SPY: sold all positions at the end of Tuesday's move, not because I think this rally is over, but mostly because my options were June options. I may pick up some more SPY July options Wednesday if the market pulls back some.
SLV: sold all positions today for essentially no gain and no loss. I actually didn't mind SLV's move today and might have held if I had July options. But again, I had June options and decided it was wise to take a scratch trade with only two days left to pull the trigger. If SLV breaks above $18.35 (not the actual price of silver), I may pick up some July calls with a stop below the $17.86 or so price level. This $18.35 level (green arrow pointing at it on the image below) offers some resistance and could be a decent little break out play (no, not quite like IBD, but similar and only for a little move higher) with a good probability of working out.
GLD: sold some positions, again because they were June options. I do have some July options that I'm holding. Made decent percentage gains on the June options. I still have a couple June options in the GLD that I may unload tomorrow and perhaps buy some more GLD July options soon.
I'm not a gold bug, I don't store gold bars in a secret hole in the ground in my backyard, and no I don't think a Book of Eli style apocolypse is coming or that a depression is on the way like some gold fanatics think. Yet it is difficult to argue with the uptrend in gold when you look at its chart. It is currently trading above its December 2009 highs after digging out a large six month cup base. I have posted the GLD chart again here and you can see for yourself. You can see the upward posture with a quick glance even if you are brand new to investing. So how do you play uptrends? Don't chase, but rather buy when it makes sense, like a pullback to the trend channel or off a bounce to a short term moving average like the 8 EMA or 21 EMA. IT's possible we get a pullback to the 50 day moving average and still be in an uptrend. Or you could even play a break out to new highs, but don't expect gold to act quite like a stock would when breaking out. Keep a close eye on it and stick with reasonable stops. I will risk 50% on an option (I generally buy in the money options with deltas of 70, something I learned from another trader) with the idea that I'm aiming for at least 100% gain or more. But that 50% stop can come fast, and a disciplined investor will stick with those stops no matter what. On the chart I've posted for GLD, the yellow line is the 8 EMA, the blue is the 21 EMA and the red is the 50 day moving average. The white is the 200 day. This is generally the same color scheme for all charts I post from http://www.freestockcharts.com/ a great resource.
USO: still holding my options. USO looks like it wants to go higher. USO, or oil really, is following along with the stock market, so my game plan is to hang on for a bit.
New positions: none yet, but I am looking for IBD style break out stocks, as these offer the most powerful moves. Will update soon.
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