Each day into the Close our intern Krysten asks me to share a trading idea for our Twitter feed. Today I told her that I was short AAPL below 138 but would cover above 138.15. AAPL had failed at the 138 level earlier in the day and had a significant down move. I was risking 15 cents to make potentially … Read More
Taking A Look Under The Hood Part II
I want to discuss in more detail how I believe I can press my advantage prior to the start of earnings season. As previously mentioned I spend a great deal of time looking at longer term charts. I am able to get a sense of which stocks are poised to make sizable intraday moves. I then set alerts at important … Read More
Taking A Look Under The Hood
In the world of day trading we like to say that earnings season is our “playoffs”. It only occurs four times per year and is a time where trading opportunities abound. The most difficult thing during earnings season for traders is remaining focused on their best ideas and not attempting to bite off more than they can chew. If a … Read More
Afternoon Support Equals Morning Resistance
I would like to share with you another little gem from the world of intraday trading. If a stock shows support at a particular level in the afternoon then the following morning this level will serve as resistance if the stock has gapped down. In our AM Meeting today I highlighted some of the market leaders such as AAPL and … Read More
Trading A Secondary Level
JPM priced a secondary a couple of days ago at $35.25. JPM showed nice strength in the morning and traded up from around $34.40 to $35.25. One of the younger traders on the desk called out “JPM at the high of the day”. Rosie, the trainee who sits to my left immediately responded that JPM was approaching its secondary price … Read More
The key to my day today: stock selection
The key to my day today: stock selection. It was pretty clear this morning that the action was going to be in the financials that had announced secondary stock offerings. JPM, STI, AXP, and MS all sold stock to the general public so they could pay back the TARP money and get the gov out of their hair. In our … Read More
Why Inexperienced Traders Fail to Hold Their Winners
One of the most difficult skills to master for a younger trader is holding a position for a larger move. I’m going to discuss the reasons that I believe this is the case and some of the things SMB does to help its traders improve on this very important skill. I will also briefly discuss one of the younger traders … Read More
Anatomy of a Rip
I mentioned last week that I would blog the next time I took a rip of more than 1K. Unfortunately, I ripped up a lot more than that today. There were several reasons why I took this unnecessary loss and they were all my fault. Sometimes as a trader you will take a large loss due to market circumstances. But … Read More