Hanging In There
I’ve given a great deal
of thought over the last few days to this morning’s column without
much of an answer as to where to begin. Like many of you, I’ve experienced the
gauntlet of emotions over the past week that have been particularly strong for
those of us living in the Northeast, and painfully strong for those of us
working in the close-knit Boston-New York trading corridor. And while my
heartfelt thoughts and prayers continue to go out to all those impacted directly
or indirectly by last week’s events, as well as for renewed strength, wisdom and
peace for all in this world, those words can’t even begin to describe my
feelings.
Yet those of us for whom trading remains a necessary income-generating business
must now find an inner strength to turn our attention and focus to getting back
in business. It is perhaps somewhat ironic that good traders are by their nature
a highly resilient breed of survivors, and we’ll certainly be put to the test
once again over the coming days and weeks.
Before we review the morning trade, let’s recap where we last left off almost
one week ago. At that time, the techs were showing several signs of a bounce
from extremely oversold conditions in the context of (1) strength divergence vs.
the industrials on Friday 9/7, (2) successful testing of intraday lows and an
impressive close on Monday 9/10, along with retreating post-spike volatility
indices, and (3) a strong pre-market follow-through on Tuesday morning as the
futures were gapping nicely prior to the historic events unfolding.
All in all, the techs have hung in there admirably this morning as we fluctuate
between a 5% and 6% drop. Once again, our three-minute chart provided a nice
visual as to emerging trends and supports with our standard 15-MA cross
triggering a nice run to the upside this morning. We have resistance at
1300-1310 on the NQs (approx. 32.50 on the Qs) which reflects longer-term
resistance using MA charts carrying over from a week ago.
Monday
September 17, 2001 12:10 PM EDT
(1)
Approx. Equivalent QQQ Price
It is in this space
where I often make a further comment on trading dynamics. Yet today I’d simply
like to pay tribute to those in our industry who lost their lives on Tuesday, as
well as to those who gave their lives in either responding to or minimizing the
damage inflicted as the events were unfolding. We are truly blessed to live in a
country where others care so much to give their lives in the spirit of helping
others. May God provide all of us with renewed strength and security as we move
forward.
P.S. I’m pleased to announce that I’ll
be hosting a two-day
QQQ trading learning forum immediately following TM2001 at the Venetian
Hotel and Resort on October 7- 8, 2001. It seems like we’ve struck a pleasant
nerve with the Q column, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and views in
a live forum highly conducive to learning and interaction, as well as simply
meeting many of you in person. So whether you trade the Qs or watermelon
seeds, consider extending your stay just a bit and we’ll combine some very
intensive trading discussions and some fun!
For
a more in-depth look at how Don trades the QQQs, click here.