More excuses….my PC (buying a Mac when I have to replace this dinosaur) is acting up – slow internet connection and no windows, have to open up things with Task Manager. So the charting software was NOT updating this morning on the PC, so had to switch that stuff over to the laptop. Plus trying to juggle getting some work done. So two things going forward:
1) As I learned on Friday, if technical problems mess up my trading set up, don’t force getting trading in as I will be flustered.
2) Get my real life work done first, so I can give trading 100% attention – besides the real work is getting short changed with half effort. I am a freelancer, so I have a lot of freedom, but need to get more organized and disciplined to maximize my trading during market days:
Only one trade today:
This came up on compiled watch list and/or on TD Ameritrade’s Market Movers list (I can’t remember now) as spiking very quickly from $1 around 10am. I saw somewhere that the sector was rising, but thought this sharp rise was not going to last forever, and saw it as a potential short. Then Muddy mentioned in Chat he was was looking to short this as well, and I looked at this as a confirmation signal in a way. However, I chased it down and bought short at $1.28 (rather than my limit order of $1.34 originally). It stalled going down, and I put in a stop loss order at $1.37 and this was triggered about 45 minutes later at a $180 loss. The stock is trading around $1.20 and never really got much higher than where I got stopped out. I think my stop order was fine, I just needed to get short in the mid $1.30’s instead of chasing it down. So now I’m about even overall with my paper trading when considering the cost of commissions.
My F call in my radar watch was somewhat correct from this morning:
11/24 7am F crossed 10/60 SMA on 5 minute chart on Friday PM, look to go long on market rebounding Monday on Citi and Obama news. Use tight stops. Initial resistance at $1.70 with potential upside to $2 if upsurge continues. More thoughts here in the comments on this blog.
I just didn’t think it would gap up .30 cents, though. $1.70 did act as resistance. I talked a little more about it here in this comment on the same blog at Stock Insight, which is running a little stock picking contest. I didn’t paper trade it today, but thought about shorting it at the open, and then when it bottomed, to ride it on the way up, but things happened so quickly there wasn’t a obvious play.
PS: Gonna try to get myself together so I can be 100% focused on Wednesday to do some paper trading practice without the distractions. See you then.
