There is a reason they call it that in the Stock Market and if you have traded at all this month you know why. The movement in the markets is almost non-existent except in a few isolated sectors.
However, if you wish to put some adrenalin into your morning routine all you need to do is take a look at the geopolitical environment. That should get your blood moving.
This morning in staying up to date on geopolitical events two headlines stood out:
- Pentagon tells Russia and Syria it will shoot down their planes if they continue threatening what we are doing there
- Russia asks Turkey for access to the U.S. air force base where we have a supply of tactical nukes
As I mentioned before Russia and Turkey are the two hotspots right now that could send this market into a tailspin overnight. If we shoot down 1 Russian plane or Turkey decides to give Russia access to our base things are going to get ugly very fast.
You cannot trade with real positions and not be aware of the trading big picture environment. The world is a different place now then it was 20 or 30 years ago and you need to keep that in mind when putting your money at risk.
Where the two above events lead to is hard to predict, however, that is what makes it something to consider in medium term investing.
I was sent an email about the effect our political elections here might have on the markets.
I try to stay away from the U.S. Political environment since it is so hot a subject. Seems like there is no middle ground anymore. So let me say just one thing. I doubt the elections are going to have an effect short-term on the markets regardless of who wins in November.
Long term, however, is a completely different story. One which I am not going to get into:)
I am still long GLD. Also, I am long a swing trade in an option that is 2 months until expiration.
I took a few short-term swings yesterday in the morning which turned out to be close to a push.
These are very tough markets to attempt to scalp any money out of with BreakOut trades. Yesterday started out excellent with $ADD at well over +1500. However, the trend day never developed. Ideally, you want to catch some breakout trades during a trend day and ride them out. That is where the money is on these short-term scalps. That is why $ADD is a good thing to watch during the trading day.
Back to the markets for me. We are at about unchanged this morning 30 min before the open.
Good Luck Today
RickJ
RickJ’s Handicapping Picks
