Another Volatile Week 4-29-22

 The majors suffered another volatile week and closed at the lowest point for the week. So much for the seasonally best April. SPX, NQ, and RUT all closed below February's lows. SPX and NQ booked their fourth consecutive negative week. RUT had one week of a small gain within the last four weeks. The three now are closed at their lows of the year. The pictures are bearish. We could see a bounce before or after FOMC next Wednesday. 

My IB Netliq slide to 116K including the 10K I transferred in today. It's another 24K drawdown from last week. The account was hit with a 22K margin call on Wednesday. I mistakenly thought the red letters were false until an SPX LP was called away. It was the 2nd time this year. I can't even find a good excuse for it. The account booked a $12,185 profit on paper for the week. The total P/L is $11K for April. The cash collected was negative because of the margin call. It was such a bad experience and feeling.

For April, IB's realized P/L is $11,705. The collected cash is -$16,233 due to the $22K margin call. 

The 0 DTE hit a couple of full debit hedging targets. The 2 small accounts collected over $4K for the week. The ET account was lucky enough to clear these rolled-down positions early in the week. I had to roll out another batch of puts today in order to let the 4140P be profitable. These 4130Ps were lucky to be OTM at the last minute today. The 3.6% selloff was brutal today. 

I made $10,640 in the two small accounts in April. Some hedges worked out during the volatile time.

The lessons learned this week:

1. Be quick and nimble to adjust my positions based on the market direction and the delta.

2. Don't hesitate to spend money to hedge my accounts. Overall, I have made profits with the hedges. 

The Sell Off Accelerated 4-23-22

 The selloff intensified after the majors tried to break to the upside earlier this week. The 20, 200 DSMA acted as resistants for SPX after it fall below last week. RUT is still far below its 200 DSMA. The 20 DSMA is resistant now. The three majors closed their third week of losses. The small caps had a small gain last week but also formed a bearish engulfing weekly bar like the others for the week. The charts are bearish for now. The downside targets are to retest the March lows at least. We could see a lower low if the retest failed. 

My IB holdings suffered a big drawdown this week. The netliq ended at 123K, down from 165K of last week. It's a 40K drawdown for the week. The weekly realized P/L is -32K. The premiums collected are a mere $900 since I had to spend more on hedges and buy $400 long puts to boost the margin during the 2.7% selloff on Friday. 

The 0 DTE suffered some losses with a smaller profit. It collected $900 for the week. I had to roll some short puts to next Monday due to the big selloff on Friday. The buy put hedge worked which eliminated some losses. 

The lessons of the week:

1. Don't forget to look at the forest. The bearish setup was clear looking back now. The majors below the 20 DSMA were clear signs of bearishness. I was fooled by the overnight and opening moves in the shorter time frames. The correct approach is to analyze it from the top-down. 

2. Obey my rules. I broke the -1+1 rule again last Thursday when there was a gap up. I tried to rescue an underwater SPX SC that is about 100 points ITM. Instead of waiting to see the true intention of the market, I made a big reversal order to add about 50 points to the long side. The market reversed when J Powell spoke about the rate hike the market broke down. I ended up holding the bag without an exit plan. My bias was wrong. I then added another LP assuming the market would hold. I broke the -1+1 rule here. Stick to the rules!!!

3. Be patient when the VIX is high or there is a big event during the day that could affect the market. I said that I wouldn't place any order before J Powell speaks last Thursday. I totally forget about it when the market gapped up and pushed higher after the opening. 

A 50% Pull Back So Far 4-14-22

 The majors closed the 2nd down week in April. They have pulled 50% back from the 500 points mid-March rally. The EOD selloff indicated there may be more downside moves ahead. Both SPX and RUT are below their 20 SMA on daily and weekly. These are not bullish signs. SPX may come down to the 4330 area with the 62% FIB retest. RUT already hit the 78.6% retracement and closed at the 62% Fib area. The seasonally best performing month of April hasn't played out so far. 

The IB Netliq is up 9K to 165K for this Easter shorted week. The leverage is also lowered from 272 to 252. The realized P/L is -5.8K due to the RUT 2250P rollout and a failed 1 DTE IF. The collected cash is only $650. There was no major payoff in hedges for the week. I am still too cautious in trading the 0 DTE in this account.  

The small accounts continue to be my bread and butter for my cash flows. The realized P/L is $54K with the 3K from the recovery of the IF rollings. The actual cash collected is about $2.46K. There were two small hedge payoffs for about $500. 

I made a big poo-poo in date selections due to the holiday-shortened expiration change. 

I plan to use this long weekend to study the complex order types after finishing my tax returns.  

The Bulls Are Tired 4-8-22

 The majors closed lower for this week. SPX is down a little more than 1% and  RUT closed below 2000 again. QQQ is leading to the downside. The selloff was induced by Fed members' hawkish talks. Naturally, the market needed a breather after the recent rally. I expect the selling pressure to continue early next week as MACD and Friday's closing indicated. 

The IB Netliq is down 11K including 2K to BAC for expenses. The realized P/L is $23.5K, mainly from the exited positions. The collected cash is $1,550 resulting from a couple of hedges that worked. The leverage is at 253 from last week's 241. My options portfolio is still venerable to the downside. 

The 0 DTE in my small accounts only realized $1160 profit. I entered an IF 1 DTE on Tuesday which didn't work out. The put leg is still in the book after 2 rolls. 

Improvements of the week:

1. I have been more patient in waiting for the market to come to me. I paid more attention to the levels.

2. I recognized and controlled my emotions more consciously. I was willing to let an order go instead of chasing it. 

Issues to address next week:

1. I need to set a clear rule for my stop losses even if there is a hedge protecting protect part of my positions already. 

2. Continue to build the habit of entering stop-loss orders after a new position is established. This is still my weakest link. 

The Review of The Week & Month 4-1-22

 The majors continued the rally but stalled at the end. SPX and RUT closed slightly up in almost Doji-like bars. They have moved to the upper side of the Feb-March ranges. We may see some attempts to retest the January breakdown areas and rangebound for a while. Notice that the majors are below or at their 20 wk MAs, broken their weekly downtrends. 

For the last week of March (excluding April 1) the IB Netliq is down 4K with 10K sent back to ET. The realized P/L is -29K due to the rolling of the SPX 3375 SC. The pullback on Wednesday and Thursday didn't help either. The leverage is at 2.55. The premiums collected are $3.7K thanks to some of the directional hedges that went into the money. 

The personal accounts performed fairly. There was one big loss (-800) in TOS PS during the last 30 min selloff on Thursday. The total P/L is $1,010 for the week, about $1K less than last week.  

March is in the rearview now. The results of the month are:

IB Netliq is 170K up from 108K of Feb. The cash collected is $15K, recovered partial loss of the $25K in Feb. The realized P/L is $41K compared with the $18K of Feb. The leverage is down to 255 from 440.  These good results are mainly the recoveries from the Jan-Feb drawdowns. The portfolio is still very much market-dependent. 

The 0 DTE in my small accounts is still my income generator. The realized P/L is $7.6K, about 1K up from Feb. Feb was a more volatile and shorter month.  

Placing stop-loss orders is still my major weakness. Once I have hedges on I relaxed my rule of stop losses. Also, remember that the unlikely sudden moves in the market are the main risk factor.