The Catalyst The Bulls Were Looking For
It was the catalyst the bulls were looking for.
A positive Consumer Confidence Report combined with a "miss" in the
ISM report. It did not matter that the news was not exactly indicative of a red
hot economy, but the fact that it was not completely negative brought the buyers,
and subsequently the short covering, out in force.
Frankly though, after the first hour, the trading was pretty lame. As is
shown by the chart below, the S&Ps were largely rangebound for the remainder
of the session. The only break occurred late in the day, and by then, I had all
but lost interest in watching paint dry. My beloved gold stocks took a beating
yesterday, and I was stopped out of all those positions. My positive tone on
gold stocks remains unchanged, but one must always respect stop-losses. I can,
and will get back in, when the opportunity presents itself.
In the meantime, the market may just move sideways for a day or so while this
move is digested. I do not plan to approach the markets any differently over the
next few sessions. I will continue to trade very assertively on the opening, and
then take the "show me a valid reason to initiate a trade here" stance
for the remainder of the session. My, what some would call, incredibly picky
approach to executing trades has served me well over the years. Do not let
impulsiveness get the best of you, and do yourself a favor, do not trade HVT
midday.
I will not be able to provide the Key Technical Numbers today. They will be
back in Thursday’s column.
As always, feel free to send me your comments and questions. See you in
TradersWire.