Everyone just do the opposite of what I do and you will make money. I went long ASML today at 13.90 when it looked like the SOX would carry the market back into the green.
Obviously I should have shorted it.
One thing I can tell you for certain is that I am no longer using margin for either short positions or long.
It's house rules when you play with their money. They change the rules whenever they like.
BWAC is also right about valuations. I've gone from short to long simply because I expect the momentum to continue upward.
So far I would be better off short. With the BP Indices as high as they are if I get burnt here for going long then I deserve it.
I see little inherent value in the stocks I am long.
At prices 1/2 of where we are at today we can make a case but not here. Not even now that a recovery seems assured.
At least I can't make the case.
From Briefing.com: Close Dow -81.55 at 9343.96, Nasdaq -26.50 at 1817.20, S&P -6.12 at 1003.26: [BRIEFING.COM] The indices bounced around the unchanged mark for most of the day, until late afternoon news hit that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found more traces of weapons-grade uranium in Iran... The relative weakness that had marked the day's trade was only exacerbated, and the market rapidly fell through a series of support levels for a significantly lower close... The end result left the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 each down 3.1%, 3.4%, and 3.2%, respectively, for the week... The root cause behind today's selling efforts - like Monday and Wednesday's sessions - was the inclination to book profits from the market's double-digit run... Some nervousness ahead of the September quarter warnings season, combined with what was a batch of negative corporate and brokerage firm calls today, pressured the indices... To that end, Banc of America downgraded a number of defense stocks to (see Briefing.com's Upgrades/Downgrades page for the full list) based on its belief that Iraq Supplementals and the rising US fiscal deficit have started to place increasing pressure on the outlook for the defense budget... Additionally, Eastman Kodak (EK 22.00 -4.99) said it was restructuring its growth strategy, and that would require slashing its annual dividend to $0.80 from $1.80... The latter was the worst performing Dow component for the day... As for the broader market, defense, cyclicals, and biotech exhibited weakness for most of the session, and technology, financial, and homebuilding joined them in negative territory in the late-day pullback... The latter did not get much mileage from the August New and Existing Home Sales reports that both checked in above the consensus estimates and neared - or set- record highs... Other economic reports for the day included August Durable Goods - which fell to -0.9% versus the consensus of +0.6% - and jobless claims for the week of September 20... The latter fell 19K to 381K (consensus of 400K), its lowest level since February, but the report's improvement was mitigated by the fact that Hurricane Isabel impeded the count... NYSE Adv/Dec 1094/2128... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 846/2358. |
