Hey Guys,
The market is in a high volatility mode right now. It came down really hard on Friday and it's staying down this morning.
I hit a few stoplosses this morning, include a couple where the stock gapped down below my stoploss price (EQNR and AZN). It doesn't happen often, but there is always a risk of gapping for swing traders. It means that overnight (or in this case over the weekend), the price of the stock moved and went beyond my exit order price. That means my order got filled for an even lower price than the stoploss price I specified in my order. Not a particularly fun way to start the week, but it comes with the territory for swing traders.
When the market makes a strong downward movement like it has in the last couple days, it can drag a lot of our positions down with it. When a lot of positions are going down in value at once, it can bring up some tough emotions. Fear about losses. Anger about not getting a more profitable outcome. A sense of losing control.
And to my mind, it is exactly at these times that it's most important for me to try to stay grounded and stick to my trading plan. Back tests suggest that a long term reward might be available to those who stick with it through thick and thin. And beyond that, I've seen so many times where the prospects for the market seem so gloomy in the moment, and then things suddenly turn a corner and there are rainbows and butterflies. Some of my best profit streaks started right during periods like this. That's not to say that there isn't risk though! There's no guarantee that we have profits in our immediate future. You just never know what's coming next, and that's what makes trading so challenging.
I got a full slate of new positions today. In the main account, I bought PSA and VLO from the watch list. In the extra options account, I bought CAH, CI, BMY, and MPC options. In the low-priced account, I bought WRB and MPC.
If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you.