We Must Be Strong
Over the past few days, I have struggled to find words to describe my feelings toward this tragedy. Nothing eloquent comes to mind. I have been vacillating between disbelief and anger. Mostly though, I have been struck with grief as I think about my
colleagues who perished. I know that as a fellow trader, you share in my feelings. I pray that you and your family are safe.
It’s difficult at times like these to even think about trading. However, I know that we must be strong and get on with life. If we don’t, they win.
As traders, we are strong believers in capitalism. However, we must not attempt to benefit on these events that have targeted our colleagues directly. If you are holding short positions, these will likely benefit from the initial reaction once the markets open. Although we should not feel guilty for initially taking these positions during normal times, we are now faced with the possible dilemma of continuing to benefit after this catastrophic event. After careful thought, the best answer to this dilemma is to do what the market dictates.
The situation continues to be a fluid one. There has been some flight to quality to the treasury markets but, this seems to come and go. The dollar has been holding up fairly well as of late but has come under new selling pressure as enemies of the United States “saber rattle.”
I would imagine that there would be an initial knee-jerk reaction to the downside when trading resumes. This could easily be exacerbated as this situation develops. After this initial gap lower, I think the market will bounce — at least initially. Therefore, the logical action would be to exit existing short positions around the open.
One last point: we should avoid any new short positions until the market stabilizes.
God bless us all.
Dave Landry