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.