8/29 Day/swingtrades

I had planned a light day on Friday with minimal trading. There were a couple daytrade set-ups that looked pretty good, though:

GS - despite the weak market, GS showed strength all day so I picked up some calls as it traded above 163 on higher volume
Profit - $1.20 on Calls

RIMM - With the tech sector weak following Dell's earnings, RIMM opened up below the 125.00 support level. I waited until it broke the opening range low to pick up puts.

Bought @ 123.76, Sep 145 Puts

Sold 1/2 @ 121.64 & 1/2 @ 120.80

Profit - $2.50 on Puts

8/28 Day/swingtrades

I'm not sure what to make of this rally with the volume tapering off going into the weekend. I started a couple positions but will probably keep it light with the long-weekend. My guess is we hold the gains and maybe even tack on a little more before the institutions sell-off next week.

POT - I bought POT as it crossed over the moving averages and closed out the position today as the opening range could not hold.
Bought @ 178.90
Sold @ 182.90 & 179.70
Profit - $2.40 on Calls

HES - I bought HES as it consolidated at the 105 level and sold yesterday and today on the opening strength.

Bought @ 105.70

Sold @ 109.02 & 108.20

Profit - $2.90 on Calls

X - I bought X as it crossed over the moving averages and sold today as oil started selling off.

Bought @ 128.90

Sold @ 133.45

Profit - 4.55 on shares

ICE - looks to be breaking out of the double-bottom channel. I picked up some Sep 95 Calls.

ABK & WM - I should have gone with any of these below instead of WM last month. Hindsight is always 20/20...and also painful. In any case, I picked up ABK (Sep 7.5 Calls) on the late day strength and WM (Sep 4 Calls) on a potential triple-bottom on the daily. I also daytraded MBI but only eeked out $0.10 despite the late-day strength.

VPHM - Stop @ 13.80

8/27 Day/Swingtrades

ENER - daytraded on break of 79.00, $0.40 loss on shares

GOOG - daytraded on break of 470.00, $1.50 profit on shares

Those overnights opened up pretty well:

HES - sold half, $3.30 profit on calls

POT - sold half, $4.00 profit on calls

X - still holding

VPHM - still holding

8/26 Day/Swingtrades

This market is doing a good job of eating up my profits:

MCD - Stopped out in the AM

Loss - $1.40 on Calls

SPWR - Stopped out flat on remaining position in the AM

VPHM - Moving Stop to 13.80

I also picked up some HES (energy strength), X (double-bottom?) and POT (NR7 on daily, CF strength) calls. Given the trading environment, I'll probably have to close those out in the AM.

8/25 Day/Swingtrades

The weak market stopped me out of a few positions, today:

GS - I'm glad I took profits on last Friday's daytrade as I got stopped out of the remaining position.
Bought @ 156.50, Sep 120 Calls
Sold @ 156.71
Loss - $0.15 on calls

AMZN - On the other hand, I should have taken profits here last Friday.
Bought @ 83.26, Sep 65 Calls
Sold @ 83.36
Loss - $0.45 on calls

SPWR - With FSLR tanking at the open, I lifted my stop shortly after the open to put a limit order to sell but didn't get filled. Instead, I ended up adding a few calls @ 92.73 towards the end of the day.
Stop @ 91.90

MCD - still holding

VPHM - still holding

8/22 Day/Swingtrades (Close the Gap Set-up)

On days like today where the market starts off very strong (or weak) in the first 30 minutes, stocks tend to spend the rest of the day searching for direction as traders take profits from the morning gap and others rotate their money, re-establishing new positions. Therefore, many stocks will "close the gap" mid-day before a trend is fully established later in the afternoon. The key here is to establish the position as close to the gap level as possible to minimize risk.

POT - Unfortunately, I was a bit late with POT so my stop was set too tight. Had I entered at the gap level (184.00), the appropriate stop would have been closer to 184.60. In any case, I got stopped out before POT tanked along with energy/commodities.
Bought @ 182.84, Sep 230 Puts
Stop @ 183.50
Sold @ 183.50
Loss - $0.70 on Puts

GS - I traded this gap much better. I caught this as it stabilized at 157.00 and set the stop @ 156.70. I still had the position from yesterday so I sold today's calls near the close to minimize exposure over the weekend.

Bought @ 157.50, Sep 120 Calls

Sold @ 159.60

Profit - $2.00 on Calls

Stop @ 156.70 on first set of Calls

MCD - I typically don't trade slow movers like this but MCD had a lot of momentum following earnings and has pulled back to the moving averages on lower volume. Yesterday would have been the best entry so I went with a half position today.

Bought @ 63.26, Sep 57.5 Calls

Stop @ 61.90

CSIQ - I sold the Sep 35 Calls as the opening range low could not hold. I was hoping the solar laggards would catch up with FSLR/SPWR/LDK/ENER but the action the past couple days has been disappointing.

Bought @ 31.27, Sep 35 Calls

Sold @ 31.33

Loss - $0.05 on Calls

SPWR - Moving stop to 94.40.

AMZN - Moving stop to 83.40

VPHM - Keeping stop at 13.40

8/21 Day/Swingtrades

I took some profits in the early AM. The energy/commodities have had a good run the past 4 days. It may be time for a breather as many stocks are sitting right at the 20-SMA on the daily charts.

POT - I picked up calls as it broke above the opening range high.
Bought @ 180.20, Sep 140 Calls
Sold @ 185.50
Profit - $5.00 on Calls


AMZN - I re-entered this morning as it stabilized above the moving averages.
Bought @ 83.27, Sep 65 Calls
Stop @ 81.90

GS - I picked up a couple calls near the close. It looks to be breaking out of the declining channel and the stop is manageable at 153-154.

Bought @ 165.50, Sep 120 Calls

Stop @ 153.90

SOL - This laggard faded the early morning strength...along with SOLF

Bought @ 18.88, Sep 12.5 Calls

Sold @ 18.55

Loss - $0.40

GG - Sold into early morning strength. Thanks go to Darwin for calling the gold reversal last week.

Bought @ 31.15, Sep 25 Calls

Sold 1/2 @ 32.80

Profit - $1.30 on Calls

Sold remaining 1/2 @ 35.05

Profit - $3.52 on Calls

CLR - Sold into early morning strength

Bought @ 49.94, Sep 30 Calls

Sold @ 55.37

Profit - $5.40 on Calls

SPWR - Sold 1/2 @ 94.50

Profit - $4.00 on Calls

CSIQ - moving stop to 30.40

VPHM - keeping stop at 13.40

8/20 Day/Swingtrades

It was all about solar and energy stocks today. There were a lot of HG set-ups using the 30-min chart after the EIA data release. I only managed to get in on CLR.


AMZN - I anticipated a trend reversal with the market strength in the AM using the 30-min chart but was too early.
Bought @ 82.84, Sep 65 Calls
Sold @ 81.39, Loss - $1.50 on Calls


CME - I thought CME would run with the market strength in the AM but got stopped out later in the day.
Bought @ 341.50, Sep 250 Calls
Sold @ 340.64, Loss - $1.00 on Calls


POT - I sold the calls when it couldn't hold the OR low. It is setting up a narrow range on the 30-min charts with a more defined stop-level so I'm going to load up on calls if it can break-out tomorrow.
Bought @ 174.43, Sep 120 Calls
Sold @ 176.00, Profit - $1.00 on Calls


X - I sold X as it dropped following the EIA data. I should have re-entered later in the day but I was too focused on the solars. I'll try to get back in if it gains traction tomorrow morning.
Bought @ 134.00, Sep 100 Calls
Sold 1/2 @ 137.70, Profit - $3.00 on Calls
Sold remaining position @ 139.17, Profit - $5.00 on Calls


SPWR - It traded up to $93.84 but I wasn't quick enough to take profits. I wasn't too impressed with the price action and volume as compared to other solars but will keep this in play.
Stop @ 90.90


GG - Took some profits:
Bought @ 31.15, Sep 25 Calls
Sold 1/2 @ 32.80
Profit - $1.30 on Calls


CLR -
Bought @ 49.94, Sep 30 Calls

LDK - I should still be holding this from 40 had I not tried to daytrade it with a tight stop last week. I did pick up some Calls as it broke the narrow range and OR high. I ended up exiting towards the close as I'm overweight the solars right now.

Bought @ 45.73, Sep 35 Calls

Sold @ 47.16

Profit - $1.30 on Calls

CSIQ - I'm loaded with SPWR and SOL calls so I went with OTM Sep 35 Calls in case this one keeps running.

Bought @ 31.27, Sep 35 Calls

Stop @ 27.00

SOL - I didn't plan on re-entering SOL after the non-action yesterday but I had already picked up LDK and SPWR in the AM and saw this nice set-up as I was scanning the rest of the solars. I picked up some Sep 12.5 Calls as it crossed the OR high with the volume spike.

Bought @ 18.88, Sep 12.5 Calls

Stop @ 17.90

VPHM - I had an alert on this stock to buy when it crossed 13.50 last week. Earnings were pretty good and it has held up very well the past few weeks. However, I wasn't thrilled about the volume and felt it needed a rest after rising a few consecutive days. Anyways, it got a rest yesterday so I picked up a few Sep 12.5 & 15 Calls.

Bought @ 14.50, Sep 12.5 & 15 Calls

Stop @ 13.40

8/19 Day/Swingtrades (updated with swing charts)

SOL - I dumped my remaining calls at the open when there wasn't a pop from earnings. I think LDK/SPWR are better solar plays at this point.
Profit - $0.50 average on calls

SYNA - After yesterday's failed break-out, I should have just closed out the position. Instead, I left a stop that was taken out in the AM.
Loss - $1.00 on calls

SKF - I locked in some profits at 131.00 in the AM and tried pyramiding when it retraced to the moving averages but was stopped out at 132.50
Profit - $7.00 on shares, $6.50 on calls

PCX - I tried catching the momentum in coals this morning. Unfortunately, I didn't manage the stop very well and picked the weakest of the bunch. It fell $2.00 from my entry.
Loss - $2.00 on shares

X - When the energy/commodities gapped lower at the open on low volume, I had a feeling the MMs were triggering some stops before running higher. Unfortunately, I was a bit gunshy and waited until X broke the OR high before entering.
Bought @ 134.00, Sep 100 Calls
Sold 1/2 @ 137.70
Profit - $3.00 Stop @ 133.90

GG - This looked to be forming a double-bottom on the daily. If the dollar/markets continue there pullback, gold should bounce here. The volume on the daily looks pretty good. Per the comments, Darwin was able to pick these up the last couple of days. I wanted to wait until GG comfortablly traded above the moving averages on the 30-min chart, above 31.00.
Bought @ 31.15, Sep 25 Calls
Stop @ 30.40

SPWR - This pulled back after Friday's monster gap open. It formed a base around 88.00 and looks to be headed back up.
Bought @ 90.34, Sep 70 Calls
Stop @ 87.90

POT - I was kicking myself for not starting a position in POT at 170 this morning. I pulled up the charts at 170, 172 and 175...and did nothing. So, when it retraced to the moving averages on the 30-min charts, I picked up just a couple calls to make me feel better. The Ags look like they want to head back up. I'd like to see more than a one-day move though.
Bought @ 174.43, Sep 120 Calls
Stop @ 171.90

Break-out or Break-down - NVDA, VMW, WAB

Here are a few stocks that held up pretty well today:

VMW - I left this for dead after last quarterly earnings when they got rid of the CEO. I'm guessing it's moving up on rumors of Cisco being interested in EMC/VMW. There is a big gap that needs to get filled if technology stays strong.

NVDA - Earnings weren't that great but it's been basing pretty well at 13 the last few days.

WAB - provides brake systems to the rail industry. It held up pretty well today but it's right at the 52-week high and all the rails (UNP, CSX, CNI, etc.) have topped out. If the market continues to weaken, this may end up being a double-top. Volume was lower during the move back above 58.00 and MACD is declining. OBV/RSI are still on the way up so I'll wait for it to break today's low to start a position.

8/18 Day/Swingtrades

Oh well, so much for the lower channel support that I highlighted last night. At least the market started off weak and got weaker throughout the day so I didn't get sucked into any longs in the AM. The financials are still dictating the market diretion and the direction is down.

Swings:

SOL - With earnings tomorrow morning, I rolled my profits into the Sep 20's.

SYNA - still holding Calls but will tighten the stop in case the market rolls over

SKF - Picked up some Sep 80 Calls and shares @ 123.59 and 125.10

Leaning Long

The Dow & S&P500 appear to be bouncing off the lower channel. While energy/commodities may rebound, I'm still going to lean long the bullish sectors: Technology, Biotech and Solars.

8/15 Day/Swingtrades

Based on Friday's action, the solar stocks may finally be decoupling from the price of oil. I'm going to swing them longer-term if there's some momentum next week. I took just a few daytrades on Friday:

CALM
Bought @ 45.50, shares
Sold @ 46.63
Profit - $1.13

SPWR
Bought @ 93.00, shares
Sold @ 93.95
Profit - $0.95

X
Bought @ 130.68, Aug 125 Call
Sold @ 129.90
Loss - $0.80 on Calls

Swings:

SYNA - started a position as it looks to be bouncing off the moving averages on the daily
Bought @ 53.72, Sep 40 Calls

SOL - Got a boost from the solar sector and positive comments on CNBC. Earngings are 8/19 before the bell so I may roll profits into Sep 20 Calls for downside protection.

8/14 Day/Swingtrades

Other than DRYS, I went 0-3 on the daytrades and mismanaged my overnight holds. With X and OIH gapping lower at the open, I should have been looking for exit opportunities when the stocks closed the gap instead of leaving the loose stops in place. As for the daytrades, in retrospect, there was no significant volume to support the moves.

LDK - I bought on the initial spike above 40.30 but I tried doubling the position-size with a tighter stop and it didn't last very long.
Bought @ 40.35, Aug 35 Calls
Sold @ 39.95
Loss - $0.40 on Calls

CALM - this one is just too hard to trade unless you catch the intraday bottom and use stops based on the daily charts.
Bought @ 44.50, Aug 35 Calls
Sold @ 44.10
Loss - $0.50 on Calls

GOOG - This has been holding up pretty well. I thought it would catch a bid with the market up so much during the day.
Bought @ 506.10, Aug 490 Calls
Sold @ 505.10
Loss - $0.90 on Calls

Swings:

X - I got stopped out of my remaining position after X closed the opening gap.
Re-entered @ 135.50, Aug 130 Calls
Sold @ 136.00
Profit - $0.00

OIH - This one also fell after closing the opening gap.
Bought @ 183.14, Aug 185 Call
Sold @ 184.00
Profit - $0.20 on remaining calls

GG
Pyramid @ 32.51
Sold @ 32.40
Loss - $0.25 on calls

DRYS - I picked up some Aug 75 Calls yesterday and pyramid Aug 70 Calls on the opening strength
Bought @ 74.00 - Aug 75 Calls, @ 76.59
Sold @ 79.00
Profit - $2.30 - Aug 70 Calls, $2.50 - Aug 75 Calls

SOL - I started a position as the daily chart looks like it may begin to trend upward ahead of earnings.
Bought @ 17.06 - Sep 10 Calls

8/13 Day/Swingtrades

So much for complaining about the market environment yesterday. Had I been more liberal with my stops in SKF, MOS and POT instead of nickel and diming the profits, I would have been sitting on some very nice paper gains this morning. Instead, I spent the first hour of the day kicking myself for selling those positions and the rest of the day making back most of those paper gains. Aside from the trades below, I bought puts in AMED @ 50.00 and SHLD @ 88.00 but closed them out flat when the market started rebounding. I also bought some DRYS Aug 75 Calls in case there is follow-through tomorrow.

X - After watching the Ags take off the AM, I was determined not to make the mistake of taking profits too soon. I held onto the Aug 110's and when X stalled at 135, I booked the gains and doubled up my position with Aug 130's.
Bought @ 130.30, Aug 110 Calls
Sold @ 135.04
Profit - $4.70 on Calls
Re-entered and doubled-up @ 135.50, Aug 130 Calls
Sold 1/2 position @ 138.10
Profit - $2.00 on Calls

OIH - I couldn't decide which energy stock to buy so I went with OIH.
Bought @ 183.14 - Aug 185 Call
Sold 1/2 @ 185.88
Profit - $0.98 on Calls

POT - Too bad I sold the calls yesterday at $164.00. Today, I waited for the oil inventory report to re-enter. I closed out the position when it had trouble breaking 179.00 on volume. It is sitting right at the daily 10-SMA (see daily below) which may act as resistance. I'm going to wait for volume to re-enter.
Bought @ 173.76, Aug 150 Calls
Sold @ 179.00
Profit - 5.00 on Calls

GG - I pyramid at 32.51 and sold half when the stock retraced to 33.00. I'm going to trail the remainder using the 15-SMA on the 30-min chart or until Friday afternoon.
Bought @ 30.90, Aug 30 Calls, Pyramid @ 32.51
Sold 1/2 @ 32.99
Profit - $1.55 on Calls

LDK - I closed this position when there was no follow-through at the open. It is setting up a very nice low-risk narrow range. I'll re-enter with Aug 35 Calls if it breaks out of this range on higher volume. Keep it on the radar.

Shoulda, coulda...DIDN'T...WYNN & AMED

I definitely wasn't focused today. After the market gapped lower, I told myself to look for overextended stocks that could rollover. Instead, I spent the morning wishing for a rebound in the Ags and energy/commodities so I could get in on the move and trying to will the solars higher. When these weren't panning out, I finally settled down and got to my original plan for the week of looking for options expiration setups around 10AM. Anyways, here are a couple that I pulled up and "passed" on. The key takeaway here is to be on the side of the market direction. The path of least resistance was "down" in financials and momentum as opposed to "up" in Ags/energy/commodities:

WYNN - I put this on my watchlist last night but didn't do anything with it until 10. The Aug 110 Puts would have been nice but WYNN had already gone lower by the time I pulled up the quote. If WYNN rebounds back up to the 20SMA tomorrow morning, I'll pick up some Aug 105 Puts.

AMED - I wish I knew about this report http://www.citronresearch.com/ when I pulled up the option chain. The Aug 65 Puts were trading around $2.00 at the time. The intraday range was $0.52 - 10.72:

8/12 Day/swingtrades

This market is still very choppy. I long for the consistent $5-10 swing days with little effort. Instead, these trends are lasting 2-3 days max and you need to be on the right side of the intraday trend and the right sector to be profitable. I don't like taking this many trades so will probabably scale back and get a lot pickier with my trades.


SKF - Here's an example of all the cards lining up. Stock gaps up at the open indicating strength, all the technicals (RSI, MACD & OBV) are moving higher, a narrow range develops between 115.50-117.00, financials are tanking so the trade is in the right direction and there's a spike in volume as the stock breaks the narrow range. This is a perfect daytrade set-up to double your position size...which I didn't because I pulled up the chart a bit late.
Bought @ 117.70, Aug 100 Calls
Sold 1/2 @ 120.30, Closed out position @ 122.30 (I got very lucky here. I set the sell order $2.00 above the first sale and it ended up being $0.16 from the high of the day)
Profit - $3.30 average on calls

MOS - After selling POT too early, I tried chasing MOS but was not patient enough. The moving averages are still finding their way and I bought in no man's land.

Bought @ 97.30

Stopped @ 97.40

Loss - $0.30

GG - Per Darwin's recommendation, gold has been selling off quite a bit lately. I picked up GG as the moving averages reversed and GG traded back above them using the 30-min chart.

Bought @ 30.90, Aug 30 Calls

Stop @ 30.40

X - Similarly, I picked up some X as it crossed over the moving averages using the 30-min chart. This will be a quick rebound trade if it can continue up.

Bought @ 130.00, Aug 100 Calls

Stop @ 128.40

LDK - I picked up som Aug 40 calls this morning. Nothing special there...I'm just banking on some positive earnings from other solars to lift the sector.

SHLD - I dumped my remaining Aug 95 Calls. With 3 days left to expiration, I'd rather be in DITM calls then watch the $2 premium erode, especially with the low volume moves. I'm still keeping it on the radar in case it gets squeezed some more but at this point I have no position.

Bought @ 91.00, Aug 95 Calls

Sold @ 94.00

Loss - $0.10

CALM - I didn't like the way it traded below the 30-min moving averages all day so I closed out this position also.

Bought @ 41.00, Aug 40 & 45 Calls

Sold @ 43.50 - Aug 35 Calls, @ 42.50 - Aug 45 Calls

Profit - $1.70 - Aug 35 Calls, Loss - $0.30 Aug 45 Calls

MELI - still holding those lottery tickets. The earnings don't look that great and with the down market, these will probably expire worthless.

POT - Sold in the AM...way too early.

Bought @ 160.69, Aug 145 Calls

Sold @ 164.00

Profit - $2.00 on Calls

8/11 Day/Swingtrades

Options expiration week started pretty well today. AMZN Aug 85's were the best risk/reward for me but looks like there decent moves in the AAPL 175 Calls and WYNN 155 Calls that I missed.

AMZN - ran out of the gates and broke the earnings day high at 82.00. I picked up the Aug 80 & 85 Calls.
Bought @ 82.30, Aug 80 & 85 Calls (Aug 85's were cheap this morning so I was able to position-size a decent amount)
Sold @ 89.30
Profit - $6.00 profit on Aug 80's, $4.00 profit on Aug 85's

CME - broke recent highs at 346.00. I tried holding 1/2 for an overnight swing but my stop was triggered in the late sell-off.
Bought @ 347.00, Aug 320 Calls
Sold 1/2 @ 355.50, Sold other 1/2 @ 348.00
Profit - $8.00 profit on 1/2, $0.80 profit on other 1/2

GOOG - I thought GOOG could gain some traction but it stalled out along with the market sell-off.
Bought @ 305.00, Aug 490 Call
Sold @ 304.50
Loss - $0.50 on Calls

MA - this one went nowhere
Bought @ 238.60, Aug 230 Calls
Sold @ 237.50
Loss - $1.00 on Calls

Swings

SHLD - I pyramid at 92.20 (Aug 85 Calls) but got sp0oked on the sell-off after it hit 94.84 so I dumped all the Aug 85.00 Calls. I'm still holding a few Aug 95 Calls.
Bought @ 90.06, Pyramid @ 92.20 - Aug 85 Calls
Sold @ 94.00
Profit - $2.40 average on calls

CALM - closed at the highs but the volume is still suspect. I'll just keep waiting for the short squeeze. The Aug 45's look great if this thing takes off.

MELI - Picked up a few MELI 40 Calls for an earnings gamble.

POT - The selling looks overextended. I picked up a few Aug 145 Calls

General Trading Strategy and Options Expiration

Per J's request, my post on 7/20 (Trading Deep-in-the-Money options) sums up the options component of my trading strategy. It's hard to get too detailed as different market conditions require different strategies. As you've seen on previous posts, I had a few failed break-outs the past few weeks because the market has been choppy. I had to switch to a shorter time frame and daytrade a bit more.


In general though:


Stock selection - I trade momentum stocks depending on market conditions, long financials and short energy/commodities seemed to work this past week. Looks like tech and healthcare will move to the forefront this coming week. In a trending market, I'm looking for stocks that are bucking the trend and showing strength on down days and/or showing weakness on up days. I like to use the 30-min time frame to identify the longer term trend reversal.


Entry - I use support and resitance levels making sure 1, 5, 15 and 30 min timeframes are lined up. Also, trading with the market trend will help minimize false breakouts and breakdowns. One of my biggest challenges is staying patient for a narrow range to develop where I can find a reasonable price to set the stop.


Exit - Once I've established a position, I usually switch to the 15-min candles and take partial profits after a few points and use a trailing stop based on the 30-min or daily chart moving averages on the remaining position.

Options Expriration - For expiration week, this week, I'll be transitioning to at-the-money and out-of-the-money options as most of the time premiums have dried up. This sets up many low-risk, high reward opportunities while maintaining the same overall risk parameters. I'll usually focus on stocks currently trading above $100 since the dollar movement will be more important then the percentage movement. For instance, there's a higher chance of capturing a $5-10 movement on AAPL/RIMM vs. ADBE.

Whatever the case, I ALWAYS stay with the front-month options, especially now with the volatile daily swings. As an example, if I buy AAPL Aug 170 Calls tomorrow for $3.00 and it runs up to $180 by the end of the day, I should be able to exit at $10 for $7.00 profit. On the other hand, if I had picked up the Sep 170 Calls, it would cost me $8.40 in premium and if AAPL runs to $180, I would exit at 14.50 with only a $5.90 profit. In both cases, I'm prepared to exit before expiration so it makes no sense to pay the extra premium for the September calls as it works against me. If I decide to hold into next month, I can always roll the options on Friday afternoon before the market close.

8/8 Day/Swingtrades

With energy/commodites gapping lower at the open, I didn't see any great setups so shifted over to technology as it has been showing strength lately. I made a few good daytrades and then chased POT at the close.

RIMM - I bought RIMM as it broke the early morning resistance at 130. I wasn't too confident of the intraday set-up but with the market up big, what the heck.
Bought @ 130.20, Aug 115 Calls
Stop @ 129.20
Sold @ 133.00
Profit - $2.65

AAPL - I entered AAPL as it broke yesterday's high of 166.00.

Bought @ 166.00, Aug 155 Calls

Stop @ 164.90

Sold @ 169.00

Profit - $3.00 on Calls

DECK - Holy Grail (HG) trade...I picked up shares on the bounce off the moving averages.

Bought @ 118.00, shares

Stop @ 116.90

Sold @ 121.00

Profit - $3.00

POT - After a few wins, I started chasing late-day set-ups and bought puts in POT as it broke the narrow range. I forgot to remind myself, "a rising tide lifts all boats". The 300+ gain in the Dow lifted POT towards the close as the shorts covered.

Bought @ 170.50, Aug 200 Puts

Stop @ 171.10

Sold @ 171.10

Loss - $0.70

Swingtrades

WM - I dumped these as it was not even close to participating in the early morning strength.

Bought @ 5.10, Aug 5 Calls

Sold @ 4.90

Loss - $0.13 on calls

SHLD - I picked up some Aug 85 Calls as the stock crossed 90.00. I'm also still holding the Aug 95 Calls. Everything was looking great until the sell-off near the close.

CALM - Weak volume but the price held up alright. Maybe a consolidation day before another run-up.

Thought you were safe in Biotech?

Looks like nothing is safe nowadays. Did anyone catch this sell-off in the biotechs? I had no idea this was going on in the last hour. I may be completely in cash by the end of tomorrow. Some crazy incident at the Olympics is all it will take to spook the rest of the weak hands. This is definitely a daytrader's market: