Apr 23

The best way to approach this trading range

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis

The S&P 500 continues consolidating inside the 2,700 and 2,900 range. We’ve been stuck in this region for two weeks following the mammoth rebound from the March lows. Thus far, the market refused multiple opportunities to breakout/breakdown and no matter what the bulls and bears claim, it continues chugging sideways.

It’s been a fantastic run and obviously the market deserves a break following a historic 20% surge. There are two ways markets rest and reset. The first is a more conventional pullback to support. The proverbial, two steps forward, one step back. That’s what a lot of people, myself included, were expecting. But as resilient as this market’s been over these two weeks, most longer-viewed owners are refusing to sell their favorite stocks at a discount. When owners refuse to sell, it makes no difference what the headlines say or what the experts think prices should do.

That said, supply is only half of the pricing equation. While owners are supporting prices by refusing to sell, our upside momentum has been blunted by prospective buyers refusing to pay ever-increasing prices. Owners not selling and those with cash not buying is the recipe for a sideways grind.

Which side caves first? That’s a good question and unfortunately, I don’t have the answer. Bulls have a good case that many states are already starting to reopen their economies. On the other side, bears point to the sharpest economic contraction in modern history and a stock market that’s only down 15%. There’s something definitely wrong with that calculus. Either stocks are way too high or the economy will bounce back a lot quicker than the headlines portend.

Luckily for us, we don’t need to place our bets just yet. As independent investors, our greatest strength is the nimbleness of our size. Rather than commit to one side or the other, we should wait for the bandwagon to start rolling before we jump aboard. Only the partisans need to be right. The rest of us are satisfied collecting a few bucks jumping aboard this no matter which way it goes.

Until proven otherwise, assume any dip to 2,700 will bounce and rally to 2,900 will stall. Buy the bounce off the lower end and take profits at the upper edge. If the market breaks above the highs or breaks under the lows, close those positions and flip the other direction. By staying nimble, we can profit no matter what the market does next.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Apr 22

CMU: If you don’t know how to be wrong, you shouldn’t be in the market

By Jani Ziedins | Free CMU

Cracked.Market University

Some of the worst behaviors come out when people hide behind anonymous handles on the internet. These trolls use the cover of anonymity to say things they would never have the courage to do in person. Yet somehow, this has become the normal way of interacting online.

One of the most frequent abuses in trading circles is taunting someone for making a wrong trading call. When a person shares an idea, a certain segment of the community eagerly looks forward to crucifying them if that call turns out wrong. While this vulgar act tells us very little about the skill of the person that made the incorrect call, it speaks volumes about the critic’s trading abilities.

Every savvy trader learned early in their career mistakes and losing money are normal parts of this game. They understand trading successfully means being wrong…a lot. The difference between the sophisticated trader and these trolls is the sophisticated trader doesn’t think anything of being wrong. To them, a mistake is a mistake and nothing more. Take the loss, learn from it, and move on.

Savvy traders most certainly don’t taunt anyone for a trading call that doesn’t work out. They learned a long time ago some trades simply don’t work out and the outcome of any individual trade is not an indication of a person’s abilities. They took a chance and it didn’t work out. Nothing more, nothing less. And just as important, when they are right, instead of gloating, they recognize they could have just as easily been on the losing end.

If you see someone criticizing another person for making a wrong call, that tells you the critic doesn’t have a clue how successful trading actually works. If a person believes there is nothing more important than being right or wrong, that person clearly doesn’t understand what it takes to be successful in the market.

If you find yourself on the receiving end of these attacks, shrug it off. It is obvious the troll attacking you knows even less about trading than you do and their opinion doesn’t matter. The most successful traders are the most modest because they have been on the losing end of more trades than they can count. Only novices make a big deal out of individual trades.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Apr 21

Is it finally time to short this market? (and how to do it safely)

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis

The S&P 500 shed 3% Tuesday, adding to Monday’s nearly 2% decline. As well as the market has been trading lately, these two sessions closed nearly the daily lows and their price action stands out like a sore thumb.

Stocks have been defying gravity every since they launched off of the March lows. This has been one of the biggest and fastest rebounds in history and most seasoned observers were skeptical this strength could last given the frighteningly dreadful economic headlines surrounding us. But the same thing could have been said last week and the week before that. And unfortunately, a lot of anxious bears got themselves run over shorting this meat-grinder rebound a little too early.

As I often say, knowing what the market will do is easy, the hard part is getting the timing right and that’s where all the money is made. Without a doubt, this market was going to pull back, the hard part is knowing when. Are we finally at that point? Great question but if we are approaching this the right way, it shouldn’t matter.

Far and away the greatest strength we have as independent traders is the nimbleness of our size. We can go from full long to full short with just a few mouse clicks. We don’t have big money’s army of analysts, supercomputers, or inside connections, but those things are not necessary if we know how to exploit our size. We don’t need to know what the market will do ahead of time because we are fast enough to react to events as they happen. Rather than short the pullback before it rolls over, we can (and should) wait for it to happen before we jump aboard that move lower.

The keys are knowing what signals to look for and then being able to recognize quickly when we get it wrong. Get in, get out, and try again. That’s the formula for our success as independent traders. With that approach, we don’t need to predict the future. We simply react to it as it happens in realtime.

Yesterday’s weak close, this morning’s early dip and finishing again near the daily lows gave us the first interesting overnight shorting opportunity in a while. For several weeks I’ve been day-trading this market because opening gaps have been large and unpredictable. But this is the first time in a while I felt like there was something worth holding.

That said, this trade needs to be done carefully. Shorting today’s weak open gave us a profit cushion going into the close. And more than that, locking-in a portion of profits this afternoon both guaranteed some profits and reduced our exposure by leaving us with a smaller position.

If the short trade doesn’t work tomorrow, it won’t hurt much between the reduced position size, existing profit cushion, and the portion of profits already locked-in. If that’s the case, we get out and try again next time. But if it works, add more at the open and see where it goes. Close weak for the third day and we follow the same formula tomorrow afternoon.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Apr 20

How to trade a market that lost its mind

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis

As unprecedented and historic as this global shutdown has been, it keeps throwing curveballs at us that only a few weeks ago seemed too absurd to even be worth hypothesizing over.

The lastest unprecedented development was the most spectacular collapse in the history of commodity trading. $22 oil was shocking enough. Then we got barrels trading at $8 on the spot market a few days ago. But that was only warming us up for the main event.

People’s jaws were on the floor this afternoon when oil contracts for May delivery fell under one dollar. Fifty cents for 55 gallons of oil? Surely it couldn’t get any worse than that. And moments later, it did exactly that.

Traders were so desperate to avoid taking delivery of physical oil they became willing to pay people to take their oil. That’s just how bad the current situation is. And not just a dollar or two. The day closed with oil trading at minus $37 dollars! That’s right, traders were so desperate to get out of their positions they would pay you $37 for every barrel of oil you take off their hands!

How did one of the most important commodities in the world go from a coveted resource to something akin to raw sewage that requires payment to be disposed of?

But just as shocking as the collapse of May’s oil contract was the stock market’s indifference to it. The neighbor’s house was burning to the ground and the S&P 500 was too busy organizing its sock drawer to even look out the window.

Two months ago, if you told me oil would fall $55 dollars in a single day, I would have expected all financial instruments to be imploding. But not today. Today, it was just another headline the S&P 500 is ignoring.

At this point, we have three options. Argue with the stock market, fall in line, or get out of the way. No one wins an argument with the market, so please don’t do that. For our longer-term investments, buying at these levels still represents a decent discount if we plan on holding for a couple of years. For anything else, get out of the way!

There is a saying in the market, missing the bus is better than getting hit by the bus. If we don’t feel comfortable buying this strength for a long-term investment, there is nothing wrong with sitting this one out and waiting for a better opportunity. Remember, often the best trade is to not trade. Until the risk/reward lines up in our favor, wait patiently on the sidelines. That means waiting until this rebound is breaking down before shorting it. Or for the less aggressive, buying the next dip. But whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to argue with this strength.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Apr 17

Free Weekly Analysis and Lookahead

By Jani Ziedins | Weekly Analysis

Free End of Week Analysis and Lookahead

The S&P 500 finished the week 3% higher and was the third up-week out of the last four. Equally impressive is Friday closed at the highest levels in six weeks. And not to be overlooked, this week’s spread between the lows and highs was the smallest in two months. As dire as the economic headlines have been, the stock market definitely seems to be coming to terms with our new reality.

Is a relatively modest 15% decline from all-time highs enough to account for the largest economic shock since the Great Depression? At this point, the stock market seems to think so. My Thursday post touched on some of the reasons the market finds itself at current levels, namely most investors believe the economy will bounce back relatively quickly. While this is part of the answer, there are also other supply and demand factors at play.

One of the bigger contributors to this limited selloff is the fact many investors have already lived through stock market crashes. Most of us were around to witness the 2008 Financial Crisis that cut stock prices in half. And the more recent example of 2018’s Christmas massacre that saw stocks tumble nearly 20% between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What was the biggest takeaway from both of these crashes? Stocks bounce back even higher. Reactive sellers were left behind when the indexes pushed to new highs without them. Regret is a powerful motivator and these investors were not going to make the same mistake twice. Fool me once, shame you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

At least for the time being, many would-be sellers learned to hold through volatile episodes and not succumb to the panicked feeling in their gut. Rather than impulsively sell stocks again, these investors are still hanging on. And so far discipline has been rewarded with prices dramatically above the March lows.

No matter what we think should happen, when confident owners don’t sell, prices don’t fall.  While we could see prices slip over the next week or two in a normal and healthy exhale, as long as the selling remains restrained and orderly, any dip is a buying opportunity, not an excuse to abandon ship. Short-term traders can exploit this weakness, but long-term investors should stick to their buy-and-hold plan.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Apr 16

What’s going on with TSLA and AMZN?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis

After weeks of dramatic moves, the S&P 500 finally seems to be getting comfortable at current levels. While we are still experiencing elevated volatility with 1% and 2% daily moves, they have largely been offsetting each other from day-to-day around 2,800.

While the market has been finding its footing, there are a few stocks that have definitely been taking advantage of this calm to reassert their dominance. NFLX and AMZN are inherently well-positioned to do well during these lockdown times because they cater to customers at home.

As expected, these two companies navigated last month’s stock crash relatively well, losing less than the indexes. No surprise there. But then something curious happened Monday. Investors started piling into these stocks with reckless abandon. There wasn’t a definitive headline driving this strength. Instead, retail investors were hungry for something to throw their money at and these two stocks happened to be the beneficiary.

Fundamentally, nothing changed between last week and this week for NLFX and AMZN. Neither one found the cure to the Coronavirus or unlocked the secretes to sustained fusion. These were some of the best run and best-positioned companies last week when no one was paying much attention to them and they are the exact same well-run companies this week. The only thing that changed is they are now popping up every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s stock screen. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd and these two mega-caps are the hottest thing going right now.

Of course, this should look familiar to anyone who’s been following the market over the last few months. In late January, we saw the same thing happen with TSLA. A company that was doing well and going about its business when all of a sudden it became the hottest trade in the market, for seemingly no explicable reason. There wasn’t a headline breakthrough. TSLA reported earnings a couple of weeks before and showed a small profit but not much happened after earnings. And then all of a sudden, one day out of nowhere, the stock started racing higher, much like NFLX and AMZN are doing today.

Like TSLA before it, NFLX and AMZN are nothing more than momentum trades. People want to get in because they’re afraid of being left out. They’re not buying AMZN and NFLX because they love the companies. They’re buying them because everyone else is buying them. And unfortunately, these things rarely end well. I warned people to lock-in TSLA profits when the stock slipped under $800 and I definitely hope a lot of readers heeded that advice. As similar as NFLX and TSLA’s stock charts look here, only a fool would expect this to end any differently.

Unsustainable moves are unsustainable. They’re great while they last, but always recognize it for what it is. Stick with what is working and ride this higher, but never let it go to your head. Make sure you stay disciplined and use a trailing stop to protect your profits. No doubt this will pop like all of the other unsustainable surges higher that came before it. Some people will make money and other people will lose money. Make sure you are one of the people who end up on the right side of this trade.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM $AAPL $AMZN

Apr 15

Is this market too hot, too cold, or just right?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis

The S&P 500 gapped lower at the open, making this the fourth consecutive day of large opening moves in opposite directions. One day the bulls are in charge, the next day belongs to the bears. As much passion as there is in the market, both sides have been equally wrong about this one.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been discussing strategies to trade this rebound. Today I’m shifting gears and will get into why the market is doing what it is doing.

While it isn’t hard to point out a few historical examples of the market getting things wrong, the thing we need to remember is the market is right far more often than it is wrong. These cherry-picked instances ignore all of the other times the market got things right. This also means when the market is not doing what we think it should be doing, the very first thing we should question is ourselves. And even more important than who’s right or wrong, the market determines our profits and losses and by that measure, it is always right. Rather than fall into the argument of why the stock market should be dramatically higher or lower than it is right now, let’s figure out why it is where it is.

Tumbling 20% from the highs of only a few weeks ago is a dramatic move. But these are dramatic time and this kind of reaction is logical and expected. The world looks nothing like it did at the start of the year and that means the stock market should obviously reflect this new reality. Where we run into disagreements is if -20% is too hot, too cold, or just right.

At this point, most investors are encouraged by the moderating infection rates and they are hopeful people can start going back to work in a few weeks. This will require obvious adjustments to our old routines to include social-distancing and protective measures, but it will be a good start that gets most people back to doing what they need to be doing. There will be some outliers like concert venues and movie theaters that will continue suffering from bans on large groups, but the rest of the economy should start thawing soon. Or at least that is the market’s current expectation.

While the upcoming earnings reports will be some of the worst in history, the thing to remember is the market doesn’t care as much about what happened last month or what will happen next month, it is looking six months ahead and wants to know where we will be this fall. As bad as things look now, if the market expects economic activity to be picking back up this fall, that is how it will price stocks today. Everyone knows our economic numbers will be shockingly bad. But that also means we can assume this is already priced in. Just like the market, our attention needs to be focused on is where the economy will be six months from now.

As for this -20%, the bears think we haven’t fallen far enough and bulls believe prices are already too low. Split the difference between these two extremes and we end up right where we should be. That said, it is impossible for the market to stay at one level so we should expect these volatile gyrations to continue for the foreseeable future. But no matter how high or low we go, unless something dramatic happens (i.e. a vaccine is released or a flare-up races out of control), expect these big swings to cancel each other out and for the prices to move mostly sideways around these more moderate levels. That means buying the bigger dips and selling the bigger rebounds for the next six months.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

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