The Last Trading Day Of 2017 12-29-17

Futures jumped overnight. I thought that we would see the new highs of 25000 and 2700 for Dow and S&P respectively in the last trading day of 2017. But sellers kept these numbers off the limits today. I guess they wanted to save it for 2018. Indices actually sold off before closing and closed at the low of the day.

Made 12 trades. Rolled up Lao Dong's last RUT bear call to late Jan. I found it was easier to roll when both spreads are ITM. I was able to roll my SPX bear call spreads up again. It was my third roll up since moved them from ET. On the other hand I haven't able to roll the RUT short calls even without getting any premiums since the long leg is OTM. Also sold couple RUT bull puts for clients but I don't have room for my account. I need to hold off of selling put spreads in order to save margins for rolling. The rest of the trades were buying hedges on both side. Made it to safe level for the weekend.

Net liq climbed back above 110K. Margin ratio is above 60%. Leverage is below 50 for the first time since ET transfers.

No Sign Of Weakness 12-28-17

Market held up well today with a later session ramping up. Dip buyers won't miss any chance to scoop up asset. Are we going to see Dow and S&P reaching 25K and 2700 tomorrow? Both are within their daily range.

Made 9 trades today. I was able to roll out the last 2 of my deep ITM RUT calls during a small window of weakness in the morning. Could't get a client's position rolled after price moved away. Also closed a set of SPY 267 calls to preserve some capital. I plan to use the fund to buy IWM or QQQ long calls next week. I lost some nice gains to time decay during this choppy week despite they are ITM. Closed AAPL bull puts for clients.

Net liq slides below 110K again. Margin ratio is at 41%. I was able to rise margin up for next week. I need to do more tomorrow to make sure there is enough cushion. Margin is on put side now.

Black Friday - A Half Day Of Work 11-24-17

Even on this a half trading day bulls continued to push indices to new highs. SPX and NASDAQ made new highs again. This holiday rally started before the Black Friday.

Made 7 trades. Rolled SPX 2265 twice for 2 weeks out and reduced the loss to about $300 with selling a set of puts. This is a tough act to continue. Left one IWM long call for assignment. The rest of the trades were exiting positions.

Net liq stayed above the water at 112K. May not get through next week if market continue to rise which is very likely. Margin ratio is fine for the weekend. Get to learn and figure out new approaches to reduce my leverage. It crossed 250 again.

Awaiting For The New Year 12-27-17

Indices closed much unchanged after explored up and down within small ranges. It feels like big money is just waiting for the new year. I am not sure if we will see a meaningful pull back after the new year. Instead there may be another leg up first since every dip met with buyers.

Made 6 trades today. All of the small long calls were rolled to January.  Have not been able to move any of the big cars. I will need to do it tomorrow. No new premiums were collected.

Net liq moved back above 110K. Margin ratio stayed at 45%. The predicted balance over the weekend is still a concern. I will have to boost it up in next two days.

Day After Christmas 12-26-17

It's expected to be quiet and slow. Tech rotation appears continuing. AAPL and BABA both were down more than 2% while small caps inching up. S&P held steady. I don't expect much movement before the new year. Big money is holding on gains for better tax treatment next year.

Made 11 trades. About a half of them were exit orders. Sold BABA's Feb 3 put spreads as it dropped 2%. Got about 15% out of the money. Rolled a couple of small cars out of this week. I still have some SPY and IWM ITM or ATM left need to roll out tomorrow. There are couple of deep ITM RUT bear calls must go out as well.

Net liq eroded a little more. Margin ratio is at 45%. The problem is that the predicted balance would be below zero for next week. I have shore up before end of this week.

A Day Of Going Nowhere 12-22-17

It was expected for market to marking time the day before Christmas long weekend. Majors traded slightly underwater for most of the day in choppy mode.  I guess people are taking off for the holidays.

Made 8 trades. I was able to roll 5 pts for the SPX ET positions and made $120 without impacting margins. I then sold only 1 PS instead of 2 of the matching quantity. I was concerned putting too much pressure on put side in case a sudden pull back after the New Year. The rest of them were just small car adjustment. I also closed 2 SPY long calls at -50% to void further decays of next week.

Net liq stayed the same. Margin ratio is at 45%. It looks OK for the weekend. Will try to enjoy this Christmas break. This year is almost behind now.

Chopping Up 12-21-17

Indexes gaped up again this morning. There was energy pushing the market up in early afternoon but faded before cash closing. The three majors traded within yesterday's range leaning toward upside. They may hold it for another push after Christmas.

Made 7 trades. Mainly traded small cars. I rolled everything to next week and beyond. Collected some ITM profits but the strikes are closer to the money now. Any meaningful pull back will cause my long calls lose a big chunk of value. If that happens then my short calls should recover some. 

Net liq dipped below 110K. I maybe able to hold it though this weekend if there is no big surge tomorrow. Margin ratio is down to 43%.

Muted Reaction On Passing Tax Bill 12-20-17

Market chopped around on the passing of Tax Bill today. SPX was only 10 point away from 2700. I assume that they want to reach it before the year end. RUT is still legging with the other majors. Market is waiting on something? It may take another shot after Christmas.

Made 7 trades today. Four of them were exit orders. I rolled out RUT bear call spreads from ET for a week without gaining any point. Then sold a put spread to cover the cost of the rolling with $180 extra premiums.

Net liq is barely above my warning mark. Margin ratio is near 50% and projected OK for this weekend. Still try to figure out how to reverse bear call to bull put. The hard part is to roll strikes for the long puts.

Will We See Selling The News 12-19-17

Major indices opened high then reversed to close lower as the House voted to pass the tax bill. It could be the big money is unwinding some of their positions before the holiday weekend. The tax bill is almost in the bag so the excitement of uncertainty is not there any more.

Made 11 trades. Sold some late Jan RUT bull puts across board on the small pull back. I am still trying to figure out a better way to pearl off these deep ITM bear calls from ET. The old way of raising 5-10 points each month is too slow and inefficient for this bull market. I am falling way behind.

Net liq improved some as the market pulled back a little. But my long calls suffered too. Margin ratio is back to 50%. The leverage level of 50+ is a concern. It doubled as the transfers from ET though there were equal  or higher amount equities came with the bear calls.

Tax Bill Near Done 12-18-17

Index futures gaped up Sunday night on news of more GOP senators supporting the bill. It looks like the vote is a sure thing today. SPX and NASDAQ booked new ATHs. RUT is up another percent and near making another ATH. My deep ITM calls finally came to IB from ET today which let me have more room to maneuver. The risk is still very real since there are more deep ITM bear calls dragging by relentless raging bulls.

Made 14 trades. I was able to lock in some profit with my small cars in the call side and roll them further out. I don't want lose my long calls as hedge but I don't have enough cash to let them going to stocks either. So eventually they will be out of the money with a pull back. My guess is that smart money will start to sell to book some profit after new year.

Net liq lost some ground with new positions from ET and today's new highs. It's right at 110K right now. Margin ratio is down to 40%. I may have to wire my last 10K in to weather this year end push. My portfolio delta is positive so it my help to offset some margin damages. I will continue to figure out different ways to pill off some of my bear calls.

All About The Tax Bill 12-14-17

Bulls retreated mid day after a Senator withdrawing his support for current version of the bill. RUT and SPX closed -1.1% and 0.4% respectively. I don't think the bill is in serious trouble yet. They will do anything they can to pass it.

Made 11 trades with a half of them exiting orders. Sold RUT bull put spreads of end Jan. Rolled a deep ITM RUT for 5 points gain with one month extension. The math is not working for me. My position transfer is still up in the air. Tomorrow is a critical day.

Net liq is up 2.5K.  The Delta neutral strategy has stabilizing effect. Margin ratio is above 150% but it may reduce 15K after weekly expiration.  

An No Impact Rate Hike 12-13-17

Fed raised interest rate by 0.25 point as expected. Market didn't react to the news much at all. The tax bill tentative agreement did drive indexes higher before the FOMC announcement. The three majors made new ATHs again. The bulls won't stop until the tax bill is passed.

Made 11 trades. Moved all expiring longs for this week and booked some profit. I made another poo poo. I forgot to cancel a QQQ roll out order after placing one to replace it. It didn't even occurred to me to cancel the other one. I repeated a mistake of picking a wrong strike again to day. I guess I have been distracted and stressed with the position transfer glitches. I was calm earlier and noticed my emotions. Then I slipped off the zone. I need to remind myself to step away when I can't concentrate.

Net liq is in chopping state. It's still weak to the upside. I need hedge calls for Dec 29 before the positions coming. Margin ratio is fine. Will lose about 12K after the weekend.

Marking Time Before FOMC and Tax Bill 12-12-17

Dow and SPX made new entra day highs on news of tax bill progress while NASDAQ and RUT traded flat for most of the day. I think market is marking time for FOMC and the tax bill. The democratic win in Alabama senate race may change sentiment somewhat for tomorrow's market. But market has very short memory though.

Made 11 trades. Most of them were just extending positions. Sold ISRG bull put spreads for the first time. I need to extend my winning hedges to longer time period. It may save their values for less decay and commission cost.

Net liq still range bounded. Margin ratio is above 100%. Leverage is still above 250. These RUT ITM positions on both side may be the reason. I need to stay calm for FOMC  tomorrow.

FOMC No Longer A Force? 12-11-17

Major indices continue holding up on Monday. It's expected that FOMC will hike rate this Wednesday. It seams no impact to the market. The tax bill is a more important matter for now. I will try to add more longs to ride the wave.

Made 11 trades today. Most of the were rolling small cars up and out to extend my hedges. Added 3 more SPY longs during the process. Also made two mistakes in configuring orders. One was picked a wrong expiring date and the other was a wrong strike price. It hasn't happened in a long while. I guess I was stressed and distracted by the position transfer issues between IB and ET. My trail of the first partial transfer was rejected as there was not enough margin in ET to cover the rest of the positions. I made 2nd try today to move all the bear call spreads along with evaluate value of long stocks. My plan is not to impact my net liq negatively in IB after the transfer.

Net liq didn't change much and still hang around 115K area.  Margin ratio is safe for now but the weight is shifted to call side again. I need to get it back to put side before the transfers arrives.

Await For NFPR Tomorrow 12-8-17

Market reversed from selling of the last few days positioning for FNP tomorrow. The expected number is 198K. It will be an event to cause some movement regardless how the number comes out. The sentiment is still bullish.

It's a light day. Made 7 trades. No premiums collected. I rolled the SPX bear call spreads in ET to end of this month. I talked to both side brokers trying to figure out what's the best way to transfer my positions without impacting margins in both accounts. But got no clear answer from either side. I decided to try SPX first while waiting for RUT puts to close and roll it tomorrow. Be prepared to run into glitches with the transfer. I have to try it since there is no room left in ET. Keep my figure crossed.

Net liq dropped a little. Net liq is still the concern. Margin ratio is above 50% for now. Another 1-2% surge would require more funds to cover.

Divergence Between Small Cap and The Rest Caps 12-6-17

RUT continued to under pressure while SPX held up and NASDAQ advanced nicely. It was similar to late Oct then RUT popped very strongly after a decent pull back. Market may be in waiting mode for the tax bill to go through. The up trend is intact.

Made 10 trades. Sold RUT late Jan 18 bull puts during today's pull back. Rolled the rest of small cars expiring in this week. I am trying to hold my longs during this consolidation period. RUT pushed into 1510 threatening my bull puts in ET. I will see if RUT will pop so that I can make b/e for this trade. It's going to be tough for the next two days as I am trying to roll these bear calls in ET further out in order to transfer them to IB.

Net liq stayed in range as the two deep ITM puts offsetting gains during the pull back. Margin ratio is above 60%. Leverage is still above 250 which is high. The danger is still in the upside with limited net liq.

Selling On The News 12-5-17

I was taking annual physicals in Northlake Yesterday. Market reversed after a big jump on Sunday night and Monday morning. Luckily I was able to catch some pull back. Rolled that RUT deep ITM put from 1650 to 1590 in a 1 to 2 split. Buyers couldn't hold their gains yesterday and today. RUT gave back 1% today. It looks like a sell on the news after the Senate passed its version of tax bill on Friday night.

Made 12 trades. Rolled most of this week's small calls out to preserve my hedges. Sold some IWM bull put CS for clients. Also rolled up couple of deep ITM RUT bear calls adding 5 pts each. The negative side of this pull back is that my RUT 1510 put spreads in ET is in danger now. I may have to take a hit to exit out.

Net liq improved a little since my delta is slightly positive after reversed that bear call to bull put. Margin ratio is above 80%. Leverage is still above 250. I am planning to transfer most of my holdings in ET to IB to resolve the margin issue. Will call IB tomorrow to clarify couple issues. Don't want to have any unexpected glitch to cost me major headaches.

The Senate Tax Vote Is Near 11-30-17

Dow and SPX popped but RUT legged today while senators were debating their tax bill. Indexes all closed higher more or less. The vote was delayed after hour. They will schedule it for tomorrow. It looks like they will do whatever it takes to pass it. So expect another surge if it passes.

Made 8 trades. 4 of them were in ET. Tried to raise strikes within the same expiring week It took less to gain 5 points but appeared costing more to roll the positions to next week. I will have to experiment more to see if it works. Market makers are difficult to deal with on expiration day. I ended up losing $450 to roll up 1 week with 1.5K margin expansion. What a bad deal.

Net liq stayed above neck line. Thanks to these long calls that offset the effect of price pop. Margin ratio is above 100 and on put side. Now need to watch out the put side. Have 2 RUT bear calls must roll by tomorrow.

Sector Rotation or Floor Cracking 11-29-17

Market diverged somewhat today. RUT was up near 0.5% while NASDAQ sold off near 2%. SPX ended flat. Money seems rotating out of tech and moving into large and small cap. Dow was up recording another new high. Indexes are not moving in sync. The tax bill looks more and more like will pass. Are we going to see a pop or sell on the news? My will be squeezed again if we get another pop. Senate vote is scheduled on this Friday. I may place more hedges on tomorrow.

Made 7 trades. Had to covert a deep ITM RUT 1425 call to 1650 put. Took a lose of $900. The bear calls are threatening to bring net liq below 100K. Both are problematic but had to choose one less damaging. Added more long calls in small cars with 1:2 roll up.

Net liq went below 100K. Had to wire another 10K in. Looks like it's not enough. I started to dip into IRA already. Need to look further where I can convert positions from call to put and deleveraging. I will have to roll my RUT in ET by tomorrow. It looks like another hit is waiting.

Nothing Could Stop The Bull 11-28-17

Market opened slightly up and appeared range bounded. Then the news of stopped negotiation of budget talk and another North Korea missile launch didn't shack the market much. When Senator budget committee passed the tax proposal all indexes broke out to the upside. All majors booked new ATHs. SPX and RUT closed up 1 and 1.5% respectively. The sentiment is very bullish for the tax bill and year end seasonality. There are more to come unless the tax bill is stalled.

 Made 13 trades. I made couple 1:2 split ITM small cars through rolling to add more long calls. Also made the same split in SPX and RUT OTM calls. They were filled before the breakout and turned out to be timely. I plan to add more long calls with any weakness.

Net liq took a blow of 10K today. It's firmly in the red zone. I will have to wire fund in tomorrow. Margin ratio is well above 50 thanks to these long calls. Leverage is at 3 for the first time. It's alarming. I will have to  look for funds in my IRA account the weather this rally.

Waiting For News 12-27-17

Market opened slightly up and closed slightly down. It's in a waiting pattern again. Waiting for the new FED Chairman confirmation and Senator's tax bill process. The late may cause a big wave.

Made 12 trades today. Sold Jan 2018 RUT bull puts CS on early pull back. The rest of them were hedges and closing positions.

Net liq kept 5K above water. Margin is health for now. I continued to get email replies about my deep ITM calls. Some people are nice and willing to help.

Pausing Before Thanksgiving 11-22-17

Market took a breather on this day before Thanksgiving. Indices maintained in a small range. SPX and RUT closed slightly lower perhaps short term traders took off some chips off table before the long weekend. NASDAQ is the only one made a new high again.

Made 9 trades. Bought couple of long calls for hedging and rolled the small cars out to collect some profit and extend my hedges. I bought SPX 2610 calls in ET to prepare for roll on Friday. Feel like that I should have waited until Friday to let it decay a little more. But market only open until noon so I was worried I may not have enough time to do it. Well I take responsibilities for my action. If market goes up on Friday I will win otherwise I may loss $100 or so.

Net liq survived today thanks for the final closing down. Margin ratio is healthy. Leverage is above 200 again since the run up started last week.

Well, Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am thankful for everything and I am still alive.

Another Punch 11-21-17

The year end rally continues. Stock indexes gaped up following Asia and Europe markets. Major markets around globe are synchronized in bullish dance. SPX touched 2600 for the first time and RUT firmly stand above 1500, up to 1519. It's into my target of 1520-1530 area. I felt been punched in my stomach again today. It's relentlessly pushing up. RUT could build another balance area around 1550 after today's new high. I need to hedge or play long more aggressively.

Made 6 trades across all accounts. Rolled my ITM SPY and IWM up to extend hedging time and collect some profit. Luckily I placed a RUT call hedge early in the session. GE is still dripping down. I tried to place a ratio hedge but didn't get filled. The SPX puts in ET is closed but I couldn't roll the bear calls It looks like I may have to take another loss to roll it.

Net liq suffered a 6K blow and is at 113K now. My line in the sand is 110K. I may have to wire fund again. Hope I don't have to do it before this Thanksgiving weekend. My funds a stretched thin now.

RUT Is Turning Up 11-20-17

RUT/IWM continued to move up for 3 consecutive days and added 3% today. MACD daily is turning up. SPX and QQQ had only mild price actions and their MACDs are still in negative territory. Small caps are leading up and down. I need to watch if RUT/IWM will make a new high or a lower high. The later is unlikely since market sentiment is so bullish unless any bad news in tax reform come out.

9 trades got filled today. 3 of them were pending exit orders. I bought some RUT/IWM hedges using risk reversal in the morning before they surged. It turned out to be good timing.  Also rolled this week's ITM QQQ to extend my positions. Too bad no premiums were collected although I tried to sell couple of ETFs.

Net liq got hit again. It's down to 119K now. Margin ratio is above 70% after last week's expiry. I will have to roll the SPX positions in ET tomorrow.

The Day of Turn Around 11-16-17

Futures moved up overnight in lock steps with the Congress's tax bill vote schedule. All major stock indices were up 1% at highs of the day. RUT almost made 2% then closed up 1.5%. With the tax bill moving along and year end seasonality this rally may be just starting. My rough anticipation of the move was close. Now need to plan how to further play the movement. QQQ made another ATH. SPX is only 15 point away from that big 2600 mark.

Made 18 trades. The most difficult ones were rolling the SPX bear call in ET. My pre purchased CS didn't work so I had to close the short side first. The approach is better than roll both long and short together. I was able to roll the position b/e with selling put spreads. It's better than before. Other orders were mainly rolling existing positions and reduce margin on the put side. My efforts to preserve my long calls in small cars during the pull back paid off so far. Some of them are back ITM now.

Net liq lost 6K on this 1.5% rally. Margin ratio is down to 30%. It may not a bad idea to let margin stay on put side.

Welcome Another Down Day 11-15-17

Futures were dragged down overnight during Asian and European markets. The selling was more intense than last few days during the morning. As usual buyers stepped in after yesterday's lows were broken. QQQ and IWM's overnight gaps were closed. SPX was not. Congress is going to vote it's tax bill tomorrow which could trigger a turn around in market sentiment if it passes. RSI for majors are below 40 but some weekly MACDs are just about to cross down. Are we going to see more consolidation?

Made 12 trades. Rolled up 2 RUT and 1 SPX bear calls and gained a total 20 points. Also rolled some small cars out in attempts to save some of my long calls. Rolled out GE puts to next month as it bounced 2% today. It was a bad scalp due to my misjudgment. I have to roll out my SPX in ET tomorrow after the put side closes.

Net liq didn't change much. Margin ratio is down to 35% after I rolled these deep ITM bear calls with selling puts. Margin is still on put side.

When Will The 2nd Shore Drop? 11-14-17

Indices opened lower again today. As usual the buy dip crowd came in again within the first hour of open. But all the majors closed in negative territory. GE was down another 6%. I made a mistake selling $19.5 puts last Friday and now holding the bag in the money. RUT/IWM continue to make lower highs but not giving up the bottom. Feels that market is still waiting for the tax bill to come out. Congress is schedule to vote on it on Thursday while Senator is ironing out details. I still expect a push up when both houses release their versions of bills. Now it may be the base building before the year end pop unless the tax bill disappointing the market.

Made 7 trades today. Sold my 1st sets of January 2018 bull puts spreads in the morning. I rolled some SPY and QQQ further out to weather current pull back. I may close couple small ITM cars to book some profit before end of the week. Bought my first set of call spread to prepare rolling in ET. The intention is to hold off margin expansions. I will be aggressively roll the ITM RUT tomorrow to lock in some gains tomorrow.

Net liq fall a little after I transferred 3K to ET to boost margin over there. Margin is really tight so I have to work around it. Margin ratio is at 60% and it stays at put side.

Waiting 11-13-17

Market opened lower but recovered to B/E at closing. It appears market is waiting for tax reform development. There was no news came out today. So far it's moving alone and market has no sign of breaking down. I need to build hedges on call side in case any news break out. Congress is expected to vote on it before end of this week.

Made 8 trades but no premiums collected. Rolled some of my IWM calls further out which were losing value during this slow drifting down. IWM's bull flag pattern is still intact. Sold 3 GE bull put at 19.5 on a signal of break up of 3%  last Friday. It dropped 8% today after GE unveiled its plan of reform.

Net liq is flat around 135K. Margin ratio is back to 70% for now. The risk is still to the upside. My hedges for RUT calls wasted due to the down drift but need to continue to place it. I am planing to buy call spreads for my ET positions.

Possible Tax Rate Cuts Delay 11-9-17

Futures were dragged down by European market overnight. During the usual dip buying in mid morning that Senator's tax bill proposal came out suggesting a one year delay for the corporate tax rate cut. Market sunken for more than 1% reacting to the news. Then the majors recovered more than half of their losses at closing. Buyers are still active. It's possible that indices are pulling back to set up another run up before the year end.

Made 13 trades. Rolled the RUT bear calls in ET and sold put side to cover the cost. Get to deal with the SPX bear calls tomorrow. It's going to be a tough one. Sold bull puts in SPX and RUT for the late Dec across accounts. Rolled up some ITM QQQs. Have some SPY to roll tomorrow. Bought couple put to hedge margin.

Net liq stayed about the same. Margin ratio is at 36% and Margin stayed on the put side. I am too heavy on put side now. Risk is 5% on both side.

Rut Turn Around 11-8-17

It has been the case that the majors don't drop more than two days in this bull market. RUT opened to the down side and broke the low of yesterday. Then the dip buyers stepped in and closed the down gap. It ended the day up 0.15%. It appears that a test of daily low is completed if it moves back to its balance area above. On the other hand the weekly MACD started crossing down. It's all about the pending tax bill now. The success or failure of it would boost or shock the market.

Made 6 trades, mainly rolling long calls and hedging. Tried to sell TSLA and couple ETFs but no fill. As markets are grinding up and margin on the put side I hands are tight to sell bull puts. It was another no premiums day.

Net liq is slightly down. Margin ratio is at 28% due to heavy puts. I can fix it in the next two days

Russell Pull Back 11-7-17

Surprise! RUT pulled back 1.3% today while S&P and QQQ were barely down. RUT closed below recent balance low of 1482 after 4 previous tries. Though the break out is not decisive yet but it's a welcome sign.

Made 16 trades across board. Sold some mid Dec RUT bull puts. I rolled 2 deep ITM RUT calls gaining 5 points each. Margin is heavy on put side now. Tried to sell TSLA bull puts but didn't get filled.

Net liq gained a meaningful of 8.9K. Margin ratio is well above 60% for now. Delta is positive but better than negative before. I will try to get it to neutral.

Grinding Up 11-6-17

Major indices continued to grind up and marking new highs. It seams the only way the market is going now a days. Only RUT didn't make new high but it's coiling up around 1500. The narrowing B band indicating a likely expansion to the upside. MACD is also working out its lows. I guess it's waiting for the tax bill development.

Made 9 trades today. I locked and rolled some of my ITM SPY and QQQ long calls. I don't want to loss my hedging long positions, especially when they are in the money. The RUT PS in ET got closed today. I will try to roll the ITM calls tomorrow. Started selling TSLA PS again after its disappointing ER. I also added 2 IWM long calls with 2:1 ratio calendar long using some money made from QQQ and SPY.

Net liq is still in range bound. I had to transfer 1.2K out to pay cc bill. Margin ratio is above 60% and on put side.  I will try to roll up my deep ITM calls with any pull back.

New Tax Bill Released But No Blow Up Yet 11-2-17

I was so nervous about a blow up when the tax reform bill released. Market was under pressure before and after it. It couldn't sell off but couldn't get up much either until the closing that all the indexes went into positive territory. I suspend that market need time to digest the complicated tax proposal. Wait to see which way the wind will blow tomorrow. The seasonality is on bull's side though.

Made 11 trades. Continued to roll hedges and closing puts to release margin. Feels like spinning wheels but not getting anywhere. Not much premiums were collected. The SPX bear calls in ET still not rolled. I tested several ways but no winning solutions so far. I have to bite the bullets again tomorrow.

Net liq is still in 120K rang bound. Margin ratio stays above 60%. The weekend looks fine now after I placed some hedges today.

Something Odd Today 11-1-17

Index futures went up overnight along with European markets.  ES, NASDAQ and Dow made new highs after open then started falling. RUT was nearing its ATH but got rejected quickly. I was expecting the market would hold at the top considering that FOMC wouldn't raise rate and the tax bill was scheduled to release tomorrow morning. RUT made a round trip of 1.5% to reach its balance low for the third time. It closed down 0.7%. QQQ was lowered by 0.28%. I am not sure if this is another deck clear action or a possible sell on news. The ERs from FB and TSLA didn't do well after hour.

Made 9 trades. Only rolled one RUT 1365 ITM, up 5 points. the others were hedging and exiting positions. The positions in ET are still my major concern that won't get filled without widening margin which I am short of. I was mostly focusing on hedging call side. I am learning more aggressive ways to hedge, such as buy near the money vertical or ratio spreads instead of selling.

Net liq recovery most losses from yesterday. Margin ratio is back at 60%. Marin is still on put side. It will be quickly switched to call side if the market breaks up.

S&P And Dow Closed 7th Monthly Gains 10-31-17

A turn around Tuesday as expected. RUT led the pack and closed its gap from yesterday's down turn. It reached over 1% during the height of the day erased the loss of yesterday. The plan of releasing tax bill is pushed to Thursday. So the main event for tomorrow is fed meeting. Market doesn't expect much of changes from the FED. So there may not be much of a move unless Fed surprise the market with something unexpected which is very unlikely. Market is coiled for the tax bill to get another jump. Would we get a sell on the news? All the talks in media is about going up.

Made 8 trades today. Lock and rolled couple QQQ longs. Also rolled the other small cars to extend my hedges. Couldn't get into large cars today. I missed the morning pause. I will have to be more decisive tomorrow.

Net liq fall back below 120K again. Margin is still on put side and the ratio is at 38% now. It should come back up after the month end expiration.

Clear Deck Before Jump?

Indices traded lower except NASDAQ which made another new high then fall back. RUT closed 1.2% lower retested last week's low then bounced from there. Market was a little nervous as Russia investigation issued its first indictment. It may be a turbulent week with the Tax Reform Bill release, Fed FOMC and Fed Chair announcement. Today's pull back could be that market is clearing the deck before its next move.

Made 22 trades today. Sold few more Dec bull puts in RUT and SPX. Rolled the RUT bear calls and sold puts spreads to pay for it. It was a bad rollover last week cost me $330. Closed my 1480 ITM RUT for $2080 in fear of another pop. I wasn't patience and didn't follow my plan. I didn't read market's movement clear before taking actions. I was just thinking about to hedge the upside before the tax reform bill is released. I was anxious and didn't have a clear head.

Net liq upped 6K as RUT as down 1.2%. Margin is above 60% and on put side. My risk is still on the up side. Don't have any near the money bear calls in large cars to be able to exit in near term.

A Real Boring Day! 10-26-17

Market opened in positive territory. To my surprise a quick pop after the House passed the budget resolution was faded. I was going to buy couple near the money before the vote but couldn't determine the time of vote. It feels the market is not as strong as last time when Senator passed the budget resolution. I will still try to position more longs before the tax reform plan released next Wednesday. It was a boring day as I couldn't find many opportunity to get good premiums. My hands were tied since margin is on put side.

Made 7 trades. Most of them were adjust small cars as they were losing value fast due to the approach of expiry date. I had to sell 2 to buy 1 hence reduced my long calls. It could be a mistake for next week. I sold couple EWZ put for clients. That was all. AMZN, GOOG and MSFT reported better than expected earnings after hour. We may see more movements tomorrow.

Net liq still in a small range. Margin ratio is at 46%. I have one more ITM and several ATM positions to deal with tomorrow.

A Surprise Pull Back 10-25-17

Market started to show weakness not too long after open as the 10 yr bond rate moved up overnight. The push down was slow but persistent. Both SPX and RUT broke their recent range lows and crossed 1% down mark. Some late buyers got crushed in the morning. By 11 am dip buyers stepped in. Both indexes recovered a little more than a half of the losses. The house will vote on budget resolution tomorrow. It's likely to pass and give the market a boost. GOP also plans to release the budge bill by Nov 1st. I need to buy more calls to prepare for a possible surge. Today's pull back may be a clear deck action for another push up.

Made 19 trades today. Sold some SPX and RUT bull puts for late Nov and early Dec during the push down in the morning. My assessment of a later bounce was correct. Also roll out some small cars to next week expecting the heavy earning week and tax bills to boost the market. Sold some put ratio spreads to hedge my downside since margin is on puts now.

Net liq didn't change much at all with near a half percent down to my surprise. Margin ratio is at 40%. I will have to hedge it before the weekend.

An Inside Day 10-24-17

Market tried to lift up on Dow components good earnings. But closed on the lower side of day. May we see a small pull back before the tax bill release? Both SPY and QQQ MACDs are turning downwards but not crossing yet. RUT is in a squeeze pattern, likely to break out to the upside.

Made 7 trades today. Rolled my RUT 1400 ITM bear call up 5 pts. Sold a set put on GE, trying to recover from a bad call I made for a client. The rest of them were just extensions of some small cars on call side. Not much premiums were collected.

Net liq stayed in range. Margin ratio is down to 36% and it's on the put side. I will fix it before end of this week.

A Reminder Of The Black Monday, 1987? 10-23-17

Indexes opened slightly higher then got rejected. Market might have forgotten there were down ticks after after setting new highs for over a week in the three majors. All of them closed less than 1% down even though at lows of the day. Overall they are still within their current ranges and nothing was broken. I don't know if there will be a follow through tomorrow. Bullish sentiment has no change at all. Market is just getting into the heavy earning week. So far it should be treated as a consolidation.

Made 18 trades today. Sold some RUT bull put spreads while it dropped 0.7%. I also rolled some small cars out to extend my hedges. I also roll up couple of my ITM bear calls, gaining 5 point each. My major concern is still the positions in ET. I don't have a good solution to unwind them without taking heavy losses.

Net liq got a relief of 6K. Margin ratio is at 50%. I am thinking about to close the bear call of RUT 1480 for about 2K to release some available fund and possibly to move some funds to support these positions in ET.  

A Pull Back Short Lived 10-19-17

Futures retreated overnight on news of a regional deputes of Spain. I guess there was some nervousness of the market crash anniversary 30 yrs ago. It was a 10 point gap down open for ES. It felt big since SPX/ES have been up almost every day for 2 weeks. RUT was down 0.8% at the lowest point today. It wasn't even a 1% day. Indexes started to bounce back by noon time. Dow and SPX closed in green while RUT and NASDAQ erased most of their losses. It was another V shape day when people buy on dips. I didn't expect the dip would go too far since the budget vote is right on the corner.

Made 14 trades. Rolled over all of my ITM bear calls. Took a loss on SPX in ET positions. Exited clients' RUT right on the spot before market turned. It was a lucky trade. Bought couple puts for hedge but no call filled. Couple of my back ratio in UVXY got filled and rolled. There are more to deal with tomorrow.

Net liq only gained 2k at the end. Margin ratio is above 50% until the expiry tomorrow morning. Futures already up on Senator's vote of the budget resolution. It looks like a big up day tomorrow. RUT appears will make another ATH. The bull flag will play out. Will it be able to hold? The recent pattern suggest a likelihood of hold. It used to be drop after a new high.

RUT Turn Around? 10-18-17

As the earning reports continue SPX, Down and NASDAQ keep grinding up. The divergence of RUT didn't last long. It turned up 0.5% today, appearing to form a inverse HS after retest of its last break out area. yesterday. Watch to see if it will form a lower high on daily. Market may break out again when the senator vote on tax reform procedure in next couple days. Tomorrow is the 30 yr anniversary of 1987 market crash. Don't expect it will repeat itself.

Made 7 trades with only one ITM RUT rollover in ET. I bought another RUT 1540 next week call for $75 to hedge a possible break out like I did last Friday. The rest of trades were just roll up of my small cars. Didn't even look at ETF and Stock trades.

Net liq gave back more than the gains of yesterday. Margin is at 50% but predicted low for the weekend. I have 5 large cars to roll for tomorrow's expiration. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow.

Divergence In SPX and RUT 10-17-17

RUT made couple attempts to push up but met with sellers while SPX and NASDAQ continued to inch up booking new highs. RUT closed down 0.33% below its recent lows. However the bull flag is still holding so it could snap back any time.

Made 12 trades with a new stock bull put position. W was stand out from my scan down near 3% from its recent high. In branching out to ETF and stock options there is definitely learning curve. My recent ACRX bull put trade is under water now. Rolled 2 of my deep ITM RUT bear calls taking advantage of the small pull back and collected decent premiums. I have 6 such ITM positions to roll in next two days. Also need to protect some of the gains in small cars.

Net liq gained 3.5K. Margin is above 50% before the weekend. I will need to buy hedges on both side for next week.

The Grinding Continues 10-16-17

Major indexes continued to inch up. Dow, SPX and NASDAQ recorded new ATHs again. They are grinding up daily in small percentages. Luckily RUT failed to follow the pack. It run up in the early session then fall back to close down 0.02%. MACD is still to the down side but RSI is off the peak. RUT is still holding the bull flag and consolidating unless it break below 1490. This may not happen until earnings session winding down.

Made 11 trades. Bought some ACRX Dec $2.5 calls as it fall below $2 today. Our puts are in trouble now. My plan is to buy some calls using part of the premiums from selling the puts. ACRX may get a bounce since its dug was not totally rejected by FDA. It was asked to provide more test result. But it could be a loss on both side. I should have check related news before I place the order today. Also sold put spreads base on Terry's Tip. It was an aggressive trade selling put at current price. The rest of them were just spinning wheels. I need to figure out a way to take more directional bets with the current up trend.

Net liq stuck in the same range of 115K. A 1% pop in RUT will put me in trouble again. Margin is at 50% and stayed on the put side for now.

The Friday, Thirteenth 10-13-17

Nothing bad happened on this Friday, thirteenth. All the majors recorded another ATHs except RUT. Indices slowly grinding up. RUT tried to gain ground but closed near low of the day, -0.18%. MACD for RUT is still turning down. It may not break down but consolidating in range and waiting for next break out.

Made 12 trades. 3 closing orders hit. Opened another back ratio in UVXY after closed an ITM one with a small profit. Made two mistakes in the rollover of RUT 1185. First I missed the - sign again so a $50 credit became a debit. then, I forgot to cancel out the old order. So I had to pay to reverse that order. I noticed that I tend to make some simple mistakes when I am stressed. I need to recognize my emotional stages and act accordingly. Remember my procedures and follow it through. Also bought bought a RUT 1525C next week for $110 just in case there is a break out on the monthly expiry week. Rolled SPX short call in ET for a $80 credit for a change. Hedged both sides as well. Margin should be OK for the weekend. I left a SPY and QQQ ITM call for assignments. My reason is to leave some exposures on the upside.

Net liq is still in the chop zone. Margin is above 50%. Need to learn more directional plays. My delta is in deep negative zone.

Market Pause 10-12-17

Big banks, JPM and C reported earnings this morning and easily beat their estimates. They were sold off as it happens often. Majors pretty much under water slightly today. They bull flag patterns are intact.

Made 12 trades. Sold another biotech, ACRX which dropped 60%, from $5 to $2. I sold some 2.5 puts which is the lowest available. I plan to get assigned  if it's still under $2.5 by Oct 20th. Then wait for it recovers. Rolled out 2 of 4 ITM calls in large cars and couple of small cars. I plan to leave a SPY and a QQQ long call for assignment, thinking to hold some shares in case market pops on tax reform. Margin is on put side now. I tried to buy hedges on both side but couldn't get filled on this small range day.

Net liq is choppy too. It moved within 2K range. Margin ratio is right at 50%. Need to boost it before this weekend.

Another Fed Minute Day 10-11-17

Fed Minutes revealed that it is likely to have another rate hike before the year end. Market is so complacent and didn't even barge a bit. SPX and Down inched up and made new highs again. RUT closed down less than 0.10%, still holding the bull flag pattern. It may have another leg up although MACD crossed down its first bar.

Made 4 trades. Started rolling the ITM positions. I rolled more of my long calls in 1:2 ratio to extend hedging for next week. I searched many high IV ETF and stocks and placed several orders but none of them got filled. No meaningful premiums were collected. I am continuing to explore small underlines.

Net liq is still hanging around 112K. Margin ratio is above 50% and stayed on the put side. I have to work on rolling 4-5 ITM calls in the next 2 days.

Holding Up 10-10-17

Market hold up well today. Buyers stepped in on any dips. NASDAQ was down 0.4% at one point today but closed in positive territory. It's Fed minute release tomorrow. We may see a little volatility right after the release but don't expect any sustainable pull back. We may even see another record high of the majors. RUT's MACD is turning down on daily. But it's bull flag pattern is holding and BB built room up to 1540.

Made 3 trades.  Rolled up couple small ITM cons. Tried to sell couple leveraged ETFs but no fill. I decided to switch to small size underlines due to the size of my available margin and diversification consideration.

Net liq chopped within 2K range during this consolidation phase. Margin ratio is healthy for now. My weak spot is still on the net liq side. It's vulnerable to any upside surge.

A Reset Before Earnings? 10-9-17

Indices were faded after opening run up. The majors closed down slightly, RUT, SPX and QQQ gave back 0.4, 0.2 and 0.07% respectively. It's a range day as they are holding bull flags. It looks like market is taking a breather before this earning session start in the next day or two. On the other hand the MACDs for RUT and SPX start to tile down a little. It may be range bound to work out some of the over bought conditions like it did in early summer.

Made 12 trades. Rolled couple of ITM longs in the small contracts to add and extend my hedges. Didn't get much premiums collections. Also bought hedges on both side although margin is on put side now. Still in a tough spot of cash flow.

Net liq is up 2.6K. It's stocked in a range and could easily pushed to the cliff again. Margin is above 60%. I need a 3-5% pull back to get a meaningful relief but it's not likely with the current market sentiment.

Bad NFPR Could't Deter The Market 10-6-17

September NFP report was much worse than expected. Market was down slightly. NQ even closed in positive territory. It pretty much ignore any bad news. Earning session just started. I guess I have to prepare for a longer period of surviving. Any movement to the down side is a relief for me.

Made 15 trades today. I rolled out my ITM long calls in SPY to extend hedging while locked in some profits. Sold some bull puts in SPX and RUT for late Nov. with such a small p/b. Made another trading mistake in catching a news for a biotech stock. I entered a wrong tick between two screens. Since that Under Armor option is expiring today I had to take a small loss to exit it.

Net liq recovered 2K. It's insignificant but better than nothing. Margin ratio is above 50% and safe for this weekend.

Melt Up On Tax Reform Hopes 10-5-17

Congress passed its budget resolution, the first step to the tax reform. All major indexes went up, not bursting but slowly melting up. RUT, SPX and QQQ closed up 0.26, 0.58 and 1.02% respectively. They all made new highs. RUT's RSI has been above 85 for several days and it's still holding a bull flag pattern. It's in overbought condition but it may stay this way for much longer than I can stand.

Made 7 trades. Rolled out my deep ITM calls in both IB and ET. Booked a huge loss of 16K and collected some premiums. The available margin is a big threat now. I tried to buy calls to gain profit and to help roll the ITM positions. Those small cons I bought last month went into money and helped a great deal. Wish I had bought more.

Net liq gave back yesterday's gains. I am back in 110K level again. It RUT goes up another percent I will have to wire money again. So far I have pumped in 38K in the last two week. Cash flow is in crunch now.

A Little Breather 10-4-17

Market took a breath today. RUT was down 0.6% at one point but recovered a half of it at closing. SPX and QQQ inched up. S&P made another new ATH with only 0.12% advance. It appears that NASDAQ/QQQ is on the way to make new ATH again. Market is still on a strong up trend. RUT is holding its new balance area not falling back like previous new highs.

Made 5 trades in this light day. No premiums were collected. I entered a couple of long QQQ and IWM for a client. Not much was done but constantly checking.

Net liq is up 2.4K for a change. Had to wire another 10K to boost my net liq as it was hanging on 100K mark. The wire transfer I made from IBP to ETP failed yesterday. I had to do it again today.

New Highs, New Norm? 10-3-17

RUT pulled back 0.3% in the early session but made another new high by closing, up 0.2% at 1511. SPX and Dow also recorded new ATHs. In fact market do crash up. The assumption of Tyler is proven to be wrong which I believed in. A dear price paid.

Made 11 trades today. Using ITM RUT calls to fund 3 rollovers. Low vol condition didn't produce much of premiums. Rolled some small contracts as well. Collected over $500 premiums but it didn't help much of my net liq. I need switch more attention to other assets to keep it small and generate more income streams.

Net liq got pushed to the edge of cliff again. With 3K reduction I am barely above 100K. I have to wire fund in again tomorrow. The reserved fund is stretched as well. It may not withstand another 2-3% surge in indexes. I may have to take actual losses instead rolling if it happens.

RUT Made 1500 Marker 10-2-17

Market shrugged off the Las Vegas massacre and continued its march to new highs. RUT closed at 1508, up 1.2%. The far away target of a month ago is in its bag now. It appears that the market is rotating from tech to small caps. SPX is also reaching my projection of 2530, closed at 2529, up 0.4%. RUT is over bought in RSI and MACD daily. But MACD had only crossed its 2nd bar. It's a tough situation for me.

Made 10 trades today. I was mainly rolling the ITM small contracts using ITM long calls. They helped some but not enough. I woke up late today and missed the chance to buy more longs according to my plan of last night. Sold one RUT bear call spread for a client.

Net liq lost 9K, down to 103K again. My portfolio is under great pressure now. ETP account has 2.7K available to borrow. That's it. I have to wire fund again tomorrow. I remember I decided to not going to trade RUT last year. But I didn't come up with another underline product to replace it. I got hit again for not carrying out my hard learned lesson. I am paying tuition again.

No Relief Insight 9-28-17

Indices held up on their tops today. The sentiment is very strong with the tax reform proposal and upcoming earning session. Technically big money is likely to hold the market to show their quarterly results and window dressing. All of these are tough on my portfolios.

Made 6 trades today. Exited AXON with 70% profit of the premiums. Added a call of $30 strike for ZGNX to cover my risk on the call side. The rest of them were just exiting orders. Clients' RUT bear calls for this week were pushed into money. I have 3 to roll for them. I couldn't roll my positions due to the low net liq restrictions. I wired another 8K in and now it's not enough. I missed my SPY long call positions today. I don't know why I didn't see them. It may be the stress. I will have to savage them for what ever I can luckily them are ITM today.

Net liq got knocked down 3K. with 103K left it doesn't give me much room to maneuver. I will have to wire more funds tomorrow to survive if no pull back happens tomorrow. The two positions in ET is worrisome. I have to pay to roll them out, not even gain anything. Margin ratio is above 50% for now.  

RUT Pops 2% On Tax Proposal 9-27-17

My suspicion about market reaction for the tax proposal was partially realized. RUT popped 2% couple hours after the tax reform proposal was released. No any other indexes had such strong reaction, SPX and QQQ were up 0.4% and 0.85% respectively. Maybe because the later already made new ATH and on their way back. It could be also indicating that RUT is leading the market again. RUT hit me the hardest today. Couple of hedged calls in RUT and IWM went into the money. I used ratio rollover the extend my hedge which eased the blow somewhat. There may be a follow through in the next couple days considering its the month and quarter end. Big money may do some window dressing.

Made 14 trades. Most of them were rolling calls to extend hedges and getting away from ITM IWM calls. Also bought couple ZGNX $1-2 puts to make them CS just in case the announcement coming with bad news. A half of the assigned SPY was exited pre market.

Net liq got knocked down 18K. It closed below the 100K marker. I will have to wire funds in gain tomorrow. Margin ratio is at 40%. Leverage is up to 236, near the highest level I have recorded. I am back in the survival mode again.

RUT Making New High Again 9-26-17

RUT continue defy the other indexes pushing into new ATH of 1460. The other indices were chopping inside. I finally had to wire 10K in from ET to defend my net liq and margin. The mistake of selling 1450 CS a month ago is costing me 14K margin which I had to roll up yesterday. The expected announcement of tax reform proposal made cause bigger movement tomorrow.

Made 5 trades, 3 of them were buying ZGNX $1 puts to hedge a possible 70-80% drop with its FDA ruling possible this week. Another bio medic option, AXON I sold dropped 72% from $24 to around $7 today. Luckily my $5 puts didn't move much in price. I placed a GTC order to close for $5 to close it for about 70% of profit. The rest of the orders were closing positions.

Net liq gave up 2K. The grind up continues squeeze my margins. Margin ratio is at 46% for now.

RUT Made ATH of 1455 9-25-17

N.K claims that US declared war with them. The tension escalated but futures opened flat on Sunday night. NASDAQ continued its slid to over 1% today while SPX recovered most of its losses and made a doji. RUT made its ATH in early trading and closed above 1450 despite a weak market. It appears that market is holding up for the tax reform proposal of this Wednesday. Are we going to see a sell on news or pop on news?

Made 10 trades today. My SPY 249 long call got assigned over the weekend. I don't know how I missed it. I plan to sell the 100 shares and try to break even. Rolled IWM 141 long call to 142.5 next week to lock in some profit. Also rolled a RUT and SPX ITM short calls with net loss. Sold 2 add on of ZGNX $3 puts. I need to keep it small for risky bio tech.

Net liq lost another 1.8K and went below 110 mark. I will have to wire fund tomorrow. It has dragged from last Thursday and no any meaningful relief came my way. I don't think the bulls will release the gas paddle until the tax reform bill is clear unless a major geopolitical or economic event breaks out.

Digesting FOMC Plan 9-21-17

Major indices traded below zero line most of the day except RUT until closing. Tech is showing some weakness. Market appeared to re access Fed's plan of balance sheet reduction and re affirming rate hike schedule. After hour North Korea announced it may test a H bomb in pacific in responding to US's threat of destroying NK. Futures market retreated to hows of yesterday as of this writing. Don't know if the fear would last to tomorrow morning.

Made 6 trades. Rolled out my last two dITM calls and booked hefty losses. Sold UVXY puts for the first time as part of my exploring small and variety underlines. Exited last TSLA calls and booked 70% premiums.

Net liq still hang on the last thread at 115K. Margin ratio is projected OK for the weekend. Margin is on put side now. I will hedge it tomorrow.

FOMC - Another None Event 9-20-19

FOMC announced that it was going to reduce its 4.5 trillion dollar balance sheet beginning in Oct. Interest rate was kept the same as expected. Market took a small dip after the news but recovered shortly after it. Only QQQ closed 0.3% lower. RUT marched on and up another notch of 0.35%. Fed is still dovish and predictable. Market has no fear of Fed's policy changes.

Made 9 trades. Sold a bio drug co's options I found through scan. ZGNX has over 400% IV ranking due to expected new drug announcement. Last night's dinner with Gu and Li helped me to continue exploring individual stock options. Rolled couple deep ITM calls with pretty bad losses. The rest of trades were just hedging and extending current positions.

Net liq went down another 3.7K to 113.5K. I may have to wire funds tomorrow if the surge continues. It's living day by day now.

In Waiting Mode 9-19-17

Market chopped most of the day and closed flat. It's in a waiting mode for FOMC. Market appears completeness and  no fear of anything. There may be a blow off top tomorrow. 

Made 9 trades today. Most of them are hedge extensions in small cars. Used RR and Ratio to buy more of RUT short tern calls to reduce margin. Rolled some ITM IWM. Closed TSLA bear calls at 68% profit and released 6K margin. No premiums are collected. 

Net liq ended flat. I didn't have to wire funds in today. Margin ratio is above 100% before I could roll any of my ITM big cars. It may be another tough week to roll but I have to do it. 

SPX Site Above 2500 9-18-19

Market moved up following the new highs set by DOW and SPX last Friday. SPX is siting above 2500, closed at 2503.9. RUT gained most in percentage base, up 0.6% and close at 1440. My portfolio is obviously squeezed further. Market may be positioning for FOMC this Wednesday. It has no fear and may be ready to take another leap after FOMC.

Made 8 trades with couple puts been closed. I was mainly rolling my small cards to book some profits and extend call hedges. Sold couple RUT bear calls of late Oct for clients. I don't have room to add such positions.

Net liq gave up another 6.3K and below 120K now. I plan to wire funds in tomorrow if market continue to move up. Don't want to get caught short in case another FOMC surge on Wednesday. Margin ratio is above 50% but net liq is my concern. Will have to deal with it tomorrow.

Relentless Bulls Are Back 9-14-17

Futures dropped some after North Korea launched another missile last night. They recovered most of it this morning before open. After early weakness bulls were gaining ground and steadily moving indexes up. The strength may have something to do with today being quad witch Friday. In the longer view the tax reform supported market confidence. SPX touched the mile stone of 2500 and Dow also made new ATH. RUT advanced the most with 0.5% gain and closed near day's high. It looks like nothing could deter the market for now. It not likely the cycle of upswing is done yet.

Made 7 trades without collecting any premiums. All trades were for exiting or hedging. My portfolio took a big hit this week with rolling ITM bear calls. I have to change my trading plan to make rolling losses at 2x of collected premiums and stay small, diversified for over all portfolio. I have to make the changes from Tyler's system to keep me afloat and smooth the curve.

Net liq took a hit for the fifth day now. At 122K I have about 10K room left before have to injecting funds.  Margin ratio is above 50% for the weekend after buying hedges in both sides today. Leverage is up to 144 around the level of late July and early Aug. Luckily I exited 3 bear calls during the August pull back and paid back most of funds from ET. I may have to use it again now.

RUT Catching Up 9-13-17

Market held up well today despite of lower open. RUT closed its 4th up day. SPX and QQQ were flat. Tomorrow's price movement could be erratic as the monthly index options ending. We may see early push up or down then reverses back as the big money unwind their positions.

Made 8 trades with most of closing puts. I closed 2 out of 5 ITM positions. Made a SPY IC 2 in ET after rolled out the ITM calls. Prices held up so tight making it difficult to rollover. I have to bit the bullet tomorrow regardless the price actions. Didn't get any hedge positions in due to the same condition.

Net liq downed 2K on RUT's 0.23% increase. Margin ratio is at 45% and require more hedges before end of tomorrow. It's going to be a busy and tough day tomorrow.

New All Time Highs 9-12-17

A smaller follow through up day was expected and realized. SPX and NASDAQ made new ATHs. SPX closed at 2496.5, +0.34% while RUT closed at 1423, +0.59%. RUT passed FIB 62% resistance and heading to 78%. AAPL released its new IPhone 8 product line up and market closed lower on it. The next is to see if these new highs can be held. The past several time shown it would establish a new range before fall back.

Made 7 trades. I locked profits and rolled SPY and QQQ long calls. Sold couple bear calls for clients since I don't have room to do the same. Have 5 ITM bear calls must roll out in the next two days. It's harder to roll them with this up surge. I have to swallow some losses.

Net liq shred another 4K and below 130K now. I have only 15-20K room left before triggering a wire transfer to save the account. Have been dancing on the wire for way too long. I must speed up for new strategies.

A Surprise Break Out 9-11-17

With Irma making much less damage and and ease of N.Korean tension futures market gaped up on Sunday night. It was a one way driving market during the regular hr. All majors closed above 1% on their highs of the day. SPX made an ATH closing of 2488. The surge may not be over yet for SPX and NASDAQ. RUT is only retest the mid from the top. It has more room to go. The up trend is resumed. September may turn out to be another up month.

Made 9 trades. Rolled out some SPY, QQQ and IWM long calls to lock in some profit and extend the positions. Also closed some put positions. Sold one bear call in RUT end of Oct. Watched a video about how to calculate maximum return on credit spread. It's not that the wider is better. I will try to test this concept.

Net liq gave back 6.4K on this 1% pop. Margin ratio is at 50%. Calls are pressured. I will use any pull back to add long calls and hedge both side.

Bulls Are Weak 9-8-17

Indices tried to push higher initially but stayed flat or lower led by NASDAQ. QQQ closed down 0.8%. RUT and SPX are barely above and below water line respectively. NASDAQ is in retreat after made its ATH while SPX has not made a new high. It may try to break out or form a lower high if falling from here.

Made 9 trades today. Sold QQQ bull puts in three accounts earlier. Rolled up the ITM RUT 1390 to 1395 and collected $280. Bought some hedges in RUT and SPX for this weekend and next week. No other large contracts were traded.

Net liq retreated 1.8K. Margin ratio is above 50%. It was a better week in terms of premium collection.

Still Holding or Fading 9-7-17

Can't tell what the market is waiting for? We ended with another insider day after N.K nuclear shock. VIX futures are not falling but indices are holding up. It may be in another consolidation period after N.K event interrupted the up surge of the last week.

Made 7 trades. XLV holdings target hit. Traded couple small contracts in rolling and hedge. It's another slow, boring day.

Net liq is up a small step of 2K. Margin is above 70% before the weekend. I have an RUT 1390 call ITM and must rollover or close tomorrow.

Bullish Signs 9-6-17

Market shake off yesterday's minor negative sentiment and opened up with a small gap today. It was a range day but major indices held up well. SPX is closed within its highest balance area while RUT is trying to do the same. NQ made its ATH last Friday already. Overall market is still bullish.

Made 4 trades without collecting any meaningful premiums. The small sell off of yesterday didn't get any follow through. I rolled up some long calls in SPY, QQQ and IWM to extend my long positions. I found these small directional positions are helping to balance my overall positions.

Net liq barely changed. Margin ratio is at 50% after I sent another 5K back to ET. Have 15K left owed to ET after this transfer. I should be able to get back to balance if Sept really give up a decent pull back.

North Korea Impact 9-5-17

Market reacted to the news of North Korea nuclear bomb test after the Labor Day long weekend. The impact of the news was reduced over the weekend. All majors were down a little over 1% during the day but closed with certain levels of recovery. People still buy on any dip.

Made 16 trades. Sold some mid Oct bull put spreads across accounts. Rolled over 2 RUT 1380 and 1350 ITM puts. Finally had a chance to sell Tesla's put spread to make it IC after it shred 2%. Collected 1.3K premiums which hasn't happen for couple months. VIX popped over 30% despite the actual selling wasn't strong.

Net liq recovered about 5K. Margin ratio is above 50% for now. This pull back may be short lived unless any new action from either side to escalate the situation. I bought 2 ratio hedge in RUT with this consideration.

Up Four Days In A Row 9-1-17

August job report is about 25K short of expectations. Market seems interpreting it as a positive news. It may indicate that Fed is less likely to raise rate again in 2017. In bull market most bad news won't deter buyers. RUT upped another half percent. It's the fourth up day for RUT and SPX. NASDAQ is closed slightly lower.

Made 15 trades. The up days made my rollover difficult. Had to give up premiums. I couldn't raise my strikes for these deep ITM positions since I didn't have much room on put side. I didn't stick to my rolling rules last week when VIX was higher. I am paying a price for it. I had to buy hedges with higher prices today.

Net liq gave back another 5K today. Margin ratio is above 60% after spent extra money to buy hedges. It may be a tough period for next couple of weeks if market continues its uptrend. Hope the seasonally rough Sept will bring more opportunities.

Three Days In A Row 8-31-17

Market is excited about the talks of tax reform proposal. Today's unemployment figures came out better than expected. Tech sector led the push up along with RUT. Both closed above 1%. Market is expecting a good employment report so all majors closed on their high notes. SPX and NASDAQ appear ready to make new highs. It may happen tomorrow with the job report or after the long weekend.

Made 5 trades with 2 deep ITM rollovers and couple SPY profit taking and roll up hedging. The rollover of SPY and IWM from yesterday were timely. I missed the up swing of QQQ since I hesitated to enter its calls yesterday. The rolling of the deep ITM positions were difficult with today's upswing and low volatility. I have 3 more to do tomorrow. Need to be focus and flexible.

Net liq lost 5.8K on this 1% upswing. It's down to 143K now. Luckily I was able to exit 2 RUT bear calls on the pull back earlier this month. Otherwise I would have been sweating already. The two bear calls in ET are under pressure.

The Up Swing Continues 8-30-17

Market continued its up swing today with last quarter GDP adjusted to 3% annualized growth. NASDAQ was leading the pack up more than 1%. SPX and RUT gained over 0.5%. They all crossed their recent down trend lines. The shallow August pull back is over.

Made 4 trades today. There are 3 small directional roll ups and one exit, another no premiums day. The directional calls in SPY and IWM may generate some profit. I still don't have a good, consistent directional strategy. I am leaning broken wing butterfly and ratio spreads. Need to hurry up. Have 5 calls to roll out tomorrow and Friday unless we get an unexpected 15-20 point drop in RUT.

Net liq gave back 3.6K on this 0.5% surge. Margin ratio is above 50% before the weekend. I have get more call hedges tomorrow.

Turn Around Tuesday 8-29-17

The overnight sell off on N.K's missile lunch met with buyers this morning. Major indices didn't get a chance to retest their overnight lows. All majors closed in positive territories. Market is supported by the news of tax reform announcement soon.

Made 6 trades but nothing major. Sold one set of bull put spread for client early in the morning. Market turned up before I could get all the put spread orders in. I was able to roll up couple small contracts for hedges. There is still a danger of geopolitical risk. The US is fairly quiet on NK's missile launch. I have several ITM bear calls must be rolled out for this week. None of them get filled today.

Net liq is in the same range of 150K. Margin ratio is above 50% for now. Market looks ready for another leg up, MACDs are turning up, tax reform may provide a boost, funds need to window dress on month end.

A Choppy Monday 8-28-17

It was a small range, choppy day. RUT and NASDAQ showed some bullish movements but SPX and DOW were legging. After hour the news of another missile lunch from North Korea sunk futures for about 0.5%. Market is getting nervous. Let's wait to see what will develop overnight. I would welcome a 3-5% pull back in August.

Made one trade. A risk reversal in next week's SPY call side based on MACD. No other order was filled.
I used the boring time to learn Ratio hedge. There may be some selling opportunities tomorrow as the NK tension is back again.

Net liq stayed in range down slightly. Margin ratio is around 50%. I transferred another 5K to ET as I got some breathing room in IB.
 

Building A Base 8-24-17

US indices chopped within Tuesday's ranges for another day. Market may be waiting for hints from Fed's conference in Jackson Hole. Market may be building a base for next move. Overall it's still bullish with a possibility of retest recent lows.

Made 5 trades in small contracts. bought in directional puts. RUT traded higher all day in opposite of SPX and QQQ. Tried to sell AMZN and APPL bull puts but their weakness quickly met with buyers. Feels like spinning wheels without much results.

Net liq is fine but available funds are my concern. Margin ratio is at 40%. I want to get a better picture of my risk profile before transfer extra funds back to ET. I have one RUT 1370 call ATM to deal with tomorrow.

A Day Of Resting 8-23-17

US indices opened lower. It was a range day as expected after the big push yesterday. I tried to make entries for long in the small contracts this morning. I got in a weekly SPY risk reversal early. But it couldn't lift itself up today. I tried to take off a half at b/o but didn't get it. I will decide to cut my loss or stay tomorrow. Also need to consider to buy a directional put set in small contracts for retest lows if not break lows.

Made 4 trades. Sold TLSA call spreads when I saw it popped 2%. It later closed above 3%. This is a wild animal. I have about 20% distance and 37 days left. Let's see how it goes. Will sell a set of puts on pull back to make it into IC. Bought a set of SPY for directional play as I planned last night. Not much else going on in the market. Crude closed up on inventory draw down and weather concerns. I may trade it tomorrow.

Net liq upped 2.3K, a wash from yesterday. Margin ratio is back to 47% from 27% yesterday without any hedging trade. That's a puzzle to me. Is it because of VIX? But that reduced yesterday and raised today.

A Day Of Driving Up 8-22-17

It's a day of one way drive for all majors. SPX, RUT closed up around 1%. The over sold condition with the talks of tax reform fueled the rally. It may continue for a few days with a possible pause tomorrow. I may try to buy directional calls at the money tomorrow with small contracts for a day to couple days holding time. I need to develop a short term trading systems. Maybe base it on Fib and couple other technical indicators.

Made 8 trades, 6 for clients and 2 for me. Sold bear call spreads to make IC 2 for late Sept and early Oct. Get to watch for upside risk while the uptrend is intact. It's still possible for market to make new highs.

Net liq is down 2.1K. The 2 exited bear call really helped to reduce the negative impact of up swings. Margin is on put side and below 30%. I only got one RUT put hedge in today. Will have to add more before the weekend.

Sellers Disappeared 8-21-17

The initial push down from cash open didn't get a follow through. All indices closed flat. There are rooms left on both side. Tech leaders recovered partially from early selling but still closed down. I have exposures to the down side need to be covered.

Made 4 trades. Rolled RUT 1350 ATM put furthe and IWM 136 ITM put further out. I tried to hedge puts but didn't get anything down except closed one RUT put for this week.

Net liq upped 2k. Delta neutral is showing its benefit. Margin ratio is at 30% despite recent increased net liq. It indicates that I am still over weighted in put side. I need to learn more ways to hedge risk.

A Great Risk Is Just One Step Away 8-18-17

Market took a pause after yesterday's big sell off. Indices hoped around zero lines all day long but closed slightly down with a bearish tone. I didn't realize that my available funds were in negative territory this morning as it was fine last night. My first rollover order  was rejected. I guess it was caused by more than 10 ITM small contracts expiring today. Luckily the deficit was less than 2K so I closed a SPY position. VIX was around 15. Imagining if there was a big event overnight and VIX jumped to 20-30 next morning. Then my account will be crushed. I need to reduce my size further and make sure to eliminate naked puts. Also get to spreed up my learning of new strategies. Butterfly seems require less margin.

Made 7 trades. They were rollover ITM IWM, QQQ and close SPY, IWM. Just spanning wheels to get by. There may be a better way to handle such situation and collect some premiums.

Net liq upped near 3K. I just learned that net liq may not prevent negative available funds. Need to watch out for VAR and What If figures. I may have to switch from big contracts to small ones to gain size flexibility and narrow spreads but pay more commissions.

Another August Sell Off? 8-17-19

The rally of early this week turned out to be a bulls' trap. US indices opened slightly down and closed the gap above within 1st hour. I thought it was going to be an range or up day since SPX only tested a half gap below then made a buying tail, plus today is the indices monthly option expiration day. It turned out that sellers had upper hands. The selling pressure was pressed until closing. SPX, RUT and QQQ closed down 1.5, 1.8 and 2.1% respectively. People listed several reasons for the sell off. Whatever it was. It's August. Watch out for risk to the down side.

Made 18 trades today. Out of another RUT bear call of 1385 in mid morning. Now my call side threat is reduced after 9 month of torment. Sold couple late Sept and early Oct bull puts earlier based on my assumption of range day. It turned out to be wrong. Also rolled out my SPX 2310 bear call. I spent a lot of time in hedging put side since I have some naked puts built from the run up. Tried ratio calendar to buy 1:2 put protections. It may be too close on the sell strike. RUT closed at 1358 while I sold a put at 1350 for  settlement by tomorrow morning. I have SPY, IWM and QQQ puts are IMT or ATM that need to be dealt tomorrow.

Net liq upped 5.6K with the put side being pressured. Margin ratio is low but the weekend expiry projected to be OK. It may change after I roll out these small contracts. Will add hedges with rolling.

Political Drama Held Indices 8-16-17

US indices grind up until a roll of CEOs quitting the White House's Manufacturing Council and the President dissolved the council all together. Fed minutes release at 2pm also waited on the market. Major indices bave back most of their gains of the day at close. Market may not let the price go down much before the monthly options expire this week.

Made only three trades today as the ranges were small. Sold AAPL Sept bull puts for a client and bought a RUT call to hedge my portfolio. It was boring and frustrating day as I tried so many ways to roll the SPX 2310 call. It couldn't get filled. I have to do it tomorrow.

Net liq merely changed. No premiums were collected. Margin ratio is below 40% and stayed on put side. I will have to bring it up before end of tomorrow.

A Day Of Rest for Bulls, Mostly 8-15-17

Indexes gave back most gains overnight on cash open. SPX and QQQ closed flat while RUT down 0.8% to the edge of yesterday's gap. Bulls held well over all. There are many gaps below for SPX and NQ not being able to fill. Nothing could deter the bulls so far with political drama continues.

Made 4 trades today. Tried to hedge the put side but couldn't get anything fill because there is no fear. I made RUT IC 2 in ET and rolled out a set of QQQ calls to next week expecting a continued push up. It was a lite day since I had to take June to airport for Ecuador early afternoon.

Net liq gained 6.7K while margin is still on put side. Margin ratio is above 50%. I realized that I need to be aware of the impact of a black swan event. Base on IB's Portfolio Risk analyses that my available margin may not stand for a 10% sudden drop. I also need to look at my clients' risk profile as well. Need to learn and use new hedge strategies.

Bulls Are Back 8-14-17

As the North Korean tensions eased over the weekend market jumped from European to the US. All major indexes gaped up on cash open and continued to grind up without any attempts to close the gaps below. SPX and RUT closed on highs of the day, up 1-1.5% respectively. The momentum is strong. I will plan to get back to directional play again and get on the train early.

Made 8 trades today. Three are exit orders filled. Sold some IC 2s of late Sept for clients. I saved some bullets for tomorrow. Need to beware that this rally could be an retest of the break out area before sellers come out again. Geopolitical risk is still present.

Net liq gave back 2K on this 1% pop thanks to the bull puts last week. The delta neutral trading make more sense to me now. I start to learn Butterfly and its variations.

A Day Of Rest 8-11-17

The inflation data came out less than expected before opening. Futures jumped briefly. It was a day of rest for bulls and bears. Majors closed slightly up after tugging on board lines most of the day. Market is still dominated by the tension of North Korea. Both RUT and SPX are back into their prior balance areas before the break out of July. RUT is showing over sold in MACD.  SPX still has a gap in 2430 act like a magnet. It's very much on the development of the N Korea tension.

Made 16 trades today. I had to make so many rollovers in both side after this recent sell off. The good news is that RUT 1390 bear call is exited, so was a client's RUT 1385 call which lifted some pressure off from the up side. I was able to roll out the two deep ITM positions in ET and collected some premiums. I wasn't comfortable to roll them in the last day but the put positions dragged me into it. I don't plan to sell put spreads in ET due to the concerns of the N.K risk unless it stabilized. Rolled out more IWM ITM puts to void getting assigned. I had to pay more to buy puts to hedge the down side risk before closing. The post expiry excess was below 30K. Paid over $100 to boost the put side hedges. It may not be enough if a major event happens over the weekend. I tried to buy couple VIX calls but didn't want to pay $80-90 for OTM calls. I missed the chance to get them cheap the day before yesterday when I heard that a big hedge fund was buying it. Yesterday was the highest VIX trading volume on record.

Net liq didn't go up much due to the ITM puts. Margin ratio is around 30% for this weekend. I may have to sell futures or futures options if any news that spook the market over the weekend.

Sell Off Continues 8-10-17

August volatility starts showing force today. Market sell off accelerated today. Indexes gaped down again today and couldn't get closed. NASD, RUT and SPX closed down 2%, 1.75 and 1.46% respectively. The daily lows were made by closing which is a bearish sign. VIX jumped over 30% and above 15. Daily candles are all outside of BBs. We may see a bounce or breather tomorrow if no news trip the market again. Market behaviors and sentiment changed so quickly from bullish to bearish.

Made 12 trades today. Sold some SPX Sept bull puts across managed accounts. Some IWM puts were pushed ITM. I had to roll them out and couple of them need to be dealt with tomorrow. I still couldn't get out the positions in ET due to the big sell off today. I have to close the put side before 1PM even to give back the premiums. I can't risk to let the ITM calls slip away.

Net liq got 6K boost with the wash of put side. Margin ratio is above 60% at least for tomorrow. Margin pressure is on put side now. I will have to buy hedges on put side. It will be a busy day to roll out so many positions tomorrow. Stay calm and be organized.

Partial Follow Through 8-9-17

Futures continued to drift lower overnight and market opened lower as well. SPX, NQ and RUT didn't close below their balance lows. RUT gave back almost 1% but the other two recovered most of their losses. RUT is in over sold territory unless some bad news push it further. SPX and NQ are still very bullish.

Made 16 trades today. Sold sold some late Sept RUT and SPX bull puts for clients taking advantages of early push down. Sold some scalps for clients as well. I haven't been able to roll my ET positions due to the put side holding up. Will try it tomorrow again. I am still holding this week's RUT 1390 ITM call in hope of an unexpected push down from current 1397 level. It require patience.

Net liq recovered another 5.6K. If the current level holds in RUT I plan to pay ET another 5K back. Margin ratio is at 94%. Good till this Friday. I may wait until Friday to decide what to hedge.

A Day Of Reversal 8-8-17

SPX and RUT opened to explore lower ranges following over night weakness, then popped up into positive territory.  SPX even made ATH of 2490 in early afternoon. Then the President made a comment about N Korea that spooked the market around 3:30. All majors started to turning down. Both SPX and RUT closed in negative of -0.2-0.3%. The daily candles appeared to be a big reversal but no balance lows are broken yet. The slide continues into this evening in futures. No under estimate bulls unless the current range lows are broken. Waiting to see what will happen before end of this week.

Made 7 trades. Made RR in QQQ, SPY and IWM in debits which I didn't think were going to fill earlier. Got to remember to pull off some order when market in fast moving mode. Step aside and don't stand in front of a running train. Closed couple QQQ calls early at b/e to save some cash. It turned out to be a good move. No major premiums were collected.

Net liq recovered from 8K losses earlier and up 1.5K with the sell off before closing. Margin ratio is at 60% and still on call side. I need to watch out the put side in case a break down to push some puts ITM.

Boring Summer Market 8-7-17

Indices held up but within a very narrow range. Both SPX and RUT closed within 0.15%. What are they waiting for? SPX is staying on its range top, watching for that 2500 number. RUT is at the bottom of its range, start turning up. Both DOW and NASDAQ are stronger. Bulls are firmly in charge.

Made 8 trades today. Rolled 2 calls up, one SPY call for b/e, the rest of them are exit orders. I debated if I should split my RUT ITM 1390 into two 1410 for this week and next week. The purpose is to exit one call within this two weeks. But it will increase my margin burden and reduce available funds. I decided to wait since RUT is turning up from the bottom of BB and above 1410. There is not a lot to do with this type of market.

Net liq moves in a small ranges as well. Margin ratio is above 50%. Margin switched back to call side. I will wait toward to the late part of the week to add call hedges.

A Big NFP Report Didn't Excite Market 8-4-17

None Farm Payroll for July reported 209K v.s 186K expected. It was another big beat and futures popped then fall back before cash open. I placed some orders in small contracts trying to catch a big drive after the report last night. None of them happened. RUT and SPX closed up 0.5% and 0.15% respectively. The effect of the NFP appears less than a big co's earning report. Maybe the bulls are in summer break too.

Made 9 trades today. Sold couple Sept 4 RUT bear calls to make IC 2 for clients but not mine. I only made some hedges and exiting puts. Don't have much to write about.

Net liq is down 2.2K on the 0.5% RUT pop. Margin ratio is at 78% before the expiration. It should be fine for this weekend.

RUT, Another Leg Down 8-3-17

Major indices pulled back slightly except Dow which posted 7th straight record highs and firmly above 22K. RUT, SPX and NASDAQ are down ranging from 0.5-0.2%. This may be market positioning for tomorrow's NFPR. Step back for jump or retreat depending on the news.

Made 10 trades across the accounts. Made my last rollover for this week. Entered couple SPY directional bet to long NFPR. Also bought hedges in both side for large contracts. Sold couple Sept 4 RUT bull puts for clients. The 0.5% RUT p/b is a further relief for me. RUT may be bouncing soon if it could not break 1400 support line.

Net liq is up 5K then I paid 3K back to ET. Margin ratio is above 60%. Will have to watch for the weekend projection. Margin is still on the put side. There are couple IWM and QQQ near the money puts I need to watch out for tomorrow's expiration.

Dow Over 22K But RUT On Retreat 8-2-17

Dow went over 22K today with Apple's surge. RUT gave back 1% since almost a month ago. SPX is still hanging up but MACD is about to turn down. VIX is still barely above 10. SPX may want to attempt to challenge 2500 before retreat.

Made 15 trades. Finally rolled SPX deep ITM calls to a week out with a cost of $135 each. I then sold inverted put spreads of 1390 for $125 to recover most of the cost. It's a risky move if the price drop down to the put level. It would be very hard to roll with limited available margin. Couple of my IWM puts were pushed ITM with today's 1% pull back. I had to roll them out. Rolled out couple RUT ITM calls with this p/b and collected some premiums. Also sold tow ratio puts to hedge the down side. Made another price error without - sign in a client's account again. This type of mistake must be stopped. Also sold RUT put spreads of Sept Betty and my accounts.

Net liq recovered 10K for a good change. Margin ratio is above 70%. I have one more RUT 1380 call to roll for this week. I will try to use this pull back to raise my bear call strikes and hopefully exit 1-2 positions during this down turn.

Waiting for Apple Earnings 8-1-17

Market was in holding pattern awaiting for economic data and Apple earnings after hour.  SPX and RUT closed up about 0.25%. RUT erased early losses. MACDs are both turning down. Apple earnings beat strongly after hour and popped 7% with ATH. DOW is expected to cross 22,000 tomorrow. I need to prepare for another squeeze. Hopefully it will be short lived.

Made 2 trades only. Both were hedges. Couldn't roll out any positions with this slow market. I will have to take a hit again with my SPX deep ITM calls in ET tomorrow.

Net liq gave back 1.2K. Margin ratio is down due to the month end expiry. Margin is on the put side now. This summer is really slow and tiring. Be careful about sudden moves.

Still Holding Up Well 7-31-17

Market shrug off NK's missal and WH chaos. Dow made a new high, S&P held flat and RUT down 0.3%. July turned out to be a good month for bulls. The up trend may continue to early August, at least. Earnings is still the main driving force.

Made 6 trades today. Sold another AMZN put for a client as it dropped another 3% to my surprise. I made IWM and QQQ rollovers to extend hedges. Sold a set of RUT bull put in ET to make a IC 2 but it was inverted at 1360P v.s. 1310C. It could be dangers if RUT suddenly drop to or below 1360. It will require a big margin to rollover the position.

Net liq recovered 4K. Any recover is better than loss. Margin is above 50% but will drop after the month end expiry. I will continue to buy hedges tomorrow.

A Mid Day Reversal 7-27-17

Index futures made new ATHs before cash open. RUT closed a prior day's gap then bounced like a clock work. Around mid day market reversed to the down side without any major news. RUT was down 1% at one point and closed -0.6%. SPY recovered most of losses and only ended -0.1%. Then AMZN reported a miss of -70% earnings after hour. I was a big surprise for me. I was planing to buy it a 1.5% down but it ended down 3%.

Made 14 trades. Rolled 5 ITM calls across board and collected some funds except the one in ET. Have one more in ET to roll tomorrow and couple for next Monday. Glad to rolled couple IWM hedges to next two weeks before the mid day reversal. This circle of up swing may be ending base on MACD and slowing down of earnings.

Net liq got another boost of 6K. Margin ratio is above 70% so far. It looks fine for this weekend. Margin is on put side now.

Another None Impact FOMC 7-26-17

FOMC held interest rate as expected. Unwinding its balance sheet is coming soon. Market didn't care either way. The focus is still on earnings. Tomorrow will be another big day. There will be 60 S&P companies report while AMAZ is scheduled after hour. I need to be able to hold through the earning session. Then hopefully bulls will let the gas paddle go for awhile.

Made 5 trades. Volume felt very light. Several of my orders didn't get fill although prices passed mid. No premiums collected. It's the summer norm now. RUT pull back 0.5%. My order to take profit on IWM didn't get fill.

Net liq recovered 7K, that saved my day for not to wire fund in. Margin ratio is above 60% and will be good before the weekend. I definitely need to learn and practice more directional trading system.

New ATHs Again 7-25-17

Indexes gaped up this morning with some better than expected earning reports. Both SPX and RUT made new all time highs again. RUT closed right at 1450.9. It may have a little more to the upside within my target range of 1490 to 1510. SPX made to 2481, not too far from its big target of 2500. NASDAQ was dragged down a little by google's earning. It may pop again with AMAZ and FB reporting this week. This summer rally continues. Tomorrow is FOMC again. It may be ignored by the earning excitement.

Made 8 trades. Most of them were rolling hedges in small contracts. Sold 2 IWM ITM weekly to lock in some profit early in the morning. It's a tough squeeze to my holdings. I need a pull back badly. I noticed that I am much calmer now with the market surge since I have plan and guard lines for different situations.

Net liq took a 10K hit. It brought the balance to my warning line. I may have to do another wire transfer before end of this week to boost my net liq. The positions in ET is worrisome for rolling this week.

When It Can't Go Down It Will Stay Up Or Break Out 7-24-17

Market attempted to go down this morning but met with buyers even with a small pull back. RUT tested the top of its prior balance and bounced. It closed back into positive territory. Nobody seems counting how many days the market has been without a 1% pull back. Earnings continue to provide better than expected results. The political uncertainty couldn't shake sentiment a bit. I need to hang in there for the earning session passes.

Made 6 trades today. Only one of them was initiated by me in rolling a QQQ directional call. The rest of them were exit orders sitting there and finally got filled. It was a boring day.

Net liq stays unchanged. A small gain was wiped out at the end. Guess we may see another push up or down after Fed Meeting on Wednesday. I will try to place more bull calls to go along with the market.

A Day Of Rest 7-20-17

Market took a breather after the new highs of yesterday. SPX and RUT closed flat after exploring both sides. Earnings continue to roll out. Tomorrow is monthly stock option expiry day after today's index expiration. I expect bulls will hold the market up for most of the day and possibly driving to new highs before let the gas paddle go.

Made 16 trades today. Most of them were hedges to bring my margin up to safe level on this expiry day. I made it with many small contracts. I rolled the two deep ITM positions in ET with $30 debits for each contracts and expanded margin. It was a stressful task. Had to close several near expiring puts to reduce excess fees too.

Net liq up merely $700. Margin ratio is back above 50%. I can add more hedges if the prediction for the weekend expiry changes but so far it looks fine. I would consider to bring more income for the hedging activity instead of just cover my expenses.  

Majors Booked ATHs 7-19-17

DJ, SPX, NASDAQ and RUT reached new all time highs today. SPX is up 0.5% at 2473, above my estimate of 2470. Are we going to see 2500 soon? RUT surged up later to close near 1%, at 1441. Positive earnings and Crude inventory draw down pushed market up across board. Both SPX and RUT closed strong pointing to a likely continuing upward for tomorrow.

Made 10 trades today. 4 of my exit put orders were filled but no hedged calls. I rolled out QQQ and IWM directional calls to extend their life. Sold 4 bear call spreads for clients. Some of them were filled after cash closing. None of my ET roll out orders got filled. I may have to make debit roll instead tomorrow.

Net liq lost 11K on this break out and took my value down to 117K. I may have to wire more funds in before the weekend if the bulls keep push. Margin ratio is down to 31% and the projected excess post expire is below 10K in yellow warning now. I will have to bring it up to 30K no matter what market conditions are.

Failed Attempt To Sell 7-18-17

Futures went down after GS reported earnings less than better in bound trading before market open. Senator failed to vote on healthcare bill last night didn't help either. Market opened with a small gap. But the selling was short lived. SPX and QQQ closed up and RUT recovered more than a half of its loss. Bulls are still very strong and no any bad news could shake the buyers. The rally continues.

Made 9 trades today. Rolled out two RUT ITM calls in IB. Also sold couple IWM and SPY scalping in the morning. The rest of them are mainly rolling hedges. Collected some premiums through rollover and scalps.

Net liq recovered 3.6K. Margin ratio is at 44%. None of my buy call hedges were filled. Net liq is at 128K which may only stand for 1.5-2% squeeze. Still hanging there wait for my turn.

RUT Made ATH 7-17-17

RUT reached its ATH of 1434 following SPX's foot steps of last Friday. Indices held up well, perhaps awaiting for more good news of earnings. From RSI and MACD stand points this break out may have more to go. I need to add more directional plays to it while watch for the down side risk.

Made 11 trades today. Most of them were rolling hedges in SPY, IWM and RUT. Some exit put orders got filled. No meaningful premiums were collected. I got SPY and IWM directional positions but missed QQQ. I started to prepare rollovers in ET since both positions are deep ITM. I could only roll one week at time. My pressure continue to build.

Net liq settled down 1.7K after RUT fall back some from its ATH. Margin ratio is at 37%. I will put in more hedges tomorrow for the week after.

New High of SPX 7-14-17

The expected break out in SPX happened today after the reported inflation rate at 1% below expected 2%. Instead of a gap up market slowly grind up all day long until the last 15 minutes of the cash market. SPX made high of 2463 and closed at ATH of 2459. RUT also moved to the top of its current balance area but gave back more than a half of its gains at closing. But both SPX and RUT closed quite bullish. Would the new highs follow the previous pattern of quickly fall back? We will see.

Made 10 trades today. Sold couple late August bear call spreads of SPX for clients on this new high. I take profit on a SPY call of 245 while it's moved ITM. The most difficult one was to roll out SPX 2265 C in ET. As the price grind up in the afternoon I had to change my price from credit to debit. After 3:30pm I finally paid $80 for each contract to move out a week. I had to use most of the credit received from last week's rollover to cover it. It's a matter of avoiding get assigned. Guess I have to continue to take a small cut until the market turns.

Net liq survived today's surge with a 2.4K damage. Luckily RUT wasn't the main force. It may catch up next week. Margin ratio is OK for this weekend after adding a RUT call and IWM ratio hedge.

Ready To Break? 7-13-17

Indexes continued to hold up well and inched up. RUT/IWM recovered a 0.5% fall after closing the gap below. Market is waiting for CPI report to gauge inflation rate to determine Fed's rate hiking probability tomorrow morning. We may see a blow off top if the rate is less than 2%. Or however the market wants to interpret it.

Made 6 trades today. One ITM RUT 1380 was rolled out in the morning. The last one of SPX bear call in ET didn't get a chance since SPX hardly pulled back at all. Made another price error on a put spread. I must eliminate this error. Remember to check price entry before confirm. The rest of them were just hedge and exit orders.

Net liq gave back another 3.3K and the balance is below 130K now. It depends on how big the blow off top would be. It's possible a head fake too though not likely base on MACD just crossed up in SPX. It may have to go through the cycle again.

A New Leg Up? 7-12-17

The base building I described yesterday appears broken out today after Yellen's testimony in Congress this morning. Indexes futures gaped up pre-open. Both SPX and RUT closed up around 0.7%, near the highs of their balance areas. SPX closed stronger than RUT. With earnings reports we may see SPX making new ATH soon.

Made 4 trades today. Sold an IWM scalp on a small pull back. The other three were closing puts. It's a very boring day.

Net liq lost another 6.4K better than 10K during the high of the day. Margin ratio is still above 50%. I may have to wire transfer more funds if this break out is a sustainable one.  My hope for exiting one RUT bear call is diminished for this week. I have two ITM positions to roll out for this week.

Base Building? 7-11-17

Market held up well today today. A small sell off due to Trump Jr's Russia email met with buyers when reached the lower portion of yesterday. I made a strangle of TSLA at 370 on call side. TSLA popped 2.5% on production increase. RUT ended up 0.33% while SPX closed flat again. Overall, it feels like a base building for the earning session. It will go up when it couldn't go down.

Made 4 trades today. Other than that TSLA bear calls no premiums were collected. Closed couple puts to reduce excess fees. Margin ratio is OK so I wasn't eager to buy more hedges until near the week end.

Net liq reduced by 2.2K. It's within the chop range. Margin ratio is at 64%. Waiting for prices break out their current range so there will be trading opportunities.

Choppy Monday 7-10-17

It has been early selling resulting to late bounce. Bulls take any dip as buying opportunities. Today is the same for RUT. It tested the break out point of last Friday and bounced. It then went up to close a gap above. For whatever the reason RUT sold off before closing and down 0.5%. It was a choppy session. SPX didn't get into negative territory but only up 0.11%. Q performed the best, up 0.65% as major techs recovering.

Made 9 trades today. Rolled 2 ITM RUT calls for me and a client's IRA. Made another error of pricing without - sign when I entered a RUT RR trade. It cost me $35 at least. I also tried to scalp in IWM earlier but only get one fill. I may try again tomorrow. Got couple hedges in. I will try to sell bull puts and scalps if we get a decent pull back tomorrow.

Net liq recovered 4.8K. Margin ratio is above 70% for now. My main task is to continue roll my positions up aggressively.