Don’t Chase Your Own Tail

Up down, up down, up down. This market can’t seem to get any traction. Friday the market sold off fairly hard but from the look of the futures, it looks like we’ll erase those losses—at least on the open.

As I preach, follow through is key.Net net, the market hasn’t gained any ground in over a month. I really hate to dust off my sideways arrow but if this keeps up, I’ll have to pull it out the quiver.

So what do we do? When the market is chopping back and forth you can’t get too caught up in the action. A big up day will look and feel great. A big down day will seem like the end of the world. You have to be careful not to chase your own tail. Being selective on new positions and waiting for entries will help to keep you out of new trouble. Honoring your stops on existing positions will help to mitigate any potential damage. Yet again, letting the ebb and flow of money management and portfolio management can help to keep you on the right side of the market/in the right issues—especially in questionable conditions.

Futures are strong pre-market.

Best of luck with your trading today!

Dave