The Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly Ends

 This is the last week of June. Today's PCE is a major news event. The 0.1% in May is in line with the market expectation. SPX gapped up over 5500 and reached an ATH of 5523. It started to fade after 10:30 and filled the gap by noon. It was a gap and crap I didn't expect. SPX ended the week flat with the ranges of 5523 to 5430. It's the end of the month and the quarter as well. Both are finished strongly. 

IBQ Netliq is up 4% from 157.1K to 163.5K. The realized P/L is $3881. It's basically flat. The cash collected is only $1740. The little cash profit is mainly from the long calls. I followed my plan to trade longs. I didn't trade the BF setup this week. The options' value is down 6.7% from -456.2.3K to -442K, -14.2K. The delta is up from -170 to 25. The leverage is down from 380 to 362. It's still above my ideal level of below 300. The total positions are C6-0 and P9 -0. I traded another risk reversal from 7-3 5230C to 9-19 1:2 5600P and 5475P. It made the delta balanced. There were a total of 50 trades for the week. It's an average of 10 trades per day. The commission cost is $156. I added one 1-1-2 trade for July 31. 

The Netliq is down 12.7% for June, from 187.2K to 163.5K, -23.8K. The realized P/L is $83,261. The options' value is +6.7% from -412.3K to -442K, +29.7K. The cash collected is $7293. It's below my plan to make 10K per month. The delta is up from -41 to 25. The leverage is up 19% from 296 to 362. The total positions are C6-2 and P9 -2. There were a total of 238 trades for the month. It's an average of 48 trades per week. The commission cost is $883. The long trades and 1-1-2 system paid off for the month. 

The 2 small accounts are in the worst situation for the year with the new highs. It has been about a year in a slump. I managed them poorly through the downturn of last fall, and then the reversal from last November. I caused them a devastating situation. The realized P/L is $-1104 for the week. The cash collected is -243. IBP and TOS got $-243 and $0 each. TOS had no activity because I planned to move the most assets to IBP. I made two attempts to transfer the positions and both failed. The Schwab support reps gave me different guidance after each rejection. They now require two weeks to the expiration date before the transfer. I will make another extension for the options next week. 

The realized P/L is -$84636. It's the worst of the year. The cash collected is -$1983. IBP and TOS had $-677 and $-1306 each. It's the first month with negative cash flower. I had to spend money to save some B/P.   

    Lessons and Plan:

1. It's important to keep the size small. The small size will reduce the red and yellow warnings. 

2. Have patience in directional trades. I have different emotions when in such trades.  

3. Stay calm and disciplined. Make myself a little better every day.          

4. Learn this hard lesson of 2024. I will spend money to reduce my holdings and risk.

5. Continue the 1-1-2 trades. I will explore using ES instead of XSP if the margin requirement is more beneficial.          

The ATHs Renewed 6-22-24

 The major indices closed in the green for this week. SPX finally reached the century number of 5500. It set 32 times the new highs in 2024. The next Fib target is around 5540-50. We may see a pullback in late June seasonally. But keep in mind it's a bull market. The dip buyers are very active. 

IBQ Netliq is down 3.5% from 162.8K to 157.1K. It set a new low record for the year. The realized P/L is $22902. It's a nice recovery as I exited some bull puts. The cash collected is only $1504 for the 4-day week. The little cash profit is mainly from the long calls. I didn't trade the BF setup this week. The delta is down from -264 to -170. The leverage is up from 360 to 380. It's way above my ideal level of below 300. The total positions are C6-0 and P9 -0. There were a total of 64 trades for this Quad Witching Week. The commission cost is $262. I didn't get in any 1-1-2 trade. 

The 2 small accounts are in the worst situation for the year with the new highs. Their b/p were both at the low 30K and 20K after I added 20K to each account last week. My reserves are less than 20K in ETP. The realized P/L is $-21243 for the week. The cash collected is 608. IBP and TOS got $-235 and $833 (dividend?) each. It's a disaster I am fully responsible. I traded 3 0 DTE with 2 stops. I am OK with it. I decided to transfer TOS to IBP after delaying for a week. I initiated the transfer on Monday. I left the cash-out. I didn't realize it until the evening. I realized I was really stressed. I worried about it and had a terrible evening. I had to contact both sides of the brokers to stop the transfer. Luckily Wednesday was a holiday. I had to research the option transfer regulations because the receiving broker provided incorrect information. I am sad to say that I blew up my TOS account. I am determined I will recover and regroup from this disaster. 

Lessons and Plan:

1. Stick to the stop-loss plan and build the habit. It doesn't feel too bad to take a small loss. 

2. Have patience in directional trades. I have different emotions when in such trades.  

3. Stay calm and disciplined. Make myself a little better every day.          

4. Learn this hard lesson of 2024. I will spend money to reduce my holdings and risk.

5. Add more directional trades to my trade strategies. 

6. Continue the 1-1-2 trades. 

 

Three New Highs In A Raw 6-14-24

 It was another record-breaking week. SPX and NQ booked 3 and 4 new ATHs. The triggering events were CPI and FOMC on Wednesday. CPI showed a 0.1% better inflation MOM. FOMC dot plan projected 1 rate cut for the year instead of 2 to 3 cuts. The market brushed off the hawkish change. The PPI confirmed that inflation eased.

Interestingly the Dow and RUT didn't run up to new highs. They diverged from SPX and NQ. Some data showed only a few high-flying stocks were holding the market. The market tends to pull back in late June seasonally. We will see if this year is any different.   

IBQ Netliq is down 10% from 179.8K to 162.7K. The breakout above 5430 hurt my short calls more than helping the bull puts. The realized P/L is $21796. It's a nice recovery as I exited some bull puts. The cash collected is $3342. A large part of the cash was earned from the directional trades. I rolled NVDA calls up. I milked the original 10X CS to $2K profit and took a 100-share assignment. I was calm and creative through the process. The meditation helped me with a clear head. The delta is up from -219 to -264. The leverage is up nearly 20% from 309 to 360. It could have been worse if I didn't RR the 5250SC to 2 SPs. The total positions are C6-1 and P9 -2. There were a total of 54 trades. The commission cost is $205. I added one 1-1-2 for the July 26 expiration. 

The 2 small accounts are in the worst status in the last 12 months with the new highs. Their b/p were both at low 20Ks. I had to wire 20K to each account just in case. The realized P/L is $-28355 for the week. The cash collected is -1040. IBP and TOS got $-620 and $-420 each. It's the first time both accounts collected no premiums in a week. I had to spend funds to roll to save the B/P. I traded 0 DTE in TOS with a strict stop-loss order in place. It's breakeven for this week.  

 Lessons and Plan:

1. Stick to the stop-loss plan and build the habit.

2. Have patience in directional trades. I have different emotions when in such trades.  

 3. Stay calm and disciplined. Make myself a little better every day.          

Another New All Time High 6-7-24

 SPX made another new all-time high of 5375, the 25th for the year. Today's NFP report was much higher than expected, with 272K new hires vs. 182K expected. The market sold off initially before the opening. SPS held at 5330 and rallied to a new high of 5375. Then it pulled back to 5347. The uptrend is still intack. What an incredible bull market. FOMC is the next major event next Wednesday. We may see some consolidation before it. 

IBQ Netliq is down 3.7% from 187K to 182K this week as SPX crossed back above 5300. The realized P/L is $34681. It's nice to have a positive P/L. The cash collected is only $1416. I rolled NVDA and QQQ call spreads further out to squeeze more profit. The AMD calls turned out to be a loss. The Infra service has generated positive returns for me. The delta is up from -41 to -219. The leverage is up a bit from 296 to 309. The total positions are C7 -1 and P11 -0. There were a total of 57 trades. The commission cost is $220. I added one 1-1-2 for the July 19 expiration. 

The 2 small accounts got deeper ITM with the new high. The two inverted SPs in IBP were exited with profits. The realized P/L is $-23632 for the week. The cash collected is -939. IBP and TOS got $652 and $-1591 each. I traded 0 DTE in TOS with a strict stop-loss order in place. It's breakeven for this week.  

Lessons and Plan:

1. Stick to the stop-loss plan and build the habit. 

2. Infra trading service has worked so far. The NVDA and QQQ trades were from it. I will keep doing it and believing in the odds.

3. Stay calm and disciplined. Make myself a little better every day.   

        

The Last Week and The Month of May

 The last week of May ended slightly in red. The month of May is green and recovered from the April pullback. The patterns of the monthly bull flag and weekly higher lows are intact. Last Friday's bullish engulfing was a big reversal from the bearish engulfing of May 23. Seasonally, June could be an up first then pullback later month. I shall keep an open mind for new developments with a forest view. 

The IBQ Netliq is in the rangebound from 184.7K to 187.2K. The realized P/L is $45547 for the 4-day week after Memorial Day. This week was my adjusting base with many orders from previous weeks. The collected cash is only $562. There are four long calls in NVDA, AMD, and VIX with money out. The NVDA LC rolls are paid off in full. The delta is in a range of -115 to -41. The leverage stayed at 296 from 299. The total positions are C8 +11 and P11 -1. There were a total of 47 trades. The commission cost is $187. The short-term directional trades have worked out with Infra services so far. Managing such trades requires mindset change and risk control. I added one 112 trade for July this week. 

for May, IBQ Netliq is up 6% from 175.8K to 187.2K. The realized P/L is actually -$36276. The collected cash is only $6376.  The delta is down from 319 to -41. The leverage stayed at 296 from 310. The total positions are C8 -3 and P11 -1. There were 261 trades in total. The commission cost is $1145. These results still need to be a turnaround.    

The two small accounts had some relief in the slump. They totally rely on the market movements. The realized P/L is $14305 for the week. The cash collected is $1953. IBP and TOS got merely $332 and $1621 each. I started to trade 0 DTE in TOS with a strict stop-loss order in place. I was stopped for the first one. It didn't feel bad at all. I am changing my bad habit of fear of losing. 

The monthly results for the two small accounts are mixed. The realized P/L is -42063. The cash collected is $1636. IBP and TOS got merely $1447 and $188 each. I paid about $4K to buy 25 points and roll up the positions in TOS. IBQ had inverted SC and SP. 

Lessons and Plan:

1. Stick to the stop-loss plan and build the habit. 

2. Keep trading directionally and believing in the odds.