In spite of all of the negative news out there, the QQQQ still appears to be recovering, having completed its 21st day of a short term up-trend. There were only 11 new highs and 12 new lows in my universe of 4,000 stocks on Thursday. Still, 82% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks closed above their 30 day averages. I continue to hold QLD and to wait for option expiration next Friday when most of my cash-secured puts should expire worthless and profitable for me. Five stocks on my IBD 100 lists the past year hit a new high on Thursday: SHEN,BKR,ASEI,NCIT and VSEC. I own some of these. Remember, if this rally holds, the stocks that have come through the current huge decline so that they are at new highs may be some of the new market leaders. I don’t bottom fish. I look for rockets already heading towards the moon.
Cash-Secured Puts
I’m up 1200%, as my fellow boomers and college students get screwed again; QQQQ in 17th day of short term up-trend; GMI: 2; GMI-R: 6; T2108: 83%; 10 IBD100 stocks at new highs
I escaped 2008 with a small loss in my account (-5%). Not bad, compared to how the indexes did (down 35-40%), but not great, given that I did trade some short positions (with puts) during the year. On December 24, IBD published a table listing the performance of the best growth mutual funds since April, 1994. The top fund was up +382% since 1994. My IRA account remains up a little more than 1200% (13x) since late 1994, so I do not feel that bad about my performance this year. The key to my success is that I made money during the strong market rises and kept it, by being mainly out of the market during the major declines. I might add that while I traded in my IRA during the huge declines in 2000-2002 and 2008, I avoided major losses in my university pension plan by transferring from mutual funds into a money market fund during these declines. So, I have learned the painful lesson over my 40+ years of trading that the key to success is conservation of capital during the inevitable market down-trends. These declines can be detected long before they reach the panic phase when they become evident to everyone. I have developed rules for identifying the market’s trend early, that I post each market day in this blog, in the form of the GMI and GMI-R…..
No changes in indicators; markets on hold
The GMI and GMI-R remain at one, each. The markets remain on hold as we complete the year. I remain mainly in cash with a small short position, a few long positions and some cash secured puts that I have sold. Time to take it easy and let the market sort itself out.