Interesting Day - Even with markets pretty flat

Well, remember that I said I had a full-time job and only traded stocks on the side? Today, it showed. I didn't lose alot of money - the market was pretty flat actually, but a few of my stocks sold that I might not have normally sold.

When the moving average lines say to buy a stock (current price just above the moving average line), you must remember that they are also close to a sell as well (just below the line). Because I can't watch the stocks as closely as I would like, I often put in stop losses on the downside when stocks that I own are at a buy (since they are also close to a sell).

Today, the market took a downturn midday before bouncing back to almost even. Problem for me is that many of my stocks had their stops hit. I sold HXU, HEU, HFU, HJU, and HBU of my ETF's (all of them), as well as RIM and ECA. Also, the X that I found last night hit my stop buy, but it also hit my stop loss later in the day. It is the second time this false buy has happened to me with X, so I will stay away from it for awhile (I also have bad luck with RIM and THI, in this way).

The four stocks that did not sell - RUS, COS.UN, PWF, and TRP all closed up today, so I really can't complain. Since many market watchers are calling for a pull-back (even if it is a short-term correction), it is hard to know when it is a simple market fluctuation or the beginning of a downturn. With my strategy, I don't want to take the chance, since I want to limit my losses. Of the five ETF's that sold today, I was up on two, even on two, and down on one, so I can't complain.

Not surprisingly, some of the buys for tomorrow are actually stocks I sold today. Part of this strategy is that you get back on the horse and buy when it says to buy, so I will put in my stop buys tonight.

The buys for tomorrow are HEU, HMU (I won't buy this one, as the daily volume is too low for me), HXU, ECA, LIF.UN, MFC, PWF (already own it, and won't buy more yet), and RUS (own it already).

So, I will have stop-buys in for HEU, HXU, LIF.UN, and MFC tomorrow.

** I should also note that I only pay $7 commission per trade, so it allows me to move in and out of stocks inexpensively. If your commissions are higher than that, you will have to adjust your strategy accordingly, as they will represent a higher percentage of your investment.