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All Posts Author: Patrick Stevens

Short the Market, A little Ahead of the Move

Short the Market, A little Ahead of the Move

With the markets topping out this week and breaking through resistance on two separate days during the past five trading days, I moved from a cash position to a 50% short position. This could possibly be a little ahead of the move downward as most indicators are still neutral to positive. The vehicle that I am using for the short position is the Proshares Ultrashort S&P 500 (SDS). This is the opposite ETF of the one I held a position in during the recent market rally, the Proshares Ultra S&P 500 (SSO).

2009-05-17
233
10

Markets Pause After Recent Run

Markets Pause After Recent Run

Taking a look at the S&P 500 chart today showed a 5 day top formation which was enough for me to close out my Ultra S&P 500 Proshares (SSO) positions that I had. Two positions were quite profitable near 20% and 15% with the third recently purchased position losing about 2.5%. When the S&P 500 broke below the recent low of 902, I felt it was time to sell. In addition, the NASDAQ has not performed well the last couple of days and the Bank Stress Test completion didn't provide a catalyst beyond Friday like I had hoped.

2009-05-12
287
6

United States Oil (USO) Rally

United States Oil (USO) Rally

Along with the markets the United States Oil (USO) ETF has turned positive and rallied from a price of $27.22 a share on April 20th to close at $32.49 a share on Friday. This is a sign that the economy is recovering and should help the oil service companies profit in the current quarter. This rally is not the best overall event for consumers as the price of oil and gas moving higher affects their individual budgets at the pump and in their heating bills.

2009-05-09
139
4

SSO June Calls Reentry

SSO June Calls Reentry

I sold my Ultra S&P 500 Proshares (SSO) 24 Calls yesterday figuring I had made a decent 29% return over a two week period and I would get a good reentry point when the market corrected slightly. But with the SSO down 2% at it's lowest point today the Calls where still at the level I sold them yesterday. I think the market is not expecting much of a pull back at this time.

2009-05-05
391
2

Chinese Internet Companies Climbing

Chinese Internet Companies Climbing

A number of Chinese Internet companies are outpacing the rest of the market higher with Netease (NTES) reaching a new 52 week high at the highest point today. Other companies to watch include Shanda (SNDA), Baidu (BIDU) and Sina (SINA).

2009-04-29
766
31

Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) Both Rally Afterhours

Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) Both Rally Afterhours

In a very mixed session today with the direction of the markets not clear until the final 1/2 hour, shares of Microsoft rallied late to lift the indexes and then gave only a decent report afterhours. Amazon reported afterhours with better numbers which initially caused a slight dip but then the stock moved higher. Microsoft finished the afterhours session up 3% from where it closed the regular session while Amazon improved 2.7% from 4 pm to 8 pm EST.

2009-04-23
492
13

Volatility Index Continues to Fall

Volatility Index Continues to Fall

In another sign that the markets could extend the current rally into something longer term, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has fallen to a new three month low to $33.94. Sometimes called the fear index, the VIX shows the amount of hedging in the markets to ward against a downturn and rises when the markets begin to turn south. The drop the VIX over the past two weeks resembles the fall in the S&P 500 that we saw just before the current rally began. There was a break of resistance at $40 on the 3rd on April and the index has continued to fall fairly steep since.

2009-04-18
411
10

Research In Motion Has Growth

Research In Motion Has Growth

In this market it is hard to find companies with growth in both revenue and earnings but Research in Motion (RIMM) is one of the larger organizations with good growth that has broken out of a negative trading pattern and begun to climb. You may have missed some of the move as it has risen from around $35 a share to a recent $68.35 a share over the course of the last month and a half. But if the markets continue to perform and the economy improves along with the markets, there is more upside with RIMM.

2009-04-17
444
1

No Economic Data and Little in Earnings (Literally)

No Economic Data and Little in Earnings (Literally)

It's a tough week to believe in the new bull market will next to no economic data coming out and little in the way of earnings. I still think the markets can move higher with the help of a couple good reports next week and a few earnings surprises by some of the bigger companies. Goldman Sachs has been holding steady with it's earnings to be released next week with Johnson & Johnson only failing slightly the last two days.

2009-04-07
544
15

US Indexes Are Clearly in the Green

US Indexes Are Clearly in the Green

I didn't think we would see the pullback for the classic W formation in the indexes but we did get the gap lower this week and then the new short-term high. So now the indexes are clearly in the green across the board for the Nasdaq Composite, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Russell 2000, and the Standard & Poors 500. The markets will continue to rally or we will get a hold signal after a number of down days. So being long until the hold signal is met is a decent play.

2009-04-04
375
6

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