The collision of global markets and social mood

Friday, January 27, 2012

Stop. Go. Stop.

I stopped out twice yesterday trying to execute my trading plan. Seeing the market close above my hard stop (1316.63) makes me think I had the right idea but the wrong play.

This happens. It's part of doing business, and for me, it's part of how I test the market. Every trend stays in force until it doesn't. I look for the market to prove to me when that point occurs. Sometimes the market shows me that proof can go poof! in an instant, especially when I pick the wrong proof.

By the way, I don't enter stop orders. I take them manually, and only use them when and where I am most certain I'm wrong. I call them hard stops because I get the hell out immediately, no questions asked.

Yesterday's decline looks sloppy and has far too many overlaps for me to feel comfortable that's it's the sort of decline I expect at this juncture. It can always continue down and subdivide and get really scary, but I'm already thinking that unless 1303 is broken, the S&P can float higher.

Above 1325.30 would be the first tell. I will continue to buy weakness.

2 comments:

  1. this morning you can be pleased/congratulated you stuck to your stops.. i'm waiting for 1300 to be broken. i'll be watching to see if you try a new plan today.. good luck! k

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  2. Hmmm, today looking a little better so far. Especially for those stops ;) Thanks for reading.

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