Pre-open 07-27-06...

What a day yesterday, extremes on both ends. My quick trades in ZMH and AFFX paid off, but CHH got killed and was a signficantly larger position than the other trades. That's the market and why I'm in this game. It's excitement, intrigue, and sheer madness. The AFFX trade is especially interesting as it was a guess over APCC. Both stocks were looking strong as 11am was approaching. Basically a 50:50 toss-up. I cannot find much difference between the two: APCC was slightly higher than its sector whereas AFFX was equal to its sector. Both had similar CCI uptrends and slow stochastic cross-overs. In the end, it was just a lucky guess--yes guess--that put me in AFFX rather than APPC. Sometimes it is better to be lucky...

Enough about yesterday, today is a new day with cash to burn. My tcl/tk script returned 110 charts but I only found 5 candidates: MDC, PWR, DE, PMCS, THC. Some interesting names in the group and most are highly liquid but do not usually show dramatic moves. I'll wait and see how things look around 11am and trade accordingly.

Some say an investor should never look back, but I enjoy it. Not because I am egotistical nor rear-sighted, but because it is interesting to play "what if" and more importantly, "shoot, I should've and made more money". It is good to look back and see what worked and what did not. So, with that in mind, I took a look at CNCT yesterday, and noticed that I had cut my profits well too soon, BUT, in doing so I saved myself from a -3% move yesterday. I sold at ~$8.45, but the stock peaked a few days later at ~$9.50. I missed out on ~10%. But looking at the chart and the small body, near doji, formed on Friday, I am sure I would've exited then, likely at a lower price. In the end, I think I made the right move and am happy to take +5% any day. My motto continues to be: I am not afraid to take profits (i.e. make money) and cut losses short. In conclusion, it is fun, insightful, and educational to look back at missed opportunities, but nothing can prepare for the present, when emotions are at their highest and a profit hangs in the balance.

As always, I'll update the blog if I make a move, otherwise, it's the weekend soon and I am ready...

For now,
Masterjaz out