Failed To Close The Feb Gap 7-24-20

SPX made an attempt to close the big gap from Feb 24, the beginning of COVID 19 selloff. It got into the gap for a couple of days but couldn't even get through half of the gap. The sellers started selling on Thursday after a disappointing jobless report. We have seen some worse jobless claim reports while the majors disregard them. This report mattered at the critical technical point. The top for this rally may be in for now unless there is a positive catalyst to change the market sentiment.  

The pullback of the last two days actually helped my portfolio as I have been carrying negative delta. The net liq is above 100K and the leverage is below 4. There is two short term RUT LP and one SC expired worthless today. I entered a deep ITM LP 3300 on Thursday pre-market as the SPX future was moving up overnight. It was the worst timing to get long. SPX started to fall by the late morning. I am still not quick in responding to trend changes. 

My directional options trading is not doing well. I tried to use Brandon's breakout method since his alerts are hard to catch. I lost most of my picks. I think I am not used to trading such a short time and fast market. These weekly options move much faster than futures. The paces of Shadow Trader may suit me better. The Volatility Trading Strategies have not done much for me either. I may start to try to look for different services. 

The Gap Above Filled 7-17-2020

SPX filled the breakdown gap of June 6 and closed right at the high of that week. The next target may be the gap down made on Feb 24, the beginning of the big selloff. RUT is making catch up. It finally closed above the 200 SMA after it lost it back in June. NASDAQ retraced from ATHs this week. It's a noticeable divergence. Tech was weak this week. Overall, the market sentiment seems to stay on the positive side. However, seasonality indicates a turn in the late part of July. Something to keep in mind. 

My portfolio didn't improve much. The net liq is at 108K after it went below 100K on Wednesday's gap up. The leverage is still above 4. I really need to reduce at least one position on the bear side. Luckily, I quickly reversed 2 short term bear calls early this week. 

I have a positive return for my accounts this week. The premium collection is over $2000 after taking a $3900 stop loss in 0 DTE trading. I didn't execute my stop loss plan quick and firm on that quick reversal on Monday. I could have done a rollover as well. It will take about 40 winning trades to recover that mistake. I did OK trading the 0 DTE system on Wednesday and Friday. I will have stop trading this system when VIX is above 30. 

The Consolidation Continues 7-10-20

SPX stayed in its current range of 3240 to 2965 (275 pts) for the 7th week. It closed at 3185, the upper portion of the range. It looks like SPX is ready to close the gap above 3190 after so many tries. NASDAQ continues to make new ATHs. On the other hand, RUT is still legging. It closed at 1423, the mid of its current ranges of 1340-1537 (197 pts). It's still below its 200 SMA. A divergence needs to be noted. 

It was a positive week for me. All of my positions were expired worthless. The options selling strategy works well during the range-bound market. My net liq didn't change much. It closed at 109K. The leverage is slightly below 4. The realized gain topped $12K, a nice recovery from June. 

My directional options with Brandon has improved. It requires more preparation. It's very hard to catch his alert since his style is catching the fast breakout. Just need to get his list and prices on the scream. I recovered about $500 this week. The VST and Shadow Trader are slow trades. I joined the Simple Options Strategy group on FB. They trade SPX 0 DTE or one DTE with narrow spreads. It could work with proper stops. I will continue to study their practices. I traded some 1x, 2x 4x spreads yesterday, and today. It worked in this rangebound market with VIX around 30. This system may not work when and if VIX gets too high. 

Bulls Are Back 7-2-20

The majors made gains this week. They took back the losses of last week. Overall, they are still in the ranges except for NASDAQ which made another ATH of 10,422. Is SPX going to challenge 3240 area again? The seasonality may let it run till the mid of July. RUT is still below its 200 MA and above the 50 MA. The triangle formation may continue choppy for a while but will break hard one way or another. 

My net liq is at 110K after sending $5K back to ET this week. The leverage is down to 384. I was able to unwind most of the bull puts in SPX which were sucked in during last week's pullback. The delta in SPX is negative now. I am planning to switch one RUT long put to SPX long put if and when the margin is allowed. 

My directional options trading has improved. I took stops more forcefully helped. I did more of my own research than just waiting for the alert. The surge of big techs helped my performance as well. I still have the fear of losing in committing a larger contract. I may stay below $400 per contract and be selective.   

On The Edge Of Breaking Down 6-28-20

The majors pulled back this week after retesting last week's breakdown area. SPX tried 3 times to close the gap above 3155 but failed. RUT closed the gap down of 6-11, then got rejected as well. NASDAQ falls back below 10K. It appears the pullback could continue while the pandemic worsening in the US. However, the uptrend in daily and weekly are still intact. But they closed in the lower sides of the current ranges. 

My net liq is basically unchanged from last week's 109K. The leverage is about the same as well. I didn't get enough room to pay $5K back to ET as I planned. I sold 3-4 long puts aggressively to cover the -$4K roll of 2350 SC. I was confident that SPX would push to close the 3055 gaps. As most of the time my overconfidence doesn't serve me well. I got another pie on my face. 

My trades with Insight Options didn't go well this week. His winning trades went too fast to catch. I may be better off the take a slower approach. I have been listening to Larry William's trading book in Chinese and learned some good lessons. Be patient and give time for a trade to work are two things I need the most. I overtraded in SPY and SPOT yesterday on both sides with emotions charged.