This Monday was Christmas Eve. The majors sold off another 2% and closed at the lows of the day. A bloody bath before Christmas. Perhaps the algos don't have a sense of holiday session. The selling started the day after Christmas with a new low. Then, the trend reversed late in the morning. The majors staged an F.U. rally, up near 5%. The bulls slotted bears again in the same pattern. Today it was a pump and dump day. Overall, it was a wild, emotionally charged market.
It was a more difficult week for me and my clients. My account was put on hold for a day because N.L was below 100K. I wired in my last available 10K on the day of Christmas Eve. It only helped for a few hours on that volatile day. The rally after Christmas provided some relief to us. I was able to adjust my positions. Now I am a little too heavy on the downside if the relief rally continues. I feel emotionally drained somewhat.
Net liq is at 106K. Margin ratio is barely above 30%. Leverage stays above 5, back from 6 during the heavy selling. Now, the Net liq is still on shaky ground.
My positions have increased. I had to add it in order to roll my positions. The danger is that it could easily turn against me with any sizable move in current high VIX condition.
Friday, December 28, 2018
Saturday, December 22, 2018
No Santa Rally T's Season 12-21-18
It's a brutal week of selling for the US market. All of the majors have had five consecutive days of losses. Price ranges are wild. The losses of the week: SPX -7%, RUT -8.4%, QQQ -8.39%. The biggest weekly loss in many years. The selling accelerated after FOMC raised the rate and projected 2 more rate hikes for next year. The market sentiment is bearish but the selling action is stronger. The 3.4% GDP growth of the 3rd quarter and Fed members dovish remarks couldn't lift the market. Something underneath is going on. The market seems to lost confidence.
My portfolio was hit hard this week. I wasn't aggressive enough in rolling and reversing. I kept thinking there may be a bounce after FOMC announcement. Instead, it was a big selloff. My portfolio is still delta positive despite the added bear calls.
My net liq is at 9.6K. It closed below 100K despite wired in another 10K this Thursday. The Friday's 2% selloff just wiped it out. The leverage is 596, very alarming. I managed squeezed another 10K loan from Fidelity and have to wire to IB this weekend.
My portfolio was hit hard this week. I wasn't aggressive enough in rolling and reversing. I kept thinking there may be a bounce after FOMC announcement. Instead, it was a big selloff. My portfolio is still delta positive despite the added bear calls.
My net liq is at 9.6K. It closed below 100K despite wired in another 10K this Thursday. The Friday's 2% selloff just wiped it out. The leverage is 596, very alarming. I managed squeezed another 10K loan from Fidelity and have to wire to IB this weekend.
Saturday, December 15, 2018
The Selloff Continues 12-14-18
It's another down week. 4 out 5 days were red. The pattern of the week is fading of every rally. After SPX reached 2585 on Monday which is below last October's low it bounced strongly. I thought the retest was successful. But every rally was met with strong selling. VIX stayed elevated above 20. Price ranges are wide. SPX had another 2% selloff today, just like last Friday. The sentiment is bearish. The trade talk progress couldn't lift the market. Technically speaking, the market may be clearing the deck for FOMC next Wednesday. Or could there be other reasons behind the selloff?
With the selloff, I was able to exit out one of my SPX ITM bear calls and several others for my clients. I had to reverse that 2 DOE bull put since it was pushed ITM for about 50 points. It was a disaster since I didn't roll it out properly last Friday. The set in my personal account is in deeper trouble since it activated the day trading limit. I may have to wire fund in next week to shore off the balance if the market continues to sell off.
Net liq is still under pressure at 117K. The margin is at 447. The portfolio is still in surviving mode. I will continue to reverse, hedge positions to reduce margins. There are 5 deep ITM bull puts need to be rolled out next week.
With the selloff, I was able to exit out one of my SPX ITM bear calls and several others for my clients. I had to reverse that 2 DOE bull put since it was pushed ITM for about 50 points. It was a disaster since I didn't roll it out properly last Friday. The set in my personal account is in deeper trouble since it activated the day trading limit. I may have to wire fund in next week to shore off the balance if the market continues to sell off.
Net liq is still under pressure at 117K. The margin is at 447. The portfolio is still in surviving mode. I will continue to reverse, hedge positions to reduce margins. There are 5 deep ITM bull puts need to be rolled out next week.
Friday, December 7, 2018
Last Week's Retest Didn't Work Out 12-7-18
It was a wild week for the market. SPX touched 2800 after the trade truce in G 20 on Monday. Then a 3-4% selloff followed the next day. The majors have booked two of 2-3% down days in a week. RUT is closed below Nov's low. SPX is parked right at the low of the last month. It's a pretty bearish picture. Fed's dovish talk and the trade war truce didn't save the market. Could this retest be successful? The next support level is the Feb lows.
Had a hairy moment on Wednesday night after the futures opened gap down. I had a margin call that evening. I came up with an idea to trade the SPX to roll a couple of my positions during the Europen open at 3 AM. It could save a client's account and mine. I made it with a little technical glitch. Although it was a wash on Thursday, our accounts stood for today's 2% selloff. Three of my ITM bear calls are off the book today. It recovered about $30K for the portfolio nicely. That should allow me to reverse more to the downside should the market continue to sell off. I need to watch out not adding more positions on each side.
My portfolio is still shaky. Net liq is at 114K after paid 5K back to ET. The margin ratio is at 38%. Leverage is 4.7. The 2 DTE system failed on Thursday during the selloff. It was designed to withstand 1.5% movement in 1 day. Then SPX dropped 3% in one day. Every time I get hit when I am overconfident and disobey my rules. I didn't want to trade it in my account due to the limited buying power. I didn't hold my disciplines.
My work for next week is continuing to deleverage. I haven't collected many premiums and spend part of the collection on hedging each week. I found that reversal can also help reduce margins. But need to watch out for adding positions on the opposite side.
Had a hairy moment on Wednesday night after the futures opened gap down. I had a margin call that evening. I came up with an idea to trade the SPX to roll a couple of my positions during the Europen open at 3 AM. It could save a client's account and mine. I made it with a little technical glitch. Although it was a wash on Thursday, our accounts stood for today's 2% selloff. Three of my ITM bear calls are off the book today. It recovered about $30K for the portfolio nicely. That should allow me to reverse more to the downside should the market continue to sell off. I need to watch out not adding more positions on each side.
My portfolio is still shaky. Net liq is at 114K after paid 5K back to ET. The margin ratio is at 38%. Leverage is 4.7. The 2 DTE system failed on Thursday during the selloff. It was designed to withstand 1.5% movement in 1 day. Then SPX dropped 3% in one day. Every time I get hit when I am overconfident and disobey my rules. I didn't want to trade it in my account due to the limited buying power. I didn't hold my disciplines.
My work for next week is continuing to deleverage. I haven't collected many premiums and spend part of the collection on hedging each week. I found that reversal can also help reduce margins. But need to watch out for adding positions on the opposite side.
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