Dec 13

How to handle Monday’s disappointing close, plus is smart money buying Bitcoin under $50k?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis: 

The S&P 500 set a new record closing high Friday and then proceeded to give it all back Monday. Easy come easy go, but that’s the way this goes sometimes.

I don’t mind occasional down days mixed in with up days, in fact, I prefer my rallies balanced this way. It keeps things from getting overheated and how healthy, long-term rallies progress.

That said, Monday’s close falls in the disappointing category because it finished on a swift wave of selling and closed at the intraday lows. Thirty minutes before the close, the situation looked pretty decent. But those final 15-minutes changed everything and left me with an uneasy feeling. Not panic, abandon hope, and run for the hills kind of feeling, but it was enough to warrant caution.

If a person is cautious by nature, they could have peeled off some nice profits near the close just in case. But that is only a partial position reduction to better manage risk. On the other hand, a more aggressive person could continue holding since the close was still well above our stops in the mid-460s.

Like a lot of trading, this situation falls in the gray area where individual discretion plays a major role in decinding what to do. Nervous? Sell some. Confident? Hold and see what happens tomorrow. Both are valid ways of dealing with Monday’s disappointing close.

But no matter what we do, anytime we sell, we are always looking for that next opportunity to get back in. If we sold anything Monday afternoon, be ready to buy a bounce Tuesday morning. And if Monday’s selling continues instead, always respect our stops spread across the mid-4,600s.

But no matter what happens Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, any near-term weakness is giving us a buying opportunity. No matter what the cynics claim, weak markets don’t keep setting new record highs. This remains a strong market and there is only one way to trade this and that is from the long side.

Bitcoin keeps hitting its head on $50k resistance and dip-buyers are nowhere to be found. This weekend’s quick poke above $50k didn’t last long and the cryptocurrency retreated back to the mid-$40k’s.

For me, this doesn’t get interesting until it can hold $50k. Until then this is a no-touch. As I often say, it is better to be a little late than a lot early. Just ask anyone that bought a few weeks ago in the upper $50k’s.

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Dec 08

The biggest mistakes people make trading dips and bounces, plus what smart money is doing with GME

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

The S&P 500 added a modest 0.3% Wednesday, but that was good enough to make this three up days in a row and leaves the index within 1% of all-time highs. Not a bad result given all the panic selling we were experiencing only a few sessions ago.

But that’s the way this usually works. Prices don’t bounce until the crowd has given up and now a lot of impulsive sellers are left watching this rebound from the outside.

I’m a huge believer in using stops to protect my backside. There is never a valid reason for a nimble trader to hold through a larger pullback. But at the same time, I also recognize stops often get us out unnecessarily.

So what’s a trader to do when faced with these competing concerns of selling just before the bounce or holding through a larger decline?

It actually isn’t that hard if we start with a sensible trading plan.

First and foremost, never be foolish and cheat our stops by holding a falling market. I always get out when I say I’m going to get out.

But once I’m out, the first thing I do is start looking for that next opportunity to get back in. Maybe that causes me to chase my tail every once in a while. But you know what? I would much rather chase my tail than A) hold through a larger decline or B) miss out on the next big rebound.

As it turns out, tail chasing is really cheap insurance that helps ensure we sidestep the big declines while also making sure we are in the right spot at the right time to catch the next big wave higher.

All too often people get hung up, thinking a trade is dead once they sell and they have some phobia about getting back in. If it was a great trade before, it is probably still a great trade and there is no reason to avoid it because of a perfectly normal, healthy, and temporary step back.

As for stops, the best way to avoid getting out at the wrong time is by getting out early. Sell at the beginning of the decline when the first signs something is wrong emerge. Not the bottom of a dip when impulsive traders pull the plug after getting overcome by fear and regret.

As I often remind readers, start small, get in early, keep a nearby stop, and only add to a trade that is working. Follow those simple rules and events like Omicron hubbub are nothing more than a blip on our way higher.

GME posted disappointing earnings after the close.

But did this actually surprise anyone? This is a retailer with an obviously obsolete business model.

Their last hail mary is Christmas shopping and if they cannot get their act together this quarter, the company won’t survive, let alone justify of $13 billion valuation.

At best, this is a $15 stock selling for $170. Get out while you still can.

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Dec 07

Why smart money was betting on the bounce, plus a savvy entry in FB is paying off

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis: 

The S&P 500 popped 2% Tuesday and the index is back within 1% of all-time highs.

So much for Omicron. But that’s the way this usually goes. As I wrote last week:

Trends are far more likely to continue than reverse. That’s because a bull market bounces countless times but dies only once…Bears have been wrong all year, so what are the odds they’re right this time? Yeah, not very good.

While this is really easy to say following two big up days, there was nothing easy about buying Friday’s late bounce and adding more money Monday morning. But from years of experience, personal reluctance is usually a really good sign.

As a rule, if I really want to make a trade, it is probably too early. And f I’m dragging my feet and trying to find an excuse to avoid a trade, that is usually a really good sign.

This was definitely the case last Friday. After stubbing my toe buying the previous bounces, it was hard to not get discouraged. But I’ve been doing this long enough to know these trades only work after most people have given up, so the key is being more stubborn than most.

As long as we have a sensible trading plan that is both nimble (getting in early and getting out early) and manages our risk (starting small), we don’t have a lot to fear from buying these bounces and being wrong.

Without a doubt, I got caught on the wrong side of some of last week’s whipsaws, but if the risk is a dozen points on a partial position last week and the reward is more than 100 points of profit on a full position this week, sign me up! I don’t mind being wrong a few times when it pays this well.

And now that the market’s bounced nicely, there is nothing to do but lift our stops and see where this goes.

Last week I asked if FB is so bad it’s good? 

Well, we got our answer this week and the answer is a resounding yes. FB is up nearly 8% from last Friday’s lows and anyone that bought the bounce is sitting on some healthy profits.

As I wrote last week:

Violating support before bouncing is an even more bullish trading signal than simply bouncing off of support because it shows selling capitulation and that bears have lost control of this trade.

That’s exactly what happened on Friday and Monday and this FB trade is setting up really nicely. Just like our index trade, lift our stops up to our entry point and see where this goes.

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Dec 06

A market that refuses to go down will eventually go up

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis: 

The S&P 500 finished Monday nicely higher as the pattern of alternating up and down moves continue.

Omicron remains a major headline, but while this variant is definitely more transmissible, it doesn’t seem obviously more dangerous than previous strains. In fact, some initial indications suggest it could actually be more mild, especially for those that have been vaccinated.

In separate news, the Fed is still hinting it will scale back monetary stimulus next year. While everyone loves free money, an economy that can stand on its own is even better for stocks.

Despite all of the fearmongering, the index remains within 3% of all-time highs. As much as cynics ridicule this bull, owners are comfortable and continue confidently holding for higher prices.

While conventional wisdom warns us about complacent markets, this bull has been fat, dumb, and happy all year and it doesn’t look like this latest crop of headlines is changing anyone’s minds.

Headlines don’t need to be good for stocks to rally, only less bad than feared and so far none of the worst-case scenarios are playing out. As I often say, a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up.

While buying bounces sounds easy enough, the market is never easy and most bounces throw a few curveballs at us first. If trading was easy, everyone would be rich and we know that’s not the case.

Sometimes we get caught on the wrong side of these whipsaws, but that’s just the nature of the beast. If we can’t handle a little up and down, then we’re definitely in the wrong line of work.

But as long as we stick to our trading plan, these speedbumps are fairly easy to navigate. Remember, success in the market isn’t about individual trades, but the cumulative result when we put all of our trades together.

While riding these whipsaws is frustrating, the reward will be worth it when we find ourselves in the right spot at the right time when the market finally bounces.

Remember, start small, get in early, keep a nearby stop, only add to a trade that is working, and if we get stopped out, no big deal, wait for the next bounce and do it all over again.

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Dec 02

Why bears keep getting it wrong, plus is FB so bad it’s good?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis


Free After-Hours Analysis: 

Surprise, surprise, the S&P 500 recovered from Wednesday’s massive intraday reversal. Okay, no one was really surprised because Thursday’s 1.4% bounce was the market’s third rebound attempt this week.

“If at first, you don’t succeed; try, try again.”

You definitely have to give bulls credit for not giving up. The level of selling since Thanksgiving has been staggering, yet here we stand, only 3% from record highs. Talk about a can-do attitude!

As I often write, trends are far more likely to continue than reverse. That’s because a bull market bounces countless times but dies only once.

Maybe this bull market is dying, but smart money is sticking with the higher probability trade. Bears have been wrong all year, so what are the odds they’re right this time? Yeah, not very good.

The smartest way to trade this volatility is continuing to give the benefit of the doubt to the bull market while protecting our backside with a sensible stop-loss; ie, buy the bounce but keep a stop under recent lows.

Monday’s bounce didn’t work and neither did Thursday’s early rebound, but you know what, more often than not, the third time’s the charm.

It is hard to buy a third bounce after the first two unceremoniously dumped us out. But the harder it is to buy a bounce, the more likely it is to succeed. (contrarian trading)

I bought the bounce early because if I’m wrong, no big deal, I sell at my stops and wait to buy the fourth bounce.

Remember, getting in early is critical because 1) it greatly reduces our risk by giving us a healthy profit cushion, and 2) by the time the bounce is obvious, most of the discounts will be long gone.

FB’s recent price action looks downright dreadful. But is this finally getting so bad it’s good?

The stock is setting up for a nice bounce off of $310 support. Above this level, the stock is buyable. Under this key level and we get out. It really doesn’t get any simpler than that.

Okay, maybe it gets a little more complicated if the stock dips under $310 for a bit before bouncing back above this key level. In that case, we get out under $310 and buy back in above $310.

(Violating support before bouncing is an even more bullish trading signal than simply bouncing off of support because it shows selling capitulation and that bears have lost control of this trade.)

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