My Swing Trading Approach

Raise my stop-losses in existing positions. Protecting profits comes first and foremost. Should the market rally continue into today, I will look to add low-risk plays to the portfolio. 

Indicators

VIX – A quick 7-day fall from 14.51 to 9.67. Par for the course. 

T2108 (% of stocks trading below their 40-day moving average): Up 6 straight days to 53%. I still have a concern that this is a dead cat bounce. 

Moving averages (SPX): Trading above all the moving averages. 

RELATED: Patterns to Profits: An Intro Trading Course

Industries to Watch Today

Solid day for all the indices – each of them finishing the day in the green. Technology and Basic Materials led the way, per the usual. Financials and Industrials saw the least amount of action. 

My Market Sentiment

Trading should resume back to normal today. We are back in the phase of making marginal new highs. I’m not expecting any major moves here.   

S&P 500 Technical Analysis

Current Stock Trading Portfolio Balance

• 5 long positions

Recent Stock Trade Notables:

• TNA: Long at $61.00, sold at $64.08 for a 5.1% profit.
• Micron (MU) Long at $43.20, sold at $44.78 for a 3.7% profit. 
• Alibaba (BABA): Long at $186.42, sold at 179.29 for a 3.8% loss. 
• Paypal (PYPL): Long at $74.18, sold at $73.29 for a 1.2% loss.
• Square (SQ): Long at $36.00, sold at $37.35 for a 3.8% profit. 
• Adobe (ADBE) : Long at $175.20, sold at $179.62 for a 2.5% profit. 
• Alibaba (BABA): Long at $187.00, sold at 181.77 for a 2.8% loss. 
• Paypal (PYPL): Long at $71.94, sold at $72.98 for a 1.5% profit. 
• Lam Research (LRCX): Long at 210.41, sold at $205.20 for a 2.4% loss. 
• Baidu (BIDU): Long at $242.80; sold at 248.29 for a 1% profit.
• Nvida (NVDA): Long at $195.17, sold at $204.88 for a 5% profit.
• Humana (HUM): Long at $248.73, sold at $261.20 for a 5% profit.
• Square (SQ): Long at $32.92, sold at $34.36 for a 4.4% profit. 
• Nvida (NVDA): Long at $198.17, sold at $194.06 for a 2% loss. 
• Lennar Homes (LEN): Long at $56.63, sold at $58.10 for a 2.6% profit. 
• Lam Research (LRCX): Long at $185.23, sold at $192.24 for a 3.8% profit.
• Starbucks (SBUX): Long at $55.59, sold at $54.94 for a 1.1% loss. 
• Illinois Tool Works (ITW): Long at $148.63, sold at $151.23 for a 1.8% profit.
• Nvdia (NVDA): Long at $180.18, sold at $187.38 for a 4% profit. 
• Olin Corp (OLN): Long at $34.37, sold at $36.14 for a 5.2% profit.
• Lowe’s (LOW): Long at $77.97, sold at $81.52 for a 4.6% profit
• IBB: Long at $330.91, sold at $338.25 for a 2.2% profit. 
• Seagate Technologies (STX): Long at $34.35, sold at $33.89 for a 1.3% loss. 
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN): Long at $149.65, sold at $147.14 for a 1.7% loss. 
• Imax Corp (IMAX): Long at $23.03, sold at 22.26 for a 3.3% loss. 
• Marriott International (MAR): Long at $106.26, sold at $108.26 for a 1.9% profit. 
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $170.63, sold at $170.29 for a 5.0% profit. 
• Workday (WDAY): Long at $106.91, sold at $104.90 for a 1.8% loss. 
• Nvdia (NVDA): Long at $170.45, sold at $187.94 for a 10.3% profit. 

See my entire swing-trading past performance here.