My Trading Journal for the Stock Market Today: 

I’m pretty sure we are at that point where, “how many days can the Dow push higher”, has become irrelevant. Lets just admit it, we are in the Phantom Zone at this point. We can decline 1% today is probably less likely than us running higher for another 4 or 5 days (now watch the market drop 1% today). 

Couple of things worth pointing out, you have Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress tonight. It isn’t a State of the Union because he has only been in office for about a month or so. But pretty much anything is on the table – as is every day I guess you could say. There is supposed to be an emphasis on health care, so in the past biotech stocks have not performed well when he has talked about anything related to them. So, for the sake of tonight, I am going to stay away from healthcare stocks and biotech stocks in particular. 

Don’t get to hung up on whether this market is going to continue sky rocketing higher. Just trade the market for what it is. Volatility is practically nonexistent. That won’t always be the case, but for now it is, and you have to trade that way. Stocks are getting a little lethargic on their charts, but you have to fight through that as the market keeps finding a way to push higher. 

Semiconductors could be an interesting play today, some of them are trying to perk back up again, and defense stocks, if you can find one that provides a decent risk/reward setup are definitely worth following. Finally, tech as a whole has been a safe, consistent place for traders. Key in on that. 

Now let’s go see if the Dow can extend the record streak to 13 days. 

S&P 500 Chart

Current Stock Trading Portfolio Balance: 

• 5 long positions, continuing to tighten the stop-losses on them all. 

Recent Stock Trade Closeouts:

• SPXU: Long at $17.31, closed at $17.22 for a 0.5% loss. 
• Flex Technologies (FLEX): Long at $15.62, closed at $16.57 for a 6.1% profit. 
• Broadcom (AVGO): Long at $208.30, closed at $210.89 for a 1.2% profit. 
• Baidu (BIDU): Long at $174.70, closed at $187.00 for a 7.0% profit. 
• Ollie’s Bargain Outlet: Long at 33.20, closed at $32.50 for a 2.1% loss. 
• SPXU: Long at $17.58, closed at $17.24 for a 1.9% loss.
• Gold Miners ETF (GDX): Long at $25.22, closed at $25.04 for a -0.7% loss. 
• Corning (GLW): Long at $26.98, closed at $27.45 for a 1.7% profit. 
• Illinois Tool Works (ITW): Long at $127.74, closed at $129.86 for a 1.7% profit. 
• Marriott Int’l (MAR): Long at $86.16, closed at $87.51 for a 1.6% profit. 
• Microsoft (MSFT): Long at $63.45, closed at $64.09 for a 1% profit.