NASDAQ 2,222.33 -34.71 -1.54%
S&P 500 1.070.71 -18.70 -1.72%
A pleasantly nice ride out of the Red Sea by bulls turned into a dump into the sewer today as the market finished with a very noticeable limp. I, as often has been the case in recent days, was a non-competitor. A non-participant. I just don't play well with the other kids for some reason, but I'm not upset. Staying in cash has kept me free from unnecessary stress.
Sure, I would've liked riding AAPL from 259 to 265.94, but it would've been rather treacherous, seeing how the rest of the market was mostly red, red and more red. AAPL rode another upgrade (340 target by another yadayada outfit) to Ka-Chingville, then sold off to 260.83 at the close. I did feel tempted, but I also knew chasing AAPL up a steep slope would be suicidal later. The market is just that way. No solid footing, all slippery downhill.
Really didn't pay close attention to other stocks today. Too choppy for my taste. If I can't trade FAZ or VXX in negative sentiment because the price ain't right, I wait until somehow, an edge falls my way. It never did, so I enjoyed the time to get some work done and actually eat breakfast for a change.
Those of you wise and nimble enough to go short before the market (or premarket) opened, I salute you. Coming into today, the three-day weekend got gloomier and gloomier with news of paranoia gripping markets globally. Most charts I looked at yesterday read SELL SELL SELL, which is a bit unusual even in this recent downturn. There's just no real conviction, a shortage of irrational exuberance, and maybe that's what the market needs, ultimately, to regain its equilibrium. Until then, I'm content to watch from the bleachers.
• BP (36.52 -6.43 -14.97%) started the day beaten down after Top Kill was ruled a failure, but shares rallied to 38.53 by mid-day. The horrendous finish, plus more selling in afterhours trading (36.30) makes BP a helluva place to be for longs. I'm not comfortable betting against oil — DUG (75.01 +5.93 +8.58%) and SCO (16.17 +0.81 +5.27%) are inverse ETNs.
• BIDU (73.56 +0.35 +0.48%) withstood the punishment that was inflicted upon most NAS stocks today. Shares were up to 75.60 at one point.
• FAZ (15.92 +0.98 +6.62%) roared as Eurozone financials stank it up. C (3.85 -0.11 -2.78%) and GS (141.86 -2.40 -1.66%) are difficult places to be for longs. They're at the mercy of any bad news across the Atlantic. IRE (4.73 -0.37 -7.25%), STD (9.83 -0.32 -3.15%) and NBG (2.35 -0.10 -4.08%) were smoked today.
• FXE (122.03 -0.34 -0.28%) rallied from a dip to 121.51, but it hardly appears there is confidence in the currency. If the Romulans, Klingons and humans can co-exist, why not the Euro Union, hmm?
• GLD (119.91 +1.03 +0.87%) is holding steady despite last month's prognostications from doubters that it would soon be overbought. If the Chinese are buying loads of gold, there might be no better move than for us Yankees to buy it, too.• Treasurys were safe from today's carnage, too. TLT (96.85 +0.67 +0.70%) continues to reward those who don't want to mess with the market's erratic behavior.
• VXX (30.19 +1.61 +5.63%) spent much of the day around the mid 29s before launching over 30 before the close. I can't remember ever successfully trading VXX as a stand-alone. I've done far better using it as a hedge to a position in AAPL. Not going to mess with this VXXen overnight. No thank you.
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