives you plenty of time to order it on Netflix and have it in time for next weekend. What could be better?
Thanks for the idea, traderd!
People always ask, the "desert island" question in regards to music. What album would you bring? Well, I know what movie I would bring, Baraka, by Ron Fricke.
There was no real "trailer" on Youtube, but I found this, where someone took scenes from the movie and put them to a song by the band Tool. This "trailer" while interesting, does the movie no justice. If it seems at all interesting to you or if there's an image you think about for the rest of the day, rent or buy Baraka. You won't be disappointed, it's like nothing you've ever seen.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Friday, May 4, 2007
Virtual Office, $3004, Dow 23.24, 13264.62.
Misstrade, $4084 on 21,200 shares traded.
Denarii, $405 on 8600 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, -$12 on 45,200 shares traded.
One Bad-Ass Trader, -$67 on 13,200 shares traded.
NYSE Scalper, -$505 on 15,400 shares traded.
Me, -$901 on 28,600 shares traded.
Not a great day for the VO unless you're name is Misstrade and you can turn water into wine.
Although honorable mention goes to Denarii who has been trapped in a slow grind lately. Nice to see him break out with some good profits today.
The rest of us were on the downside. Some of us, (cough, DT, cough) a little more down than others.
Have a great weekend everybody!
-DT
Joanna Newsom, "Sawdust and Diamonds"
What a woman. If you don't know Joanna Newsom's music, you're missing out. She released one of the most amazing albums last year. She plays the friggin harp! I may be in love with her. It's cool, my wife knows... she's kind of in love with her too.
Anyway, music video of the week.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
All Chop And No Play Makes For A Dull Day
When I have time to start rhyming my post titles, you know it's been slow...
All the pain of my day was over by 10:00am because that's when I stopped trading AGU.
It's also a perfect example of why trading is a hard job. You have to stay focused. I had 4 up days in a row... first time that's happened in a really long time. And I think I got soft... that's how fast it can happen. I think I thought, "I'm Back!" and mentally, I went on vacation.
I didn't even know that AGU reported earnings today. Had I known, I probably would have avoided $276 in losses. At 9:45, the stock started to spike up to near the level of yesterday's close. So I thought I could throw in a short with minimal risk. Wrong... maybe on a regular day, but not on the day the company releases earnings... I short 300 at 38.80, covered 100 at 39.15 and then 200 at 39.27. Not a debilitating loss, but an ugly one.
And as it happens often... one bad trade led to another... still not aware of the earnings report, I threw in a "revenge trade" and tried to short again. This time, I short 400 at 39.17. Only seconds later, I covered 200 at 39.24, then 100 at 39.30 and the last 100 at 39.47.
Done yet? Nope. I went for it again... the trifecta. I short 300 at 39.47. 30 seconds later, nervous because I had been squeezed twice already, I covered at 39.49. Whew, I learned a lesson.
NOT!
I short again 2 minutes later at 39.55, 300 shares. I covered 100 at 39.64 and 200 at 39.88. Oh, and to add insult to injury... that 200 shares at 39.88? High of the day. I was that sucker.
3 awful trades that I may not have made had I done a little research. Those 3 trades accounted for more than half my total loss on the day.
Other than that, it was choppy out there. My best winner came in an early morning short in CIG. Nothing doing. I should have been outside enjoying the weather.
Here's the stats:
P&L -$540
Best, CIG $157
Worst, AGU -$276
shares traded, 33,800
stocks traded, 20, 6 winners, 14 losers
total trades, 177
Virtual Office, -$4732. Dow 29.74, 13241.62.
NYSE Scalper, $512 on 29,800 shares traded.
One Bad-Ass Trader, $203 on 16,800 shares traded.
Denarii, -$19 on 2900 shares traded.
Me, -$540 on 33,800 shares traded.
Misstrade, -$2247 on 24,800 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, -$2641 on 46,400 shares traded.
Bloody Thursday.
The VO got completely smoked today. At least the Scalper and OBAT were able to pull together for decent wins. The rest of us just got hit.
Tomorrow looks to be a slow day since we have beautiful weather on the East Coast and I expect to see a lot of people coming out to the "sticks" early to enjoy their weekends.
Boards of Canada, "Beautiful Place In The Country"
Maybe you're not lucky... Maybe you have to sit in an office all day. Here's a video and song that will make you feel like you're "outside" if you catch my drift.
Snoozer
It's a real snoozer out there today folks. So, after churning a little in the morning, I decided to take a walk.
Spring migrants are pouring in. I saw my first White-Eyed Vireo of the year. I don't see too many of these birds, so I was pretty happy about it.
With pics like this on my site, Trading Goddess has to be more than a little nervous about the traffic she's bound to lose due to the competition, no?
Anyway, volume is a little less than yesterday, and yesterday was already light. I have a question... WHEN IS THIS MARKET GOING TO DROP? Just wondering. If anyone knows, please clue us all in by means of that "comment" button down there. You don't have to tell us exactly when or why, just let us know your feelings.
Article on Program Trading
A mysterious emailer sent me this link.
Great article on program trading, what it is, how you can recognize when it's happening, and how you can profit from it.
Beautiful morning here and my cable is back and running.
My daughter is downstairs playing the keyboard and singing at the top of her lungs.
I feel pretty good.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Cablevision Sucks
Well, since it's so late, I can no longer access my execution system to see my numbers. After a certain hour, my company won't let me back in... no idea why, but, whatever.
From what I remember, my best trade of the day was in WLL. I got in early on the day and sold in the .60s and .70s. I had a bunch of decent winners on the day, probably 6 stocks over the $100 level.
But on the downside, I booked over $300 in losses between TNH and CF trying, foolishly, to short them.
Since I don't have access to my trades to explain them adequately, I'm going to let it go.
So I'll tell a brief story about my Cablevision experience.
The problems really began yesterday. My connection was slow and I was dropped a couple of times. The same thing happened this morning, but the real party started at 2pm, when they went down for the count.
So, I did the unthinkable and called their "customer service" line.
It was great, I spoke to a polite, clearly well educated and sincerely sympathetic technician who knew exactly what my problem was. He walked me step by step through the problem. No attitude at all, clearly had been well-trained and enjoyed his job. Not. NOT!
After sitting through over 3 minutes of automated bullshit that didn't apply to me or my area, I finally spoke to a "technician" named Nicholas.
I told him that I couldn't get online and he said, "We don't have a modem associated with your account." What? Okay, well, I wasn't lying to him... I pay them over $100 bucks a month and I have a modem... I was staring at it.
When I got him to understand that I actually have a modem, he told me to unplug my modem and then plug it back in. Every time some idiot technician tells me to turn something off and then turn it back on I feel like brain cells, somewhere, are being slaughtered.
But as he told me to do this, the lights on my modem went out. I asked him if he had reset it. He said, "Sir, I can't reach through the phone and unplug your modem for you." I clenched my teeth and took a breath.
It's moments like these that I feel the mediation class I took on Saturday has actually helped already. Because instead of letting him freak me out too much, I simply realized that "Oh, I'm talking to a miserable fuck" and with that realization I was able to even have a little sympathy for the shit.
Of course I still had the problem. He then asked me how many splits I have in the house. I have one. He told me that was the problem. I asked him (calmly, calmly) why I've never encountered this problem anytime in the past 2 years? He told me the split went bad and that I should buy a new one. Okay, fine. I also scheduled a "technician" to come to my house tomorrow sometime between 10am and 8pm (LOL!) to fix the problem.
The best thing was that at the end of the call he actually said, "Sir, is there anything else I can do for you today to provide you with excellent Cablevision service?" As if by telling me that I just received "excellent" service that it must make it so...
Anyway, the end of the story is that I went to Radioshack and shelled out $12 for a new splitter. I brought it home and it didn't work.
5 hours later, Cablevision calls me to let me know there was a service outage today. Therefore, they wanted to "free up my day" tomorrow and not have me wait around for a "service technician" that I wouldn't even need.
So, thanks to Cablevision, I am free tomorrow, except I have to go back to Radioshack to return the damn splitter.
Virtual Office, $5136, Dow, 75.74, 13211.88.
Misstrade, $4895 on 24,600 shares.
Evolution Trader, $1152 on 42,400 shares.
Me, $958 on 25,400 shares.
One Bad-Ass Trader, $270 on 30,200 shares.
NYSE Scalper, -$240 on 45,200 shares.
Dehtrader, -$1899 on 32,400 shares.
Sorry for the late and non-linked post. My cable connection went down at 2pm and hasn't returned. I have no idea when it will be back up. I'm doing this from a neighbor's house... hahahaha!
Anyway, since the cable company told me they'll be at my house between 10am and 8pm I have no idea whether I'll be trading tomorrow, much less blogging.
Check back.
Until then, trade well,
-DT
UPDATE: It's 9pm and I'm up again. I have no idea why which leads me to doubt this will last. Anyway, I fixed the links on this post. Hopefully I will be up and running tomorrow with no glitches.
Death to Cablevision.
UPDATE #2: It is now 9:15 and Cablevision called me to tell me that there were "outages" in my area today and that everything is cleared up now. So I think I'm back for good.
Still, Death to Cablevision.
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