Market Direction today is all about waiting for earnings. The weakness remains in the market and this morning’s selling continues to put investors on edge. There are plenty of signs of strength still, but just as many signs of the market being unable to penetrate convincingly higher. At this stage even if the S&P 500 pushes back to a new high, there must be a convincing move, otherwise it will be a double top, which as most investors know will be a signal that the market direction is ready to correct.
Market Direction Action For Apr 8 2013
The market direction was weak from the start but the market managed to hold losses and has put in two higher lows which is what has kept me from doing any Put Selling. I did one Trading For Pennies IWM trade which I will try to post later today. At 2:00 PM the S&P is managing to push into positive gains.
Market Direction intraday Apr 08 2013
I have done a number of trades but they are all adjusting positions. The Aflac Stock naked puts at $49 required to be rolled down this morning and I wrote extensively about that to assist others in understanding roll down methods for naked puts. Here is a link to that article for FullyInformed Members.
Aside from this I am waiting for the earnings announcements like other investors.
Market Direction Outlook Intraday for Apr 08 2013
Market direction continues to show resilience but this continuing saga of buying dips and Put Selling dips won’t continue to last. The market direction can only push back as long as there are buyers and as explained in my market direction outlook this weekend, the market is not cheap here despite what analysts are preaching.
The only thing that can keep the market direction moving higher is above average earnings. Earnings must beat expectations. Alcoa is the first to report. Analysts are expecting 8 cents per share this quarter. If that fails to happen, we could see additional selling tomorrow. \
Right now the market direction is tepid and investors remain on edge waiting for the earnings to begin. Most investor know that those earnings will be the driving factor behind whether the market direction continues higher or we finally see a serious correction.
I am on the fence at this point. I have a fair amount of cash on the sidelines which will be used to either rescue in the money puts or to place new trades. I do not have too many naked puts on stocks at put strikes I would not own them at so I will be rolling most of my puts forward rather than down, to earn additional income if we do enter a correction. Remember that on average bull markets correct 3 times a year. So far we have had perhaps one correction.
April tends to be the best month for stocks every year, but perhaps this year it will have been January. Only the upcoming earnings will let us know for sure.
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