Thursday, March 25, 2010

3/26 Almanac

On Thursday, March 26, there are 22 trading days left before April options expire, 57 the May and 85 the June.
Blue chip stocks (SPY) closed the latest regular session at $116.65, down 0.2% from the prior close.


SPY closed within today's DeMark pivot points but traded above for awhile by as much as $1.03. The next DeMark pivots are $115.75/$117.41.


In total, 3. billion shares were traded on the three major U.S. stock exchanges, up 15.2% from the day before.

On the jump, mediawatch, rules, econ reports, portfolio and a good book...


Mediawatch:  The Narrative has earnings outlooks and the financial sector as the driver of today's somewhat tepid market action. It meets the plausibility test.

Well done, Stephan Bernard, Tim Paradis (AP) and Ryan Vlastelica (Reuters).

The most hysterical headline of the day is from Marketwatch, "U.S. stocks surge on Bernanke's reassurances".

OK. A) 0.7% is not a surge; it's stumbling out of bed, unshaven and hungover, with your eyes half open. B) Bernanke's reassurances, while of note, merely confirmed what the FOMC has been saying for awhile; it's useful for a longer term view, but it's hardly a market mover.

Get a grip, Kate Gibson.


What would it be like to open your accounts and never have any ugly surprises. Financial strategist Pamela Yellen tells how to get your money on the good news track.

Econ reports, the big day of the week:
  • Gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. If GDP continues to grow, then everyone will tell us tha the recovery continues. If it falters, then we will be scared.
  • Consumer sentiment at 9:55 a.m. This is the private-sector version of the government's consumer confidence report. Basically, if you're confident, then you can spend the nation back to prosperity and an ever-rising GDP. And if you're not confident, then the nation will remain mired in recession, and it will all be your fault. So start spending, please.

My rules allow trades in April covered calls, iron condors and butterfly, calendar, diagonal and vertical spreads.  I allow myself to trade unhedged call and put option purchases that expire in June or later.

My portfolio consists of . . .

April expiry:
  • XLE, iron condor, p55/-p56/-c59/c60
  • MCO, covered call, -c29
  • MGM, iron condor, p9/-p10/-c12/c13 
Dividend shares: AOD, JNK, NLY
    Zombie shares: PALM.

    Good trading!

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