Tried putting on a scaling trade on VXX, the VIXX index ETN (on the expectation the market might break). But the first lot drifted lower as the market rallied through the day to close from about 8 points down back up at just under 2 points down. I let it stop out, and never got to buy any more because the market didn’t follow through. There was no conviction in the early morning break. So I took that small intra-day loss, plus another on CAD rallying against my US positions. The positions I started the day with stayed alive.
| TRADING | 10-Jan-11 | UPDATE | 445 | |||||
| # | Trade | Qty | Stock | Symbol | Price | Acct | ||
| 23 | Bought | 9.5% | iPath VIXX | VXX | @ | $36.85 | 1 | |
| 23 | Sold | 9.3% | iPath VIXX | VXX | @ | $35.85 | 1 | |
| Qty % is the portfolio weighting | ||||||||
| S&P500 | 1269.75 | -1.75 | -0.14% | ||
| CURRENT POSITIONS | |||||
| STOCK | SYM | LAST | CONTRB | WGT | Trd # |
| CASH | 72.4% | ||||
| HBP NGas 2X ETF | HNU | $6.56 | -0.43% | 8.5% | 5 |
| HBP Glb Gold 2X ETF | HGU | $15.25 | 0.69% | 7.9% | 57 |
| HBP CrOil 2X Sht ETF | HOD | $7.71 | 0.89% | 4.0% | 24 |
| Drxn Real Est 3X Sh ETF | DRV | $18.32 | -0.40% | 7.2% | 60 |
| Directional Bias | Long | Short | Net | ||
| 16.5% | 11.2% | 5.3% | long | ||
| CONTRB is total contribution to profit of all closed, and current open, positions | |||||
I don’t see any really compelling trades here. Stocks and commodities are up a lot, though the latter broke in the first week of January. The long side doesn’t seem to offer a lot of potential from this level given that the rally is fairly long on the tooth. And nothing much looks like a clear-cut short. Right now I’m thinking the best prospects out of meagre pickings might be going long gold stocks and silver, at least for a short-term trade. I already have the HGU trade on, and silver is a possibility here. (I tried that Friday and it stopped out.)
