I’ve been moving up my Stops to…
… until things stabilize. Below are a few positions that hit my Stop in the past 2 trading sessions.
Tuesday’s
MMM
Symbol: (NUVO)
Type: Short
Entry: Half way through the 6th bar
Exit: Protection Cover executed at the 7th bar high
Result: Lost -3.41%
Another poor judgment that led to a devastating lost. I've been monitoring (NUVO) during the past 2 days, and I knew that this stock has been active. When I saw the 3rd bar closing clear of the Opening Low, I didn't bother because I slightly concern about the lower tails in the first 3 bars. 4th bar came a hammer, followed by a weak 5th bar. Once the 5th bar has completed at its low, I decided to enter Short. The prices went down so fast that by the time my order was in, I was already half way down the 6th bar. When the 7th bar turned North, it's when I realized that the 'some-what' falling 5eMA was a long way back! I panicked! Because I want to minimize my risk! I know that if the prices re-test the 5eMA resistant, I will get very uncomfortable. More importantly (stupidly), had I take a look at where the 5eMA was before I enter, I would not have even bothered! I made a rush decision... AGAIN!!! How disappointing!
With all these thoughts going through my mind, while watching prices heading up towards the 5eMA, I made the decision to Cover my loss and forget about it! I am just not mentally prepared for this battle! I realized that I just went into a fight without properly preparing myself, both mentally and mathematically!
Looking back at the charts now, I can tell you that my first target was the 119% Fib. Ext. My second target was at $4.34, which was the Support established 2 days ago. My final target was at $4.11 which is the Resistant established back in March. As of right now, it doesn't appear that (NUVO) will hit any of my target. Still, had I have the guts to stay-in, I would still be better off than a 3% loss!
I felt that I was prepared at that instance. But I was wrong. It seems that I always missed something before I jump into a trade. I am just too inexperienced! I am beginning to think that I need to practice more before I get into more real money action. :-(
Symbol: INCY
Type: Long
Entry: At almost the top of the 10th bar
Exit: Stopped out close to the bottom of the 13th bar
Result: Lost -1.42%
I really need to learn how not to jump into trade too quickly! I thought I caught the consolidation from the 4th through the 8th bar, with a few Inside Bars and Narrowest Range Bar. I told myself that if the price moves above the Opening High, I will go Long. I was distracted for a moment, and when I come back to this setup, the 9th bar was already completed, and at that moment, the 10th bar seemed to me that it was going strong. Therefore, I entered Long, and expecting to exit at the 113% Fib Ext.
Not only did the price not go up, it re-tested the 5eMA support, almost as soon as I have entered the trade. The next bar showed a slightly positive bar, and I thought the situation would have changed for the better when the 12th bar closed at its high.
Man! Was I wrong again?! My Protective Stop was set to slightly below the, now flat, 5eMA. And it was executed during the 13th bar meltdown.
What did I do wrong? I wouldn't know unless I check with the Pros... which I will! But before I hear from them (assuming that they will respond), my criticisms for myself is:
1) When the 7th bar broke the Opening Range high, there wasn't much Volume. I don't know if it matters!
2) I should have sticked with my original game plan by looking for bars that have cleared the Opening High. In this case, only the 4th bar had cleared the Opening High! I was observing the situation when the 4th bar completed, and I was not convinced that it was a good entry because the rising 5eMA was too far below.
I will post this setup to the Pros and see what they have to say. If you have input that you would like to share, please feel free to do so. I would like to hear from you.
Review by ADD Trader posted here.
Review by Wall St. Warrior posted here.
Symbol: JNS
Type: Long
Entry: Half way through the 6th bar
Exit: Stopped-out during at the low of the 9th bar
Result: Lost -0.72%
JNS gapped up this morning reaching beyond the opening-bar high during the first few candles. It finally cleared the Opening High on the 5th bar by closing above the High. Although it was a 'down' candle, I took the risk of entering Long, once I saw the price raised beyond the 5th bar high. My initial target was the 119% Fib. Extension, and my Protective Stop was set slightly below the opening bar high. Maybe I should have at least set the Protective Stop at the low of the 3rd and 4th bar. But this is speaking after the fact. :-(
Symbol: GOOG
Type: Long
Entry: 3rd bar from the right, when the price went above previous bar's high
Exit: Last bar from the right, almost close to the bottom of the bar
Result: Lost -1.13%
This is a pathetic loss due to poor management. But before I talk about how I turned this winning trade into a losing trade, let me tell you how I got the idea of his GOOG trade.
Kevin from Kevin's Market blog has been blogging about how whenever Google has a weekly inside bar, from the previous week, if the following week's price exceeds the inside bar's high (or low) of the previous week, he will go Long (or Short) respectively. I know I'm confusing you. Read about his observation here and here.
Following Kevin's approach, I managed to enter Long when the price went above the previous week's high. In fact, according to Kevin's post, I was commited even before he did.
But the problem is, I was stuck in a meeting on the following Friday, before the Market closed. I failed to exit by week's end, and led me to a loss when the market re-opened on the following Monday. Unfortunately, GOOG wasn't doing too well on that Monday, and since I didn't know if I should hang on or not, I decided to exit the holding for a small loss. (Well, it isn't really that small.) Had I managed to exit on that Friday afternoon, it would have been a gain!
I guess this is the price that I have to pay when I'm trying to trade, while working a full-time job. I just have to learn how to better manage my time.
Symbol: CAL
Type: Short
Entry: The beginning of the 9th bar
Exit: Stopped-out during the 11th bar
Result: Lost -0.41%
This one puzzles me. The 7th bar was a Doji, a sign of reversal (I thought). And I waited for the reversal confirmation. Here came the a weak 8th bar closing close to its low, and below the Opening Low. I thought 'bingo!' I entered Short at the beginning of the 9th bar, and everything went North! My Stop-Loss kicked in during the 11th bar.
Symbol: SPF
Type: Short
Entry: The beginning of the 9th bar
Exit: Stopped out during the 14th bar
Result: Lost -0.69%
I caught up with SPF after it tested the 119% Fib. Extension during the 5th bar. It then retraced back towards the 5eMA. Then I saw the weak 8th bar closing close to its low. I entered Short during the 9th bar thinking that the falling 5eMA will push the prices to re-test the 119% Fib Ext., but it didn't. It Stopped Out during the 14th bar, and eventually ended its reaching the 81.9% Fib Ext.
Symbol: INTU
Type: Short
Entry: The beginning of the 16th bar
Exit: Stopped out mid-way through the 21st bar
Result: Lost -0.29%
INTU remains on my screen today, I was still hoping another opportunity to win back some money that I lost today. I noticed that the 15th bar was a very weak, closing close to its low, and beyond the Opening Range low. Therefore, I took a chance to enter Short, hoping that the falling 5eMA will continue to push the prices down towards the next Fib. Extension. Unfortunately, prices consolidated sideway, and I was stopped out on the 21st bar. My Stop was set really tight, on purpose, because I wasn't sure about my own observation either. No to mention that I do not inflict further damages to my account today!
Symbol: IMCL
Type: Long
Entry: The beginning of the 10th bar
Exit: Stopped out during the 14th bar
Result: Lost -0.44%
I saw the strong 9th bar that closed at its high. With the rising 5eMA, I was hoping that the rising price will continue to ride along the eMA, and wishing thinking that, it will break through the Opening High and continue upwards to the next Fib. Extension.
It turned out that the price did break-through the opening high but it went out of steam. It failed to close above the Opening High in the next few bars, and eventually fell back. My Stopped Loss kicked during the 14th bar.
Looking back now, I think this trade was too agressive and optimistic. It is definitely not the style of trading that I can afford to practise at this stage of my trading-life.
Symbol: INTU
Type: Short
Entry: The beginning of the 10th bar
Exit: Stopped out during the 11th bar
Result: Lost -1.19%
Looking back, it is rather obvious that it was a bad decision to go Short on the 10th bar. I had no clear signal from the chart that the momentum is heading for a rerversal. Just because the falling 5eMA was approaching, the prices could have easily break through the eMA. This is a very poor trade!
Symbol: IMCL
Type: Long
Entry: The beginning of the 7th bar
Exit: Stopped out during the 9th bar
Result: Lost -0.21%
With the rising 5eMA and series of Doji Bars signifying uncertainties, I took a gamble to enter a Long position at the beginning of the 7th bar. My Stop Loss was set at the bottom of 3rd bar, believing that the support has clearly established in the past hour or so. My target was the Opening High. Unfortunately, some crazy activities happened during the 9th bar, creating that long lower shadow, which led to my Stop-order to triggered. Otherwise, I would have hit my target 2 bars later.
Message to my 7 readers:
Do you have any suggestion as to how I should have managed my Stop in future, to prevent similar event from happening?
Symbol: FDX
Type: Short
Entry: The beginning of the 9th bar
Exit: Stopped out during the 13th bar
Result: Lost -0.14%
Both the 7th and the 8th bar appeared to be riding downward along the falling 5eMA. Therefore, I entered on teh break of the 9th bar. The protecting-order triggered during the 13th bar. Looking back, I think I should have been cautioned by the shadows of the 7th and 8th bar, and waited.
Symbol: AXL
Type: Long
Entry: The beginning of the 6th bar
Exit: Somewhere on the 8th bar low
Result: Lost -1.03%
It was a Doji bar on the 5th bar with the rising 5eMA acting as support that led me to go Long at the beginning of the 6th bar. I was stopped out later on the 8th bar. My stopped may have been too tight, but it turned out that it was a blessing... kind of.
