Trading Plan for October 27, 2010

Current Long Positions (stop-losses in parentheses): TICC (9.62), DTV (42.99), AAPL (307.87), GLD (121.25), DDS (26.07), SSO (41.40)

Current Short Positions (stop-losses in parentheses): None

BIAS: 32% Long

Economic Reports Due Out (Times are EST): MBA Purchase Applications (7am), Durable Goods Orders (8:30am), New Home Sales (10am), EIA Petroleum Status (10:30am)

My Observations and What to Expect:

• Futures are down moderately.  
• Asian markets were down significantly over night – over 1%. European markets are down as well. 
• Yesterday’s intra-day sell-off tested the 10-day moving average and the intermediate trend-line off of the August lows and held support before rallying off of those lows. 
• The markets are very much stalling at current price levels – comparisons can be drawn to the choppiness seen around the April highs, from earlier this year(which also occurred during earnings season), before it ultimately headed lower. 
• Bears need to push this market below the 10-day moving average as well as close below the current trend-line – that is the first order of business. Ultimately, the bears have to push the market below 1159, before  they can cast a dark shadow over this market. 
• Bulls will once again attempt to demoralize the bears by erasing this early morning weakness, and close higher on the day. Tuesday’s highs need to break, and a close above 1200 on the S&P should see further buying interest arise in the market and increase investor morale.

Actions I Will Be Taking:

• Closed out my positions in AAPL and DTV for a 3.1% gain and 1.8% gain respectively. 
• All of my current stops in my positions remain as is. 
• Added SSO yesterday at $42.49.
• Could add 1-2 new positions to the portfolio on market weakness.  
• Not hedged heading into the open.
• Follow me in the SharePlanner Chat-Room today for all my live trades, including my day-trades.