Mindful Trader Commentary For May 18, 2023


Hey Guys,


The market went up yesterday and is at the top end of its range today. The S&P 500 is around 4,155.


There was some divergence within the market, though. The healthcare sector, for example, didn't go up with the rest of the market. Sometimes divergence works in our favor, but this time it didn't.


At times I feel frustration when I notice that happening, but then I step back, zoom out my focus, and remind myself that I'm simply sticking to the game plan of a strategy that has shown signs of strength and success over more than 20 years. Zooming out like that often makes it easier for me to go with the flow on these trades.


I picked up a few new positions today. In the main account, I bought stock for RSG and CL. In the options account, I bought options for DKNG.


I had two stocks earn dividends overnight: UL and HSY. No action is needed to get your dividend payment. As long as you owned the stock at the close of the market yesterday and into the open today, then your broker will likely automatically credit it to your account in the coming weeks.


That dividend for UL explains in large part why it gapped down so much overnight. It had a hefty dividend ($0.47 per share). I closed that position this morning since it reached its time limit, and the dividend offsets the loss I took to some degree.


I have a number of options positions that reached their time limit today. I'll be manually closing those near the end of the trading session today (just before 1pm PST) unless they reach their profit targets first.


If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you.


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