Clearing skies. Mon Mar 16

Overseas indices held up well on Friday adding a little to the already strong gains. The Aussie morning session so far has the financial sector performing strongly, partly at the expense of materials. As I mentioned in Friday's blog, there are some great long term charts and I'd like to put on some positions to hold for a week or two. The horse has bolted in a few cases but I'm just happy to be seeing signs of life and I'll be looking for the normal pullbacks to get set. It could be a fair bit later in the week though.

I've just bought some wow at 2500. They've been under pressure for a few weeks and I don't see them as investment material but they're looking promising this morning.

The spi is driving up as though it might keep running most of the day. It had looked like peaking fairly early. Bhp, ncm and wpl are all consolidating after early falls and may be worth shorting later. Cba, mqg and qbe are all very strong, up 3 to 5% but are not offering opportunities to buy yet.

11.54 Bought a few awc at 102 which has been a big underperformer and could be seen as an option on recovery. My entry price could have been better, 100 would have already confirmed a breakout from a congestion that lasted through most of Friday. However, it's the sort of chart that can accelerate so I bought half of what I might ultimately buy. It's slipped back a cent or so and if there is to be a pullback then there's a good chance it finds support at around 98.

1.35 Just bought some csl as I'm spreading my wings a bit and looking at my larger list. I sold a tiny amount of ncm a while back at 3140 and then realised it was too early for a short and I'd rather see another rally attempt. That's happened but I think it might be another hour or so before the fall resumes. Meanwhile, I'm still short a touch.

Here's csl.

1.56 Actually ncm has dropped quite sharply now so has probably completed the correction. I'm hoping to sell a few more on a slight recovery. Meanwhile the spi may have topped.

2.00 Just sold awc out at 102. It's been stalled here for a while and I got in a bit late at this price so I think I'll try again another time. Sold some wow at 2507. Got a slightly wider stop on the rest.

2.11 Stopped out of csl at 3340 and the balance of wow at 2497. Sold some more ncm at 3140 and 3131 as the bounce hasn't eventuated. Also shorted some wpl at 3640.

2.27 Here's a blown up chart of the spi. There was a new high at 3379 which beat the earlier high by a mere 1 point and now there's been weakness for an hour. I'd like to sell here but I think it would be wiser to wait for a failed rally. Nevertheless, I can see a weak session from now. Short ncm and wpl at present with no longs.

3.08 The spi had a little rally and has slipped down to new recent lows but I couldn't find a good level to get on board. I did just sell some wow at 2490 as the rally which I tried to trade completed and the bigger picture weakness reasserted itself. There's no real momentum in the pullback though and ncm and wpl are only marginally going my way.
3.48 Ncm and wow haven't moved much but wpl fell and I bought back at 3605.
3.58 Bought back wow at 2483 nearing the end of day. Still short a few ncm.
4.06 All the potential matches at 4.10 are showing big gains as if there is a buy on close portfolio around. I'm not willing to pay a premium of 48 cents to buy back ncm so I'll risk an overnight short there.
4.19 Ncm closed up at 3171, not as bad as the initial match but still awkward. I think it's a reasonable short but I'm not happy with running a position just because I didn't want to cut. However, the stock was so thin it wasn't for want of trying.
Overall, I was sitting up for the day until the late run in ncm and now have lost a little for the day on 6 trades, 2 winners, 2 losers and 2 breakeven.