After a 12-day ordeal, my power has finally been restored. I owe a debt of thanks to the local village government who opened the municipal building 24x7 for warming, charging and bathrooms. Also our friends, family and neighbors all pitched in to help me and my family through a difficult situation. I will never be quite the same and its a healthy reminder to be grateful for all we have in our lives.
Now back to the markets. My Forex robots laptop has been down hard since about 7PM on 10/29/2012. Looking back over that period, I missed about a 1% gain in Atinalla #1 and Atipaq Full Portfolio, and about a 6% gain in Atinalla #3 based on performance from some accounts in Asirikuy. Results vary of course and I don't regret the decision to avoid the cost of a VPS. Someday perhaps when Forex robots prove their mettle, but I'm not there yet.
By this past Friday, things were normalized enough that I could take a look at the markets with an eye toward some trading opportunities. My favorite stock Apple Computer has taken quite a round trip, from a high of $705.07 back on 9/21/2012 to Friday's closing price of $547.06. That's about a 22% selloff and quite a reaction from the high. And during this period, iPhone 5 sales were ramping, and also the recent release of the new iPad mini is doing well.
Looking at the chart, there's near perfect symmetry in this move with the stock finding support at the 45 degree line on the way up, and find resistance at the 45 degree line on the way down. After finding support briefly at the take-off point on the way down, the stock gapped down and plunged to a new 4-month low. Friday's action seemed to try and find a base putting in a daily low at 533 and a daily high at about 554, over a 21-point range!
This made for a some good trading opportunities and I was back to my old ways, buying the November 17 530 call and for about $2160 looking for a quick move up to $3000. I didn't get it, but I was able to exit the position with a gain of about $200 within a few short hours. With a stock making 20 point moves in a day, you know there are trading opportunities there!
I am continuing in my new vein of making trading an active pursuit during the trading day, versus a scientific approach on the weekends. Of course there's plenty of opportunites for good computer-based analysis and the weekend is a great time to do it. But I am no longer in the mindset that I can make a living with algorithm-based trading, and least not from the profits.
Good trading is all about studying the markets, being right on direction and timing, picking entries, cutting losses and letting the winners take care of themselves. After all, good trading is not rocket science.
Have a great week all and count your blessings.
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