Up and Up Again 3-28-24

 The major indices closed with another positive week and 5th consecutive month of gains. SPX made another ATH at 5254. The rally continues with the FED's anticipated 3 rate cuts this year. The flat or down March seasonality didn't play out. The positive returns of January and the first quarter likely set the tone for the year. I will follow the trend day by day. 

IBQ Netliq is up 17.5K, 5.5% from 197.7K to 209.2K for this 4-day Easter week. It was a wash from the week before the last. I paid another 10K back to ETQ for the 2nd time this year. The realized P/L is a staggering -$61385. I used this month-end expiration for many inverted SC adjustments. The collected cash is only $1952. I only made 1 BF for 1.5K. It was a greedy R/B because I broke the -1+1 rule. It finally exited with one from last week. The delta is up to -355 from -110. There were 3 SPs exited. The leverage is down slightly from 280 to 266. The total positions are C 8-0 and P 9-2. There were 58 trades this week. Many of them were from previous weeks. The commission cost is $250. I added on 1-1-2 XSP for 4-30. 

For March, the realized P/L is -$37552. The collected cash is $12221.  The total positions are C 8-1 and P 9-4. Working on keeping the position sizes. The leverage is up from -128 to -325 after 2 SPs exited. 

 The two small accounts suffered further after the SPX's new highs. The realized P/L is 2207. The total cash collected is $-303. IBP and TOS got $768 and $-1071 each. There was no BF trade for this 4 day week. I was working to exit the 2 BFs from last week. I am paying to roll the positions in TOS because the B/P is low now. It's the cost of not taking stops. 

The realized P/L is stunning -$46144 for March on top of Feb's -32571. The collected cash is $7352. IBP and TOS got $11160 and $-3808 each. 

Lessons and Plan: The issues are about the same. The question is if I made a better me every day?

1. I followed the rules and stayed calm most of the time this week. 

2. My meditation practice brought me more patience and consciousness. 

3. I broke my BF -1+1 rule in IBQ and IBP accounts. I got greedy and knowingly took the expansion this afternoon. I will prepare to stop out if the market pulls back more next week.   

4. Don't make a trade when I have doubt subconsciously. 

5. I should prepare for possibilities if the SPX goes up another 5-10% without any serious pullback during this election year.           

The J. Powell Pump 3-22-24

 The main event of the week was the FOMC meeting. There was no interest rate cut as expected. The market was focused on the rate dot plots and J Powell's news conference. J. Powell's talk often stirs up the market. He sounded dovish and underplayed the sticky inflation this time. Most board members plotted three rate cuts for 2024 despite last month's inflation rebound. The market reacted positively with a big rally. SPX broke above 5200 with another all-time high. 

IBQ Netliq is down from 209K to 197.8K, -5.5%, -11.5K after the FOMC rally. The realized P/L is $22007. The collected cash is $5457. I had 4 BFS trades. Three of them are rolled out to next week. The delta is -101 from -50. The leverage is up slightly from 250 to 280. The total positions are C 8-0 and P 11-1. There were 53 trades this week. Another XSP 1-1-2 is expired and worthless. The commission cost is $213. I didn't try harder to add another XSP 1-1-2. 

The two small accounts suffered further with the FOMC breakout. The realized P/L is -30296. The total cash collected is $4679. IBP and TOS got $4132 and $547 each. Some of the LCs got ITM on the FOMC rally. That helped TOS to collect some cash while suffering losses. I traded 4 BFs. Two of them were rolled out to next week. 

Lessons and Plan:

1. I followed the rules and stayed calm most of the time this week. 

2. My meditation practice brought me more patience and consciousness. 

3. I broke my BF -1+1 rule in IBQ and IBP accounts. I got greedy and knowingly took the expansion this afternoon. I will prepare to stop out if the market pulls back more next week.   

4. Don't make a trade when I have doubt subconsciously. 

5. I should prepare for possibilities if the SPX goes up another 5-10% without any serious pullback during this election year.   

Another Flat Week 3-15-24

 The major indices are in the low momentum mode this week. SPX closed another all-time high at 5175 then fell back in the last three days. The reported Feb CPI, and PPI were hotter than expected. The inflation is stickier. The next big event is the FOMC meeting next week. It's not likely that the FED will start to cut the interest rate soon. 

IBQ Netliq is up 9.6% from 189K to 209K. It finally got back above 200K in a month. The realized P/L is $-11604. The collected cash is only $1815. I had only one BF trade this week. This one is still carried to next week. The delta is -50. The leverage is down from 280 to 250. The total positions are C 8-1 and P 11-0. There were 74 trades for the week. Some of them were not executed in this week. The commission cost is $384. There were 1 in and 1 out in 1-1-2 XSP this week. 

 The two small accounts had mixed results. The realized P/L is 234. It stopped bleeding as the market stalled. I only traded one BF in IBP. I followed the rule of one out before one in. The total cash collected is $1082. IBP and TOS got $1368 and $-286 each. TOS depends on the market movements now since there isn't enough b/p. 

Lessons and Plan:

1. I followed the rules and stayed calm most of the time this week. 

2. My meditation practice brought me more patience and consciousness. 

3. The market may be in a transaction period. This is a dangerous time for my trading style.

4. Don't make a trade when I have doubt subconsciously. 

 

A Flat Week After New Highs 3-8-24

 The major indices closed flat for the week after breaking new highs. The bulls may be taking a breather. The seasonality indicates a choppy March. MACD daily is showing a cross down. The trend is still up through. 

IBQ Netliq is up 2.3% from 185K to 189K. The realized P/L is $3128. It's not a loss at least. The collected cash is $2633. I traded 3 BFs with one partial stop loss. The delta is -83. The leverage is 282 about the same as last week. The total positions are C 9+2 and P 11+3. The two BFPs today were added to the SPs. I need to have more control over the position sizes. There were 57 trades for the week. The commission cost is $230. There was no 1-1-2 entry this week. I need to spend more time on this system. 

The two small accounts had mixed results. The realized P/L is -$9469. The continued rally gave no relief. I only traded two BFs. I had to let the old ones exit first. The total cash collected is $1366. IBP and TOS got $3510 and $-2144 each. I had less than 10K b/p left in TOS. I decided to spend funds to roll TOS positions. It's like paying stops at a late time and higher cost. I also transferred 25K to TOS from ET in case the rally continues. 

Lessons and Plan: The same as last week. 

1. My rules for delta adjustments: 趋势决定，远调近出, 先远后近，先大后小. 

 2. adjust my biases and positions when and if the market conditions change. I should adjust the delta according to the current trend.  

3. Remember my daily intentions are "Keep calm, Stay disciplined."     

4. I may have a subconscious fear of sudden liquidation breaks. It happened twice this week. Keep in mind the 80/20 rule.  

5. The added mid-day meditation has helped me to stay calm.    

6. Don't make a trade when I have doubt subconsciously.         

Bulls Keep Going Strong 3-1-24

 The major indices booked another up week. SPX is up 4 months in a row and hit another ATH of 5137. The bulls are defying the gravity. The animal spirits are taking over the rationales. The market tends to go extreme in both directions. RSI shows overbought conditions in weekly and monthly charts but not daily. The Fibonocci targets for SPX are 23%, 5150, and 50% 5195. 

IBP Netliq is up 4% from 177K to 185K this week till March 1st. The realized P/L is -$21434. The collected cash is only $1066. I didn't have any BF trades this week. I focused on adjusting the delta and exiting SP positions. The delta is still -175. The leverage is down slightly from 301 to 290. After so many in and out, the total positions are C7 -3 and P8 -2. That's progress. There were 80 trades this week. The total commission cost is $324. The 2nd XSP 1-1-2 expired in profit. I didn't add any 1-1-2 this week for the same reason as last week. The QQQ and VIX hedges failed to work. I should roll them out to extend the hedges in the future. 

The two small accounts slipped further into the holes as the rally continued. The realized P/L is -2298. It was helped by IBP's Inverted RR and BF trades. The collected cash is $5896. IBP and TOS got $3454 and $-153 each. TOS is in the worst condition with 12K b/p left. I will change TOS trading strategies once it's out of this swamp. 

Lessons and Plan:

1. My rules for delta adjustments: 趋势决定，远调近出, 先远后近，先大后小. 

 2. adjust my biases and positions when and if the market conditions change. I should adjust the delta according to the current trend.  

3. Remember my daily intentions are "Keep calm, Stay disciplined."     

4. I may have a subconscious fear of sudden liquidation breaks. It doesn't happen often. Keep in mind the 80/20 rule.  

5. The added mid-day meditation has helped me to stay calm.