Swing trades

All posts tagged Swing trades

Trade Report 27 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 28, 2018
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Swing Trades

Today, I closed nine and a half swing trade positions. Some hit their stop loss. Some (including the half) were strikes to bank some profits.

First up is INTC. While I was writing my report Thursday evening, I noticed there was a major move up. Intel had reported earnings after the close. Since I had two positions on, I chose to exit one then and there. As you can see from the chart, the fill was well outside any reasonable range of normal. I kept the other position open on the chance that it might be a “gap and go” sort of move. Once it became clear that it was moving down from the opening gap, I closed the other half.

AEM, TSLA, and MO all hit their stop losses.

The next exits were more discretionary. The NYT short has been open 10 days, and while it is at the lower end of the range, I feel like it is money that might be better used in another trade. I also was not a fan of the fact that the stock only trades in .05 increments. Because of this, it will no longer be one of the targets on my radar.

The other trade that was both opened and closed today that will be removed from my radar screens is ESPR. It made it to +1R today, but the bid-ask spread was so wide that I couldn’t get a fill on my limit order. I finally got a fill for an exit at +.71R.

The long position in O moved +1R in my favor today. It touched the upper bollinger band, so while there might be more left on the upside, it felt wiser to take the money off the table.

EQR also moved more than 1R in my favor today. Rather than exit the entire position, I chose to exit half. EQR seems more bullish to me that O, so I’m waiting to see what happens next here.

I think that just leaves RL as the final trade I closed today. With two positions on and some indecisive back and forth sorts of move, I felt better reducing exposure here.

Five swing trades were framed for possible starts today, and four of them filled. As mentioned above, I closed out ESPR already. Net results for all closed trades today: +4.93R plus the half of EQR (+1R). There are 19 current open positions showing +3.44R.

Long: AA(2), AAPL, BMY, EEM(2), EQR(1/2), EWG, FNV, GLD, ILF(2), KR, LRCX(2), RL, WPM, XLF.
Short: PG.

Day Trades

I was much more selective in my day trade entries today and only took 9 trades in the morning. Friday afternoon can be a slow grind or have crazy swings, so I chose to stay out after lunch. The nine trades generated +2.5R and had only one small loser. This is definitely a step in the right direction. Be more patient and more picky about when to enter and make sure there is a reasonable reward target available for the risk. Current commission costs are such that I pay 1R for every 25 trades. Keeping my number of trades down will reduce my commission costs and increase what I get to keep.

Thoughts

All the trades I chose to close arbitrarily today were winners. What about the positions showing losses? Would there have been benefit to reducing my exposure there instead or as well? What about the saying to cut your losses short and let your winners run? I closed out the winners, not the losers today. Was that wise?

Trade Report 26 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 26, 2018
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Swing Trades

I framed two swing trades for possible execution today. Both were filled: BMY and O.Three channel trades reach their exit point today, so were closed out (one was a double position). Charts for NKE, SBUX, and XRT posted below.

Two other trades hit their stop losses today: BABA and JNJ.

Net result for closed trades: +2.54R. Current portfolio has 24 open positions showing +4.7R:
Long: AA(2), AAPL, BMY, EEM(2), EQR, EWG, ILF(2), INTC(2), KR, LRCX(2), O, RL(2), XLF.
Short: AEM, NYT, MO, PG, TSLA.

Day Trades

I was not able to trade the opening hour, but did trade an hour or so before lunch and again later in the afternoon. I ended up taking 20 trades generating +1.55R. Slightly better results than yesterday, and certainly better on the loss side as my largest loss was -.73R. I placed orders in the market today to make sure if it made a new high and I was short, I changed direction. It meant I bought the bar with the morning high, but I also recognized this and exited that position fairly quickly. While the reversal there would have been a great longer term trade, I was on edge and ended up only claiming little bits and pieces of what could have been a +2R trade had I held for just one hour. Being able to hold a position like that is my goal and what I am working towards. It seemed the market needed just a little more patience than I had today as it often made a significant move in the direction of my trade just after I exited.

Trade Report 25 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 25, 2018
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Swing Trades

Two trades closed today. WYNN closed for a 1R loss, but MRCY was closed at +7.82R!

Four swing positions were opened out of six trades framed for possible execution today. The only ones that were filled were those that were market buys at the open. That brings the current portfolio to 28 positions showing -.16R.

Long: AA(2), AAPL, EEM(2), EQR, EWG, ILF(2), INTC(2), KR, LRCX(2), NKE, RL(2), SBUX(2), XLF, XRT.
Short: AEM, BABA, JNJ, NYT, MO, PG, TSLA.

Day Trades

It finally happened.

I knew that once I started reporting my trades here, I would eventually have a loss greater than 1R to report. I missed the initial short today, so tried to pick the bottom. I ended up with two positions long and was not able to reverse quick enough because it has not been my practice to place my orders ahead of time. The market dropped through my reversal point and with the fills I received, those opening longs were closed at -1.96R and -1.56R.

I was not happy with this, but continued to trade, eventually placing 27 trades today and achieving a +1.53R return. The volatility of the market and those first two trades left me on edge, so I played more hit and run, grab what I can, and get out. I had to reverse directions three other times. One of those was potentially premature because of the morning experience, but I was keen on not repeating my earlier mistakes.

I expect to write another post about picking bottoms soon because that was one of my ah-ha moments from reading Market Mind Games by Denise Shull.

Trade Report 24 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 25, 2018
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Today was an active day in the market. I had very little time to watch what happened, so no day trades for today.

Swing Trades

I framed 12 swing trade candidates for today, and all 12 fired. Some were framed both long and short, and one fired both long then short.
Eleven trades closed today. Three of those were opened today.

Obviously, the three trades both open and closed today were each -1R losses, so today’s net result for closed trades is -2.21R. For the trades opened today but not closed, the results currently stand at -1.23R. Total open trades currently stand at +1.7R for 26 positions.

Long: AA, AAPL, EEM(2), EQR, ILF, INTC, KR, LRCX(2), NKE, RL(2), SBUX(2), WYNN, XLF, XRT.
Short: AEM, BABA, JNJ, NYT, MO, MRCY, PG, TSLA.

Thoughts

Both DIA and SPY have been down six days in a row. If there isn’t a bounce or pause tomorrow, then look out below. I have the morning when I can watch and see what happens and will be prepared to trim the longs quickly if the market continues to fall.

Trade Report 23 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 23, 2018
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All professional traders take losses.

Today was the day to claim mine. It can be tough to walk away, but that’s how I will live to trade another day and be a professional trader.

Day Trades

Today I took 13 trades during the first 75 minutes of the trading day. Net result: -4.3R. The last two entries were clearly revenge trades and exited as soon as I entered them. My first two trades were positive, but I missed the opening breakdown, This led me into a mental state of trying to play catch up and fill in the hole that only existed because my FOMO took over. This led me to be on the wrong side and holding onto positions that I should have exited much earlier. The largest loss was -.85R, so still within the professional 1R risk tolerance. I had the strength to walk away and stay away for the rest of the day so that today’s results didn’t morph into the psychological blowup days that have plagued me in the past. I believe the outward accountability of reporting here will give me the strength to keep any daily drawdown to a minimum.

Swing Trades

Two trades closed today: ABX and GLD.

Net result: -.53R A minor loss that certainly falls into the realm of professional behavior.

Thirteen new swing positions were opened today which brings the total number of swing trades open to 24. Currently showing net +4.98R
Long: AAPL, CBRE, EEM, EOG, GRUB, LMT, LRCX(2), NKE, RL(2), SBUX, V, WYNN, XLF, XRT.
Short: AEM, BABA, HSY, NYT, BMY, MRCY, XLP.

Trade Report 20 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 20, 2018
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Swing Trades

Today I framed four swing trade candidates. Because three were channel signals to buy at the open, those three fired. The fourth one never reached the target entry point.

Ten positions closed today for a total realized gain of +9.3R. Charts follow below. After a few of the oil sector plays hit their stops, I moved the stops up for the others. Continued weakness took those out, but EOG seems to have survived the day.

Currently holding 13 open positions at +4R.
Long: ABX, CBRE, GLD, EOG, LMT, LRCX, NKE, RL.
Short: HSY, NYT, BMY, MRCY, XLP.

Day Trades

Friday is the one day currently I can generally expect to have available to day trade. I missed some of the large moves while managing the swing portfolio, but that’s ok. I’m not expecting to capture every move, nor do I need to. I ended up making 24 day trades with a net +3.8R.

Thoughts

I am currently reading Market Mind Games by Denise Shull. While the book tries to present the information in the more digestible setting of a fable, the information is dense and requires some thought and time for integration. I had two a-ha moments while reading this morning before the market opened. the first had to do with fighting trends which I certainly did today, and for which I intend to write a separate post. The second is best shared by quoting directly from the book:

Now I am certain that part of the irresistible seduction of markets is not the money but the tapping into an innate human urge, desire, or force to grow. It strikes at the core of competitive and adaptive instincts and serves up for the taking any unconscious psychological set-ups one has.
Your pschye doesn’t actually care much about your account balance, it cares about your emotional capital because it is your most important asset regardless of whether you are in front of the screen or not.

I am certainly hooked on learning and growing, and if there is any reason I have stuck with trading for as long as I have it is because I recognize that slowly but surely, it is helping me to confront my issues and become a better person. Trading is a psychological discipline that requires a certain amount of knowledge, but depends extensively on the amount of presence and awareness one can bring to the market. Not just awareness of the market, but also self-awareness. Anger, frustration, joy, or even the weather can affect a person’s view of the market and thus influence the account balance.

As I continue to make these trade journal entries, I expect to also start adding notes about my mental states and feelings. As I reported on 18 April, having decent overall results while aware of not so great emotions is to be celebrated. Which are the emotions that I can trade with, and which ones are strong enough that my account balance will be better served by not trading?

Trade Report 19 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 20, 2018
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Swing Trades

Today I framed only one potential trade (PVG) which did not fill. I apparently had a left over order on the platform though that got me into another position (XLP).

Five trades were closed today by hitting their stops. One was a double position, so only four symbols: KO, AEM, ESPR, and QCOM.



Net for all trades closed today: +3.82R
Currently holding 20 open positions at +16.78R.
Long: GDX, V, CVX, XLE, ABX, CBRE, GLD, MSFT, CSCO, DVN, EOG, PXD, SLB, USCI, LMT.
Short: HSY, NYT, BMY, MRCY, XLP.

Day Trades

I had no time today to sit and watch the market, so I have no day trades to report on today.

Trade Report 18 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 18, 2018
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Swing Trades

Today I framed three possible trade targets: BMY, TSLA, and MRCY. I was filled on two of the three. After a nice short trade in BMY, I am short again:

Also short MRCY:

Four swing trades closed today.
GRUB had a nice large pop yesterday that finally gave me confidence to move my stop up to NLD2 (No lose plus dinner for two). I had been patient with the trade, but the new stop got hit today. Net: +.22R

One other winner got closed out today, MRK. This was a breakout play from a pinch condition. I started moving the stop up after price made it to the +3 Bollinger Band and sold off yesterday. Final result: +1R.

Two trades closed at losses today. I believe I should have exited these sooner. The market has been in a sideways state recently, so I let my patience keep me in these trades that were either not going strongly my way or working their way against me. Short THC closed at -.8R and Long NKE closed for -.57R.

For the day, I have 2 less swing positions open, so a total of 24 positions currently at +22.2R.

Long: GDX, V, KO, CVX, XLE, ABX, AEM, CBRE, ESPR, GLD, MSFT, CSCO, DVN, EOG, PXD, SLB, USCI, QCOM, LMT.
Short: HSY, NYT, BMY, MRCY.

Day Trades

I was once again able to watch the market for the first 60-90 minutes and made 15 day trades. Net result was +1.88R. There were several order entry mistakes that got me into positions in places I was not planning on entering.

I primarily use the BookTrader at Interactive Brokers for the Dow Mini Futures when I day trade. My preference is to have the order transmitted as soon as I click on the appropriate spot. I’ve gotten stuck in the past when IB asks for confirmation, so this morning I went to put an order in ahead of time so that I could make it through the IB prompts before I wanted to be in the market. Unfortunately, I entered a Stop order instead of a Limit order, so it filled immediately. While I could have chosen to exit as soon as it filled, I decided to stick with the position and worked my way out of it. This did however shift my emotional state, and I ended up making 2-3 more order entry mistakes again as I either clicked on buy when I meant to sell, or submitted a stop order instead of a limit. Today was a sideways quiet sort of day, so I was able to work my way out of some of these mishaps, but I also stuck around too long and gave back gains that I could have had in hand.

Not my best day trading, but I’ll pat myself on the back for staying collected while fixing problems.

Trade Report 17 April 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on April 17, 2018
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To start reporting on my trades, I’m going to develop a format for a standard assessment of my positions. I will separate day trades from swing trades and report number of trades opened and closed with each, the R-value of all trades closed, and the R-value of all trades open. This will also be a learning journal entry for me to remark upon any important takeaways I might have from my trading experience for the day.

Swing Trades

I framed and entered orders for 4 swing trades before the market opened this morning. The candidates were INTC, LMT, KMB, and MRCY. I received fills for two long positions in KMB and LMT. KMB went on to hit its original stoploss later in the day (-1R), so net for the day I am +1 open position. I have 26 open swing trades, with a net +20.13R.

Long: GDX, V, KO, CVX, XLE, ABX, AEM, CBRE, ESPR, GLD, GRUB, MRK, MSFT, CSCO, DVN, EOG, PXD, SLB, USCI, NKE, QCOM, LMT.
Short: HSY, THC, NYT.

Day Trades

I was able to sit in front of the screen for just over an hour today in the morning and a half hour just before the market closed. I made 6 day trades which netted +2.05R.