A weekend of uncertainty ahead.

As the market rallied at the end of the day yesterday, the temptation to add some positions was strong.  After all, there are so many good looking charts showing up, right!  But then I began to think about the weekend of uncertainty ahead and resisted the temptation.  Looking at the futures this morning pointing to sizeable gap down this morning the late day rally is looking more like a Bull trap.  After thinking it through, I am happy to have my account hedged with some DIA puts.  RWO members are holding some nice gains as the weekend approaches it would be wise to think about profits rather than adding new risk.  With all the uncertainty surrounding the market, we can rest well knowing the market will open again on Monday with loads of profit potential.

On the Calendar

The Friday Economic Calendar is giving us break with no market moving reports expected.  Before the market opens at 8:45 AM Eastern we have a Fed Speaker pontificating on interest rates.   At 10:00 AM there is a report from Wholesale Trade which forecasters see a rise in inventories.  We have the Oil Rig Count at 1:00 PM and Consumer Credit at 3:00 PM.  Unless there is some major surprise, none of the reports today are likely to move the market.

The Earnings Calendar is also very light today with only 15 companies expected to report this Friday.  A quick look through them I don’t see anything that would be market moving.  That, however, does not excuse you from checking them against your current holdings.  Relying on luck isn’t a wise way to manage your trading business.

Action Plan

The choppiness of the last couple days has been frustrating.  The Bulls and Bears have pretty much battled to a stalemate.  At the end of the day yesterday it looked like the Bulls were gaining an edge and I found myself wanting to predict the market was ready to move higher.  After all, there are a lot of very good looking charts in my qualified lists.  Finally, experience kicked in, and I started to consider the weekend ahead and all of the uncertainty facing the market.

As of now, the projections on Hurricane Irma could not be worse as this massive storm has the entire state of Florida targeted.  It’s hard to imagine, but if current projections are correct, Irma will affect the entire peninsula coast to coast.  The potential damage and economic disruption are truly staggering.  Then we have that pie-faced dictator with a bad haircut who loves spreading hate and discontent.  So as much as I would like to start buying up stocks my common sense is telling me to wait.  The market will be here Monday, and there is no need for me to be the first sheep through the gate.  If the Bulls do step in, there will more than enough opportunity to profit.

Trade Wisely,

Doug