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Updates!

Published at: 11:04 am - Friday April 23 2010

Hey fellow traders,

I apologize for the lack of market commentary this week. There will be no market commentary for the next few months as we are preparing for a move to the Big Apple, NYC. Please check back here in July for market updates.

Have a great summer!

Mike & ATA team

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser No Comments

Stock Market Commentary for April 12-16,2010

Published at: 10:04 pm - Sunday April 11 2010

Company earnings season is upon us and how this earnings quarter turns out could determine the direction of the markets for the next few months. Basically, the market has gone up based on the premise that the US economy is improving and corporate profits are starting to come back. If there is any indication that this isn’t the case then you are bound to see a massive rush to the exits. Several big companies are reporting this week including Intel, JPMorgan Chase, Google and GE. Last earnings season, we saw a big spike in the markets only to see the markets sell off on good news. Could this be the case this time around?

Based on the charts, it tells us that the markets are still in an uptrend and until the trend is broken, we should be going higher. However, it’s better to wait for the markets to pull back before getting into a position. At this time, we’re on the sidelines waiting for this market to come back down before buying back in. I still like Natural gas here for a longer term trade and the best way to trade this is through the UNG ETF.

Good luck.

Mike

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser No Comments

Stock Market Update

Published at: 11:04 am - Thursday April 08 2010

Hey fellow traders. It looks like the markets are finally taking a breather during this huge run up. The best strategy to do now is look for high quality names which are experiencing a pullback in the market and once the market rebounds then you can buy these high quality names at lower prices. I like the technology and financial space right now with names like AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, GS, JPM, BAC to name a few.

Also, an update on our natural gas position in UNG. It had a nice pop up and then the ETF sold off. We are kinda disappointed in this position but took some small profits. We’re closely monitoring to see if there is enough buying momentum to push it up. We’re sitting nicely in our GDX position. The Greece crisis is still a worry and the US dollar is still weak so people are moving to gold as a safe haven.

The markets are going higher as upward momemtum is still very strong. We’ll keep you posted whenever we see any good opps.

Mike

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser No Comments

Mobile Trading: How to Use Your Phone to Make Money in the Stock Market

Published at: 07:04 pm - Monday April 05 2010

Mobile Trading is becoming more and more popular these days as traders are constantly on the go and technology allows them to be connected to the markets from anywhere in the world. More importantly, the number of global mobile users has been increasing by the millions every month and these users are driving the growth of mobile trading. Mobile Trading, by definition is a convenient approach to allow you to manage your trading from portable devices such as a cell phone, smartphone or PDA device. These devices allow you to get instant access to stock quotes, news, charts and check your stock market portfolio. All you need is a mobile phone or device that has GPRS, GSM or WAP capabilities. Nowadays, the most popular devices are the Apple iPhone, Blackberry and the Google Android.

It wasn’t too long ago that investors and traders were using their mobile devices to make a phone call to their broker to place a trade order. Then the Internet came and revolutionized the whole brokerage industry. Some brokerage firms started accepting orders via the Internet, from a secure client application which is traditionally PC-based and deskbound. Then, most brokerage firms started developing web based applications that allowed anyone to place a trade on their desktop or laptop computer in the comfort of their own home. This helped create an entire industry of independent day traders. Now, the mobile device is starting to build an industry of mobile traders.

The benefits of mobile trading are obvious. It gives you convenient access to the financial markets 24/7 and the ability to trade from anywhere in the world. Whether you are relaxing on a beach in the Bahamas or sitting in a boring company meeting, you are connected to the markets. During the trading day, you can monitor your portfolio, and know the status of your investments and buy-or-sell orders. You will never miss a trading opportunity because you were away from your computer. Because your mobile device acts like a computer, you will get instant alerts to price and news information that could adversely affect your profits.

Many brokerage firms are realizing this huge growth in mobile trading and are building applications to suit the mobile trader. Firms like Interactive Brokers, E*Trade and Fidelity have developed trading software applications that you can download onto your mobile device. These applications allow you to enter in your buy or sell orders straight from your mobile device. It is so convenient and easy to use that anyone can do it.

However, there are some risks that you should be aware of when you are trading with your mobile device.  It is not recommended that you trade heavily on your mobile device due to the unreliability of wireless mobile signals. You may have had a situation in the past when you were talking on your mobile phone and suddenly got a dropped call. You could experience a similar situation when you get a disconnected wireless connection on your mobile device and this could be especially stressful for you if you are in the middle of a trade. As well, because of the rapid price movement of the markets these days, this could be a risky endeavor. More importantly, it is recommended that you only use your mobile device to complement your trading while you are on the road. Your mobile device will never completely replace your desktop or laptop computer. One suggestion is to do all your chart analysis and research on your computer. Then, use your mobile device to alert you of any sudden changes in price or upcoming news while you are away.

The markets have been quite volatile since the start of the millennium in 2000 and it is probably going to stay that way. For many traders and investors who want to stay on top of the markets, mobile trading may be the missing solution.

Posted in: Articles by Mike Ser No Comments , , , ,

Stock Market Commentary April 5-9,2010

Published at: 11:04 am - Monday April 05 2010

Hope you had a nice long Easter weekend. I apologize for the delay in updating this week’s commentary. Looks like I have too much fun this long weekend.

Based on the past few week’s market action, we’re not looking to go down until we break the 1150 level on the S&P 500. We made a bit of money on our inverse etf’s last week but then the market reversed to the upside on Wed afternoon and we are now looking to go long this market. A popular saying is the Trend is your friend and the trend is up so dont fight the trend. There are quite a number of opportunities this week. I like the action on natural gas as it looks like it is potentially reversing to the upside. Natural Gas prices have been dropping like a rock in the past year and Thursday, we saw a bit of a spike due to lower inventory levels than expected and it looks like the shorts have to cover. I would get into natural gas via the ETF UNG and if we can buy it near 7.20-7.30 then we’re looking for a target of $8.50. Also, I like the gold sector now as it has broken to the upside and we like the gold stocks etf which is GDX. We’re looking for a breakout above $47 and a target sell price of $51. Remember, before entering into these positions, make sure u have a stop loss. I wouldn’t let your stop loss be more than 2% of your entry price.

A lot of people have asked me about Research in Motion (RIMM) and I am waiting to buy this stock at much lower prices. Their market share is slowly being eaten away by the Apple iPhone and Goodle Android. I would stay away and maybe look at it if it reaches around $60. They could get  a pop if they announce a phone similar to the iPhone but their device is really considered an email only product with limited web capabilities compared to the iPhone. As for the Apple stock, if you own it, then stay with it and set some tight stop losses. The news out is the iPad is selling well but it’s not gonna be a game changer compared to the iPhone.

Have fun this week.

Mike

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser No Comments

Stock Market commentary (March 29 – April 2)

Published at: 11:03 pm - Sunday March 28 2010

It’s going to be a busy but short trading week as the stock markets in North America are closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday. We had a big stock market reversal starting on Thursday where we saw the market shoot up but at the end of the day close lower. As I mentioned, the stock market has been on fire since Feb and we’ve been calling for a pullback in the markets but the market has stayed resilient. However, we’re looking at some form of a pullback this week as the rally seems very tired. We’re gonna take a look at some inverse etf’s to play. From looking at the charts, we see the financial sector as one of the sectors that could lead us down. We’re looking at buying the leveraged inverse etf’s in the financial sector and we like SKF and FAZ. Here are our target prices:

SKF    BUY $19.35,    SELL TARGET $20.70

FAZ   BUY  $13.60    SELL  TARGET $14.75

These 2 ETF’s are pretty volatile so if you’re in the money on these, set some tight stops.

Have a great trading week.

Mike

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser 1 Comment

Stock Chart Analysis – March 22

Published at: 11:03 pm - Monday March 22 2010

As shown by the stock market movement today, this market does not want to go down. The market gapped down hard but at the end of the day, we ended off on a very positive note. This means that buyers are buying any dip that the market gives us. The nasdaq market is especially strong with AAPL (Apple) leading the way. It looks like AAPL might break out out of this flag pattern and move higher from here and make new 52 week highs soon.

Eventhough this market is overbought and needs a much bigger pullback, I would not short this strong market. If a stock is in an uptrend, look to buy the dips.

Mike

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser 1 Comment , ,

Stock Market commentary March 22-26

Published at: 11:03 pm - Sunday March 21 2010

Well, we finally saw profit taking sessions on Thursday and Friday in this hot stock market. The US stock market has been on a tear in the past month and it looks like the momentum right now is still to the upside until the uptrend is broken. The inverse etf’s have risen a bit in the past few trading sessions and if you see the market strengthen then these etf’s may fall in price. One thing I am gonna focus on this week is the gold price. We have seen gold prices hit record highs last year at over $1,200/ ounce but we have seen the price decline steadily in this past year. The main reason has been the strengthening of the US Dollar. It’s crazy to think that the US dollar is rising when the US govt has been printing money like a non-stop printing press but country woes in Europe has led people to hide their money in US Dollars. So if we see continued strength in the US dollar then we may see lower gold prices. I am looking to short the Gold ETF below $107.40 with a downside target to $103. If I am wrong, I’d cover my position above $108. If you want to short the gold stocks, I will probably short GG at $38.50 with a downside target of $36 and ABX at $38.30 with a downside target of $36 as well. I would set some tight stop losses on these 2 positions. Keep your losses small.

I dont think the gold price and gold stocks will collapse but it’s a short term trade.

Have a great week!

Mike

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser 1 Comment

Stock Market Update: March 16 (After Fed Day)

Published at: 09:03 pm - Tuesday March 16 2010

It looks like traders liked the FOMC Meeting announcement today which contained no surprises as the Fed will keep interest rates low and slowly ease out of the mortgage backed securities purchases. Actually, I was kinda disappointed with the lack of movement after the announcement at 2:15pm EST today as it didn’t present any opportunity for us traders to take advantage of much volatility. As I stated, the market is way too overbought and most importantly, risky right now to be entering any long positions. But the market hasn’t signaled to us that it is ready to go down yet. I just look at the inverse etf’s (they rise when the market goes down) and a lot of them are hitting 52 week lows. This tells us it’s still too early to short this strong market. However, keep an eye out on these inverse etf’s as when the market looks for a correction or pullback, these inverse etf’s are gonna be big winners. For now, I am just gonna stay on the sidelines and see what transpires.

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser No Comments

Stock Market Commentary for March 15-19

Published at: 12:03 am - Monday March 15 2010

Hey fellow traders,

Despite overbought conditions in the stock market, it continued going higher last week. Friday’s action showed some profit taking but overall, this market is telling us that it still has room to go higher. However, this coming week could be a turning point as we have a very important market moving event on Tuesday. We have the FOMC Meeting announcement on Tuesday at 2pm EST and this is a meeting where the Federal Reserve determines interest rate policies. It is expected that they’re gonna keep interest rates low for some time. More importantly, traders are waiting to find out about the balance sheet exiting strategy on their purchase of mortgage backed securities. This is important b/c the Federal Reserve has been pumping up the US Housing market. One thing for sure, this event is going to move the markets. Are the market going to continue going higher? We’ll find out after Tuesday.

If the markets do go down, I’m looking at buying some inverse leveraged etf’s in the financial sector such as SKF and FAZ. These etf’s reached their 52 week lows last week and if the markets falter, these etf’s will go up. Also, I am also looking at the broad sector inverse etf’s as well such as SDS which tracks the S&P 500 on the downside.

As I said last week, the markets are overbought here and the risk to reward scenario is not in your favor. There’s always a good time to buy but not right now.

Mike

Posted in: Market Commentary by Mike Ser 2 Comments ,
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