The Hit List is a look at our current swing trading positions. Stocks we are already in have “triggered”, while those we are considering for plays have not triggered. Click post title to view print-friendly link.
WTI triggered & stopped, RAX & WFT stopped, PWRD stop raised
Open Position Notes:
PWRD backed off a bit today but held above its breakout point from last week. Today’s volume also was very light, which suggests there wasn’t any big sellers involved in today’s pullback in price. My stop has been raised again tonight, as I’d like to see this one hold the area of the trend line break, so I’ve set it just beneath that.
Closed Positions:
WTI triggered a buy this morning as it cleared the trend line highlighted in last night’s video, but some mid-day profit-taking evolved into an all-out reversal, sending the stock lower in the afternoon to undercut last week’s support. That slide in turn triggered my stop loss, taking me out of the trade for a quick 3.6% loss. These single-day entries and exits on intended swing trades are never fun, but this was a setup I liked and it simply didn’t pan out. I’ll keep it on the radar in case it sets up again.
WFT triggered my raised stop today after a downside reversal on increased volume. I was taken out of this trade for a minor 1.9% loss, and although it’s still above last week’s support, today’s selling was relentless and I simply don’t like how this stock is behaving at this point.
RAX was only a partial position since it had already hit Target 1, and I had raised my stop again for remaining shares heading into today. We saw Friday’s high challenged, and then some intense profit-taking kicked in, sending the stock lower on heavy volume. This triggered my stop to take me out of the rest of this position, giving me an overall 4.6% profit in the trade. It now needs time to set up again.
I certainly agree with the philsophy of not trying to force the market and do swing trades when there is no momentum.
Just because things aren’t moving upward, doesn’t mean a short will work since the trend is still positive. Going for swing trades when day trades have trouble getting traction is foolish.
I think the uncertainty of what the budget ceiling crisis might do to the market, bonds, and currency is going to put the brakes on things until it is resolved.
The big money moves a lot slower than us, so until it see which way things are going, it will hold cash until it decides if stock, bonds, or currency/gold is going to be the safe decision.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this John, you bring forth some good points. I think at this juncture the market is just trying to take a breather, and why not – it’s had a nice run. My take is that if we lay low for a few days and let it digest the recent move and carve out some short-term support (if this pullback continues in a methodical fashion), then we’ll have some pivots for getting long again.