The S&P ended up closing right near it’s open yesterday (~$3 below it, actually), despite being on a bit of a rally in the morning, and today price gapped up, but is currently pushing down. Overall, things still look weak here. And since I don’t look much, I didn’t notice it, but the VIX has been mostly rising over the last week or so

Updating at 12:17:

Welp, I don’t know. I looked at my screener and separated some things that I liked, but ended up losing focus, getting on social media; then using the bathroom and reading the rest of a chapter, then decided I needed to get back to the markets. I decided that I wanted to look at a day trade again.

Nothing on my “long” list looked actually tradable, but there were a few on my short list, and only like 3 from today. SNAP and BAC were two that I looked at and BAC was the one I drilled in to. Looking at the hourly chart, price is overall pushing down, but was on a rally. I dropped down to the 5 min. chart and the rally was somewhat long, but price was up against the upper band, and into overbought territory; as well as coming up to a strong resistance area. I ran the numbers, and overall it was a 2 R:R, so I liked it. I put a .05% ($25 risk) entry order in to trigger if/when it pushed back down.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it but I set my entry order as a limit order, rather than a stop order, so it filled immediately (at a “better” price since I sold initially). And to make things worse, where it filled was right around where my stop would be, so that order was rejected. I fixed everything, and got a stop in about 15¢ above my entry with my original target. It wasn’t exactly my trade, but it’s still in the direction I wanted, on the time frame I wanted — the pattern just wasn’t “confirmed” so I’m not terribly upset (and it was a small risk, not a full 2%, so that helps), but I need to pay more attention going forward.

The post Stock Analysis | April 28, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

I’m a little groggy & hung over this morning, but not too bad. More tired than anything, but hopefully coffee helps. Coffee is helping a bit. It’s been like 10 minutes since I’ve done anything here (I got coffee, turned on DP, and of course just stared out the window for a bit), but I’m back.

Yesterday, the S&P pushed down to roughly the support level that it reached back in late February/mid-March, and today price gapped up, but is only up <1%. Things don’t look great for equities right now.

Lastly, before I look for new opportunities this morning, I set the entry order I had yesterday in DKNG again this morning. So far it hasn’t triggered, but when I looked, it’s still basing, so I’m comfortable with it.

Welp, yesterday there were only 2 stocks on my screener. Today, there’s 27. Let’s dive in

I’m doing a, sort of, end of work day update here. I didn’t do great today; spent a lot of time on Reddit, and didn’t analyze charts like I should. I got into the trade that I looked at yesterday, so that’s good, but otherwise, I haven’t really felt up to the task so much today. I’m going to try to take the rest of the day and do productive things: write and yoga. Hopefully I can turn it around as far as feeling accomplished, but I think I’m done trading for the day. I’ll keep an eye on things on my phone (mostly waiting for any alerts) but I’m stopping here.

The post Thoughts & Analysis | April 27, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

Looking at the stocks that I have left over from yesterday, DKNG looks like the best option. On the daily chart, there’s a nice tight base that has formed over the last 3 days; and looking at the 4h chart, there’s a solid bear rally that’s formed and price is pushing down again today. Looking at the hourly chart, there was a nice 10-candle rally before a drop this morning; the next candle tried to rally a bit but is pushing down as well. I like this short, the question now is where do I get in. I could get in at the day’s lows which is just above the bottom before the rally (with the intention of getting in at a better price) or I could get in at the lows of the base for a more confirmed move. After talking it through here, I’m going to wait for the confirmed move (well put an entry order in at a break of the base) and set an entry order if the numbers match up

The R:R of a straight stock play was only 1.2, but I still like this pushing down if it breaks support, so I bought an option. I simply followed my rule of making sure break even was within my target, and set it to not trigger until price hits $13.65. Hopefully it triggers.

Looking at my screener. There are only 2 stocks that came up — and I just refreshed for the first time today, now, at 10:12. Often, there are only a couple first thing in the morning, but later on (by around now) more stocks have qualified; but not so today. Of the two DWAC — Digital World Acquisition Corp. (sounds like a venture capitalist fund) — looks like it could have a lot of potential. Looking at the daily chart, this has been pushing down since early March, and price spiked down pretty strongly yesterday.

Today, there was a bit of a gap-up, but price still looks overall weak. Looking at the hourly chart, and the retest looks even cleaner. Price pushed down, rallied for a few hours up to resistance and is pushing down slightly right now. If it can break the prior hour’s low, that should be a good entry price. The only thing giving me pause right now is that things look close to oversold on both the hourly and daily chart, and the lows are near lows from November of last year — it’s a pretty major support level. I could take a small, .5% straight stock play to get my feet wet if it triggers. Maybe add to it if it breaks the next support level. I’ll run the numbers and see what that looks like

I tried to pull the trigger here, but my order was rejected due to shares not being available.

The post Stock Analysis | April 26, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

Firstly, the only thing I’m currently in is ARR; and it’s continuing to push down today pretty strong (my put is increasing in value), so I’ll continue to hold there. I’ve been waiting for this to reach $3.53, which would’ve been 1R according to my calculations, but the more I thought about it, my actual risk is still only $100, so I should look to get in when I’m up $50, right? That makes sense to me, so I’m going to set a trailing stop on this today. Hopefully it doesn’t trigger too soon.

The last thing I want to say before I start hunting for opportunities is: I’ve been wanting to try my hand at day trading. I can still “day trade” without taking 25 – 50 trades a day, I can take 1 or 2, especially if I only risk, say .5% or $20 or something. I also can’t, legally, do more day-trades without a larger account size. I largely want to get my feet wet, and see what it’s like to get in and out quickly, and slowly but surely increase my position sizes as my account grows and my comfort level with day trading increases. Honestly, day trading will probably be better for me in the long run, given how differently I tend to feel each day — If I can get in and out with some nice profits on my good days, I won’t have to worry so much about it on my bad days.

It’s also just another feather in my cap toward becoming a more well-rounded trader (which I believe I already am). I’m not going to be doing anything different, really, just doing the same things on lower time-frames trying to get in and out within hours not days. I almost talked myself out of it; with the thought process of needing a volume of trades to be successful, rather than just taking a shot once, but A) given the fact that I only can day trade a couple and B) if I get into the habit of trying to day trade more than just on Mondays, or something, the volume will get there. I think it’s something important, and l have qualms about using the practice account, so I’m going to do it.

I’m going to check my screener for opportunities now.

Y’know, living in a state of confusion most of the time, really doesn’t lead toward much confidence in trading. I don’t, really, have certainty anywhere that I can think of, and I think that translates. I see things I like, and when I go to actually analyze them and potentially pull the trigger, I start to feel fear; a lack of confidence. I don’t have anything else that I do that instills confidence or builds it in me — not like when I was playing basketball regularly or even call of duty in a lot of ways. I’m figuring things out. Still planning on taking some writing classes once I can pay for them myself, and slowly but surely looking into different community events I can attend to get a bit out of my comfort zone and start to feel like a person again. Baby steps. In the meantime, I need to keep working.

Initially this morning, only 4 things came up on my watchlist, and nothing jumped out at me enough to really keep me locked in. Nothing looked like it was about to pop and I should be in on it immediately, so, naturally, I decided to do something completely different. I’m trying to follow my rules of not distracting myself, while still somehow indulging in my urges a bit, and it’s a struggle. At least I know that there’s no endgame, so it causes me to get in and out fairly quickly which isn’t bad, but I’m not working so that is.

The candidate that looks best for a day trade right now is Twitter. It gapped up this morning, and has been basing ever since. Looking at the 5 min. chart, this is in a nice, tight base, the bands have contracted and it’s not overbought. If this breaks out of this base it could make a run, and since I’m only going to risk $20, I’m not too worried about it. I’m going to run the numbers, set an entry order then come back to talk about the other things I saved this morning.

Another thing I was looking at this morning — but not necessarily for day trading — is DKNG. It’s been pushing down for a long time, and has come up on my screener before, and it still looks weak. Dropping down to a 15 min. chart, though, and price has been rounding upward, and the candles are getting larger as they push up. Price is up against some resistance, and it doesn’t look like it’ll push up much more based on resistance areas, but if this is generating energy, it could pop up. Unfortunately, though, I’m not looking at this long, even for a day trade, and since it’s mostly up right now, I’m not seeing where I can short it, so I’ll hold off.

AMD is something else that has come up on my screener in the past, but I just couldn’t figure out how to trade it. Looking at it today, price has been pushing down and there was a long base during most of February and March. A couple of weeks ago, price pushed through those lows, somewhat moved sideways, then made a new low last Thursday and between Friday and today has done another retest. Looking at the hourly/15 min. chart, this is pushing down off of the retest, and at this very moment, appears to be basing again.

As a day trade, I’m not seeing much — the R:R appears to be less than 1 on the 15 min. chart. Even the 5 min. chart isn’t offering a ton that excites me. That said, though, if I look at a longer-term play, with a similar entry on the hourly chart with a target from the 4h chart at $83.50, the numbers might look better. And if they do, that just begs the question: Stock play or put option. With the underlying being in the $80’s, I think a straight stock play is the move. Let’s run the numbers and see what we’re looking at.

I’ve got a 1.81 R:R, now, which isn’t bad, but not as much as I’d like. With a stop loss $1.85 above my entry price, my R:R becomes closer to 3; and I still like it because even today, price has moved 1.5% and less than that amount ($1.50 right now). That puts my stop at $90.50 which is above a prior resistance area, but not quite the highs of the retest. I think I’m going to pull the trigger, but only risking 1% rather than 2.

The post Stock Analysis | April 25, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

I’m feeling decent today. A little tired, I don’t know why, I think I had a “hard” time sleeping last night, but it’s fine. I’ve got coffee, and I’m feeling good about my trading and my skills and what to do today

The S&P ended up closing down yesterday, despite opening above the base it was in, and today, it gapped up again, but is largely pushing down on the day so far. The gap-ups are suggesting strength, and yesterday’s drop did stall at that resistance-now-support level, so that’s pointing toward strength, too. Just going to keep my eye out for opportunities this morning.

As for what I’m in right now: ARR and ET are good. ARR gapped up this morning, and had another up-day yesterday, but still looks weak overall, and ET is pushing up yet again today. I’m just waiting for both of those option’s prices to hit .5R. FYBR on the other hand is remaining in that base, and I’ll probably exit it tomorrow. I’m giving it one more day to potentially push up and make a run.

I’m going to look through my screener now and see what’s out there. I’ll come back with analyses of any stocks I like. But first: bathroom.

OXY was on my watchlist from last week, and has just remained because it’s looked good, but not quite at tradable levels. Today, though, price pushed up strong to the highs and has started to pullback. Looking at the hourly chart, there was a huge spike at the open, for the last hour it’s been down, almost to the open, but still above, and is sitting at support levels that were prior resistance. The next candle opens in less than 10 min. so I’ll at least wait for that, but I’m going to look to get in when this pushes back above $62.40 — These options were expensive, over $4 each — so I did set an entry order but with a stop. I’ll have to make sure to monitor this one more closely if it triggers since it’s a larger investment

SAVE is another interesting one that came up this morning. It’s Spirit Airlines, and there are a couple things at play here. I backed out to the weekly chart, and looking there, this is up against a resistance area that’s held since last July. 2 weeks ago, price really spiked and hit that area, but there’s been a small pullback over the last week and this week there’s a push up. The daily chart is showing the same spike, week-long pullback and then price heading back up. The hourly chart is where things get a little trickier. It’s showing a nice, long base, and the highs were broken and an apparent retest started to form. The thing is, though, the candles look TINY unless I zoom way in, to like the last day or 2. If I zoom out (on the hourly chart) to see the last few days of activity, the candles get really small. I wonder if the spike a couple of weeks ago was so large, that comparatively, these candles have to be this small. If that’s the case, I’m not sure how far this could go. I ran the numbers, and just to the highs of the long-term range, there was a nice R:R, so I set an entry order here, too.

The post Stock Analysis | April 21, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

The S&P opened above the base it had formed over the last 4 or so days, and it’s pushing down now, but that looks to just be a retest. Things look like they could be headed back to the strong side in equities. And the VIX is down a good amount.

I’ve already entered ET. I looked at this yesterday, it had been pushing up for a while and based over the last 2 days. This morning, price opened above the base, so I got in as soon as I could — I still set a limit order, and it triggered at $0.64. I’ll keep an eye on that going forward.

As for my other positions: FYBR is down again on the day, it’s remaining in that base I thought it broke when I got into this. It’s only Wednesday, so I don’t want to panic, so I’ll hold on, but if this reaches $28, or hasn’t pushed int .5R by Friday, I’ll close and maybe revisit if it looks to break this base again

ARR is down more today, so that looks good. Just waiting for the alert that 1/5 my risk has been reached so I can move my stop loss.

Other than that, let’s see what’s available.

American & Delta airlines, and Norwegian & Carnival cruise lines are all companies that come up on my screener a couple times a week. Their patterns look okay — I’d be trading a lot of them right into resistance — but primarily, we’re heading into Summer soon, and the travel season should help those. Now that I’m thinking through it, though, that’s a very American-centric view. They’re all global companies, and summers happen at different times at different parts of the year. I don’t think the American travel “time” will actually affect things too much, and if they did, it’s already priced in. Trust the price action

The post Thoughts & Analysis | April 20, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

First things first, I got into ARR at the end of the day yesterday, and so far today it’s been pushing down strong. Looks like a great trade right now, just waiting until .5R gets hit so I can adjust my stop. FYBR is up a little, too, but that needs to push back up to the highs before I start thinking about exiting that in profit. Equities are on another up-day, but are still within the range/base that it started last week.

ET — Energy Transfer LP, which I’ve either gotten in before, or at least put an order out for in the past — looks like one of the best opportunities today. Price has been pushing up fairly consistently since the end of December, based for a bit a few weeks ago, pushed up pretty strong, had a pullback, and has pushed back up above to new recent highs. Over the last 3 or 4 days, this has been largely basing. If this can push back up through the day’s highs, it could really run. I’ll run the numbers here and see if I can find a place to get in

The post Thoughts & Analysis | April 19, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

My current positions aren’t in the greatest position right now. FYBR pushed down a bit at the end of the week and looks to be trying to recover from that and GME pushed down this morning after appearing to maybe break out last week. I’ve got stop-losses set in both, though, so I’m not worried about them, and I’m prepared to update when/if they take off; just wanted to call out what was happening with my current positions. I’m going to look through my prior watchlist and scanners now and see if I can find some opportunities

I glanced at some charts, didn’t see anything I liked initially, took a long break to clean out and look at my emails a bit, and now I’m looking again. The first thing jumping out at me is ARR, which is a residential REIT. Price has been pushing down rather consistently since the end of March and last week it based, and ultimately broke the lows of the base by the end of the week. Today, price pushed up considerably, up to the lows of that base and then started dropping off of that level quickly. I missed the initial retest, but if this breaks the lows it made after the drop, I want to get in. I’m going to run the numbers then (probably) set an order to buy a Put if this breaks $7.92

The post Thoughts & Analysis | April 18, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

Also, Carnival, which I set an entry order in yesterday, spiked up this morning, gapped up above the highs of the base I saw and looks like it would’ve been a good trade — at least initially. Unfortunately the order cancelled at the end of the day yesterday. With the gap, though, I’m actually not sure I would’ve been able to get into this; so I guess I should just resolve to be glad that I noticed something and ended up being “correct” despite not getting in. Speaks to my pattern recognition, I guess.

On the bright side, I got up early and brushed and rinsed, and was actually at the computer before 8:00. I made PB&J for breakfast, and it’s not that late. I’m not sure when I’m leaving and when I’m going to be interrupted, but as of right now, I’m still in my prime trading time.

I’m not sure why, but I don’t find myself looking at the S&P every day. I guess it’s because I don’t really make my decisions on a day-to-day based on what the S&P is doing, really, anymore; but it’s still something I’d like to keep track of. I guess checking it every couple of days isn’t that bad from that perspective. If I feel like it’ll help to check more often, I’ll start checking more often. All that said, today it’s hovering around the same area it reached the last time I checked. It wasn’t basing then, but since then it’s been basing around this area. Again, still don’t really know what to do with that information, but I’m keeping it in mind. I’m going to look through stocks now

FUBO is something that was on my list yesterday, maybe prior, as a Put play. This has been basing since Monday, and is on another push down this morning (it had a little rally yesterday). This is based on the 4h chart, where the pattern is a little cleaner — I’m looking for a break of the lows anyway. This isn’t oversold anywhere and the bands aren’t really expanded yet, so it looks like a good play to me, of course contingent on if this does in fact break these lows. I’ll run the numbers

The post Stock Analysis | April 14, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.

The only thing I’m in, FYBR, is fine right now. I don’t see any need to panic and get out, or look for profits, so I’ll let it ride.

Ugh, of course, UEC, the one I said was my #1 yesterday, but didn’t pull the trigger because of conflicting signals, is up 6% already this morning… It’s fine, it’s pushing above it’s upper band and RSI is showing overbought, but it does feel missed a little bit. I also didn’t really recognize a pattern here. Though I did see a bit of a pullback, it didn’t look like a crazy tradable pullback to me — I’m still a little nervous about trading straight pullbacks for some reason. I prefer the clean breaks of bases — so I can’t beat myself up much about this one.

GME had that huge spike a few weeks ago, has been pulling back largely since, but over the last, say, 5 trading days, this has just based. I put an entry order above the base for a straight stock play with a stop below it. My calculator is showing nearly a 3:1 up to the highs of the prior rally, so I’m happy with it. I set it as GTC, in case the base lasts a few more days, so I’ll manually monitor it

Took a long break on Reddit and games, took the gf to work and now I’m back looking at charts (temporarily, before I get back to “games”). AMC is on my watchlist this morning, and it’s a bit of a meme stock, so I’m inclined a bit to want to buy. It mostly based starting at the end of January until the end of March when it had a huge spike. It’s pushed down since then, but has stalled out at some support that was prior resistance (and, actually, prior support back in January). On the 4h chart, it’s in a mini base based on the last 4 or 5 candles and is slightly pushing up now. I think if this can push up above $20, it’ll be a good play. I’ll look for affordable options around that area

I’m in the throes, changed to the chart page and see that CCL (Carnival cruise lines) is basing beautifully. I’m going to check the 4h/1D charts to make sure the direction makes sense, but I think I’m going to put in another order. I’m also a little high now, but I’m still going to do it. I feel good about what I’m seeing initially

The post Stock Analysis | April 13, 2022 appeared first on Anthony Bradley's Trading Journal.