Short on Lead, Natural Gas & IT stocks

The last week was a good time to finish off some year-end  activities as the markets were lacking direction and conviction.

After some wait I think some clarity is emerging in global markets.

I am short on Lead, Natural Gas and some large cap IT stocks. Clearly defined situations all three of them. Makes it much easier to diagnose in case of trouble.

Sitting on the sidelines....

Closed my Natural Gas shorts on Thursday. It was a good one-way trade. Nifty rallied smartly after I closed my longs. Don't know what to make of these markets right now. Too many conflicting signals everywhere.


I'm staying out till there is more clarity.


Disclosure: No trading positions. Have long-term investments in stocks.

Closed Nifty & Aluminium. Added shorts in Natural Gas.

I closed my longs on Nifty & Aluminium yesterday. Added to my shorts on Natural Gas which is working for me & seems to be in a secular downtrend. That's it for now. Have a great trading day!

Nifty long again....

I am re-trying longs on Nifty. Bought Nifty futures on Friday. In commodities, I am long on Aluminium & short in Natural Gas.

There is nothing much more to write about as the markets have been pretty slow and unexciting, actually a bullish sign according to me.

Closed Nifty Longs

I closed my long positions in Nifty futures today.
Still holding some hedged positions in commodities.

Be an amateur in the markets.

It helps. It really helps if you have the attitude of an amateur when dealing with the markets. Be a student. Not an expert.


The problem of being an expert is that experts are too much into their protective shell that they have developed over a period of time, a skill set, sort of an idea of how markets ought to behave etc. etc. 


Why take any chances, when it is so comfortable inside the shell?


Remember, Markets are dynamic, self-learning and continuously evolving. A kind of Darwin's theory of Natural Selection is in play here. It's not just numbers. 
Experts cling to their skill set. They have figured it all out. They take pride in that.
A successful trader adapts to the ever-changing market dynamics. Gets rich.


So, Don't cling to your skill set. Don't be an expert. 
Be dynamic. Be an amateur. Evolve with the market. Keep learning everyday. Get rich.


Disclosures: Long Nifty Futures. Long Aluminium. Have investments in stocks.

Nifty long after a long time

Closed my longs in commodities as things were getting a little too volatile for comfort.

Went long on Nifty futures today after a long time.
Hoping for a smooth ride!

How to make money.......blah blah blah

This is how most of the get-rich-quick guides are generally titled. My job is not to give a review on those books. As you already know by now, I am very critical about that kind of stuff, so it won't be an A rating for most of them anyway.

I just wanted to point out something much more imp.....which profoundly affects the way you look at trading as a business.

"How to make money......"?? How does one make money?

No. You don't make money.


It's your money that makes you more money. You just help yourself by being on the sidelines as your money works for you.

It's an organic process. Your money grows.
Not an inorganic one. Not an additive process.

A lot of your success in trading depends on the way you look at it.

That's why capital preservation is so important.

In trading as a business:
Your money = Your Plant & Equipment
Your money = Your Employees
Loss = Expenditure to run it

Profit is what it makes when you make enough number of good decisions.

So, a better title could start something like "How do I make my money work for me....blah blah blah".
Atleast the titles will make more sense that way.

Enough of gyan for today. I'll stop here before I slip into the danger of taking my gyan too seriously.

****

It was a fantastic start for the week in commodities. A solid rally in most of the base & precious metals. I was positioned well this time. So, my money is working well for me.:) Market permitting, wish to continue longs for some more time.
No positions in Nifty. Have investments in stocks.

Budget day market action. A Moment-Of-Truth.

This market seems to be needing higher & higher doses of good news just to stay where it is.
After a good budget,  all it does is a 1% gain on the indices!! That's what I call a moment-of-truth on a key-event day.


I think for Nifty, it will be prudent to trade on the bear side for some time. Let's see.


Disclosure: Still holding some long positions in commodities. No positions in Nifty yet. Have investments in stocks.


Have a great trading week ahead!