Once More into the Breach

Well, I'm glad we got that bit of business out of the way!

The stock market did its usual spastic freak-out the moment the Federal Reserve Statement was issued. First it lurched down. And then up, big time. And then down again. And it spent the rest of the day generally heading south. It wasn't a plunge, by any stretch, but it certainly nuked a very healthy rise in equities into oblivion.


Looking at the candlestick chart of the IWM (which is the ETF for the Russell 2000), you can see a picture-perfect shooting star. My feeling is that tomorrow will be a down day, and we can get back to the business of shorting this market.


Colgate (CL) is a relatively stable/"no surprises" stock that might be worth acquiring puts against.


Coventry Health (CVH) appears to have failed to break out of a normally bullish pattern, which is bearish. I'm short the stock.


I've mentioned Jet Blue (JBLU) for the bulls out there. I stand by this position. Maybe this former high-flier is getting its act together after many embarrassing fumbles.


I bought puts on MCK today based on a small head and shoulders pattern plus a falling-away from a Fibonacci fan.


Oils are looking pretty good for put/short opportunities too. I bought puts on OXY just before today's close.


Same story with Southern Copper (PCU).


Potash puts are fairly heavily traded, thus the bid/ask spread isn't atrocious. I picked up some of these today (as with all the other trades, well after the Fed craziness).


...and the same for Schlumberger (SLB).


.....and Exxon (XOM).


I stopped trading Research in Motion (RIMM) ages ago, since the stock is just too weird for me to understand. Congratulations to those long the stock (and, even moreso, long the calls). RIMM had oh-my-God earnings after the close today and, last time I checked, was up 12%. Poor old Fred Hickey can't seem to live this one down.

Sigh....

OK, this up-every-day thing is getting realllllllly old.

I'm started to become disenchanted with the Russell 2000. I wasn't surprised at the recent recovery. In fact, I sold a huge block of puts just before the bounce higher started (thank God).


What bugs me is that the bounce-back pushed higher than the point I thought things would soften up again. The entire area I've shaded in green here (a closer view) is basically the "WTF???" zone. Particularly the strong finish during the last few minutes of today. Disgusting.


The $XAU is sporting a handsome shooting star, and although I've had no position in this for a while, I picked up some puts on it today. Because of the behavior of the market these days, I've focused on deep in-the-money, far-out expiration puts. Low risk, low volatility (and consequently lower profits should a miracle occur and things actually start heading down one day).


I mentioned CRDN yesterday as a possible long. The awaited breakout took place today, although on unspectacular volume.


ONT, mentioned many times here as a long, had a terrific day. The volume in the past few weeks is sensational.


Akamai (AKAM) might be pushing back to a neckline, but this isn't a perfect head and shoulder, so no position yet. The right shoulder is higher than the left, and I tend to be a purist about these things.


Jones Soda (JSDA) got whacked today. Even so, it has a nice little head and shoulders pattern, and this could have another $8 to $10 to drop (based on classic measurement techniques).


The balance of today's offerings are basically "rollovers." That is, stocks I think have lost momentum and have a good chance of falling. They are......Caterpillar (CAT):


Hess (HES):


Noble Energy (NBL):


Potash (POT):


PSB:


I've had enough. Time to hang up the charts for the weekend.