Today was yet another day in which I 'shut it down' early without making a single trade. I was eyeing the Nasdaq's 50-day moving average and the 2006 highs on the Dow right around 10:00. Both of those areas held as resistance and the indices began to retreat. Given the way the market's been recently (up one day, down the next and typically narrow ranges) I figured it'd be best for me to take a mental health day.
I see that I'm not the only person who's been doing a lot of that of late. Jeff, the Stock Bandit, wrote an article today that expresses exactly what I've been feeling for much of 2006. His article, 'The View From the Hammock', is about traders needing to recognize when to trade and when to walk away. Like Jeff, I often take clues from the number of swing setups I find in my scans. Even though I'm strictly daytrading that 'indicator' still woks well for me. I'm seeing a lot of shooting star patterns tonight so maybe tomorrow some shorts will trigger for me and I'll actually make a trade or two. I'm not holding my breath though...
Here are charts of the Nasdaq and Dow:
Hey Mike,
Do you have any comments on the sale of Knight-Ridder to McClatchy and the reports that investors have given up on the newspaper business?
Kim,
Honestly I haven't thought much about that deal. When I first heard it my initial thought was "why in the world would they want to buy a newspaper...". I know people, and especially we bloggers, have been harping on the death of MSM / newspapers / magazines for a few years now.
Maybe this deal is saying that things are too negative...
P.S. the Media Stock Blog has rounded up some thoughts on the deal