If the timing of the Dow Jones’ recent price changes had not fallen on a weekend (when I post my index chart series) I would’ve posted this chart out of cycle in the middle of the week as I did when the same indicators called the S&P 500 bottom two months ago. It’s that big! Back then…
Month: May 2009
May 2009 Options Expiration Recap
I had another pretty good month with my options going my way for the most part. I continue to reclaim losses from last year and am easing my account balance a little higher with each month’s options expiration. Here’s how it broke down for me with today’s option expiration: DIA – I closed my DIA…
Closed DIA Vertical Call Spread
I spent the first 45 minutes of today watching DIA and trying to figure out what my best exit price would be on my vertical call spread that didn’t go according to my plan. Finally, after raising my limit order twice, my third order for a debit of $0.80 hit. While DIA was trading at $83.27…
Sold NDAQ Naked Puts – June 17.50 Strike
Not even a full week ago I closed my NDAQ May 20 naked puts for a profit. I expected NDAQ might be near the top of its range or at a minimum I thought it would dip again before it rising much more. I bought back those naked puts last week for $0.80 each. As I…
S&P 500 Chart Review – May 8, 2009
Happy Mother’s Day to all moms today! I’m making this short today so I can go spend the day with my wife, my mother and my mother-in-law. I wanted to get this same chart (a week later) up from last week. Four of the trend lines remain intact. I’m expecting a strong bit of resistance…
Closed NDAQ Naked Puts for a Profit
NDAQ has been a volatile play for me and I’ve profited a few times on my options, but felt I was starting to tempt fate with some wild moves in the stock. This morning NASDAQ OMX said they are losing market share. The details go much deeper, but that was enough for me to take…
Current Positions – May 6, 2009
I know the format is ugly, but I’m short on time this afternoon. Here are my short and long options and the one long stock I’m holding. The time value of what options I have remaining adds up to $1,101.00 I’m still underinvested for this rally, but continue to question its longevity and therefore continue…
Option Trade: Sold SLB Strangle
The May 4th edition of Barron’s had a bullish article on Schlumberger Ltd (NYSE:SLB) which led me to check its option prices. Before I detail that part, here are a couple of the quotes that helped formulate my trade decision: Schlumberger’s shares could rise 20%-25% in the next 24 months, to 60. And if there were…
S&P 500 Index Chart – May 1, 2009
I charted the S&P 500 ($SPX.X) after it closed at $877.52 on Friday, May 1st. While this bear market rally has lasted longer than I expected I still think it faces some sizeable obstacles in the near term. The farthest away and possibly most important is the trend line (A) of lower highs going back for the past year. …