Austar. Fri Sep 4

It's a very subdued recovery today after a better than expected night in the US with gold running again and base metals bouncing strongly. The Xjo index is up 33 points at 11 am. It's not altogether surprising because I'm expecting a lower high as a precursor to further falls next week. When I run through the charts there are quite a few which look like they may have peaked in the short term.

This morning I jumped back into Lyc at 62 and it's now 65. This was one of those situations where I should have cut very early or very late. In the end, I was squeezed out of my initial position without waiting for it to test support. Regardless, this is a reasonably good retracement trade.

One of the few stocks still charting well is Austar, a regional pay TV provider. Even so, it has a fairly mature chart and I'm targetting about 118-120. Long at 108.11.39 I noticed yesterday that I was getting a bit impatient in my trading again. Cgf, which I cut yesterday at 320, has hit my target of the mid 330s. It's 335 right now.

12.40 Stopped out of Ipl at 305 (v 304) as it can't get moving. These retracement trades are generally high momentum ones, the bungy jump effect. If it's not moving fast then I don't want to be in it because the technicals aren't terrific otherwise. Challenger was different as it is in a clear uptrend. It wasn't such a bad decision to get out yesterday when it made a new high and reversed but I noticed it going again this morning and sadly, didn't get on - 344 now!

2.10 The gold sector is only moderately higher having run hard yesterday and overall the market is also grudgingly higher, up 15 points. I'm planning to buy some Aio which has just made a minor breakout on good volume as it traded at 160.5. It's a tad lower now but the outlook for the company is improving and the board has just had a shake up which seems to have met the market's approval.

I'm concerned that it may not have had enough of a pullback but I think the momentum we've seen today could be enough to drive it through to a new high at least. Ok, just paid 160 as I couldn't get set at 159.5.

2.29 Just changed my mind on Aun and sold out for 108.5 (v 108). It occurred to me that I should have been buying this on the open yesterday - as I did with Lyc today - and that my entry point is too 'wishy washy'. It's still a good chart but I'm a day too late.

3.04 Molopo, a gas company, has resumed a rally and I'm long at 118.5. Not too bad an entry as I've been waiting for a break on the 60 minute chart which is at the level where the stock stalled on the last 3 daily bars.

4.10 In an all too familiar style for a Friday, the market has sold off all day and the gain was a mere 6 points. Sbm closed unchanged, despite further gains in gold intraday (so did Lgl and Ncm) but Lyc finished at 68 and Aio at 160. More on Monday.