|
The contents on this page are a small sample of StockTradersHQ's member resources (FREE Trial!)
1.
Our staff of professional technical traders analyze 1,000's of potential stocks every day to provide you with a list of stock picks with the greatest potential for explosive gains.
2. These stockpicks are traded with our real-time portfolio. Email alerts are sent for every entry and exit. Through the member-only website, you will have our support every step of the way.
3. Our subscription service provides all the resources, stock picks and tools an investor needs to make very profitable, consistent trades while maximizing gains and minimizing losses.
SEE OUR TOP PICKS FOR 2006...
|
|
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Market Recap
Until today, I had never seen a day when all three indices closed with the same point loss total. The DOW was down 1.84 points, the S&P down 1.80 and the NASDAQ lost 1.96. Round these figures off and all three closed down by 2 points. It is pretty amazing, really. Altria (MO) was up 4% today, due to a favorable court ruling and if it were not for that stock, the DOW would have been down much more.
It is been a tough couple of weeks for STHQ trading. We have attempted to play a market breakout but that has not occurred. Instead, the market is just flat lining in a basing, sideways pattern. Our tight stops to protect capital are continuously being taken out for small losses. Unfortunately, this is part of the business of stock trading. Stop loss orders are part of preserving capital so we can continue trading for many years to come. Those who fail to preserve capital will be out of business in a heartbeat. Believe us when we say that we are not happy about getting stopped out, but it sure beats the alternative of potential large losses. Look at tonight's chart of KOSP if you do not believe stop loss orders can save you.
The Enemy Within
Your emotions are your greatest enemy. One of the most difficult aspects of trading in today's market is handling your emotions. For many months, we have struggled through a market and an economy that has been difficult to say the least and frankly it has been very emotional for many. To say "do not get emotional" is pointless. Everyone is emotional about money and is one of the most significant obstacles to trading success. Large losses manifest as fear and large gains manifest as greed. Both are equally destructive to further success in trading.
The memories of the large losses or large wins stay with us and cause an inability to move forward. Our challenge is to learn from those trades and not make the same mistakes, as well as duplicate what we did that was successful. In the case of a loss, yes, remember what went wrong but forget about the trade. It is a fine line but the best traders forget about a loss the minute they take it and move on. They are confident in their system and their ability to execute it. It is not about the money for these people. It is about finding a system that will bring them more profits than losses. The best traders know how to take losses and not become depressed, angry, jealous, disgusted or defeated. They know how to take gains without gloating, boasting, or becoming outrageously happy. They only see the trade that they are about to enter, not the trade that just ended. All past trades are out of sight and out of mind. Refer to your trading journal to review your trades to find out what worked and what did not but do not dwell on any particular trade.
Fear is a learned response to a particular event or probability. In the case of trading, when you have a trade that goes bad, the regret and frustration can carry over into the next trade. Or worse, the fear is so consuming that you do not enter your next trade. Of course, Murphy's Law dictates that the trade you do not enter turns out to be the stock that has the big gain and is the one that you should have entered, which only compounds your frustration and adds to your greed. This particular problem is fueled by the expectation that every trade you enter should be profitable and we all know that not every trade will be profitable.
Greed creates the opposite problem. With a couple of consecutive winning trades, the ego can enlarge and feeling invincible overcomes logic. This will ultimately lead you to trades that you normally would not have entered. Finding good trades is hard enough, while finding poor trades seems to get much easier after a couple of winners. Never mistake genius for a little luck.
Fear blinds us to opportunity; greed blinds us to danger. Emotions cause perceptual distortion and get in the way of logical thinking. It is important to recognize your emotions, and more importantly, how they affect your investing and trading approach. Emotions cannot be eliminated but they can be controlled. You must be under control when you trade. Somebody sold KOSP today at $50.71. They lost control; do not let this happen to you. Keep your stops in place and take the emotion out of the trade.
Stockcharts Listing
Please vote for us once a day at Stockcharts.com.
http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/Favorites.CServ...
Thank-you for voting!
STHQ Chart Index
If you go to the chart index in the left side menu, you can review and study charts we have annotated for each stock listed in the past.
Earnings Calendar
We have added the earnings link for each stock on the bulletin. To access the link for earnings you can either use this link below or click the link on the bulletin for the corresponding ticker. Click the online bulletin in the left side menu for access to the earning calendar for each stock listed. It is not recommended to hold a position through earnings. You can always buy the stock back after the dust settles.
http://www.earnings.com
For New Members:
Please take a moment to read the "How To Use The Bulletin" link at the bottom of the Bulletin page on the website. It is critical you understand how to use this trading tool before trying to trade the stocks mentioned. The effectiveness of your trades will diminish if you do not completely understand how the information is presented.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
