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.