[Weekend Summary]
Dear Member:
Well, my suggestion in last weekend's summary that the markets looked like they might tend to stay bearish for a while hit the mark with the action on Thursday. I must have shot myself in the foot with some of the $10 Trader subscribers who bailed after my comments. I do think it is important to play the market I am dealt and to be honest with myself, but that does not mean that one cannot make money in a bearish market with bullish plays. The trick there is to be more cautious with picks and be very selective with entries and keep a close eye on the stock. The Option Trader has the ability to trade the downside a bit more easily by doing things like buying puts and creating bearish call or bearish put spreads. Those who only utilize bullish plays must just apply stricter standards when the markets are turning down. I am not convinced that the markets are ready to turn back up just yet in spite of the little breather on Friday. Volatility is still high and rising though it backed down a bit from Friday's highs. Increasing volatility often accompanies a falling market.
In keeping with my cautious mode, I entered only one new $10 and under position this week and that was in Harmonic, Inc. (HLIT). It has since moved up about 3% since my entry two days ago.
Introgen (INGN) had some more good news and jumped quite a bit this week.
Even Blackrock Senior Hi Inc Fd (ARK), which is primarily and income position for me, managed to move up for the week in the face of this volatile market.
I intend to continue to try to make extremely careful selections as this market growls a little under its breath like a bear. As I mentioned above, even if the market goes to full bear which it may or may not, that does not mean that there will not be bullish plays available. In fact, as I wrote several weeks ago, a downward move in the market will add to the selection of cheaper stocks, many of which had gone above the $10 buy limit I have in place for my $10 Trader trades.
Have a great weekend.
Bill
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