Reprieve. Fri Oct 30

US GDP figures for the third quarter surprised to the upside and US indices bounced back strongly. We'd fallen further so it's no surprise that we've opened up with a gain of 80 odd points as we approach 11 am. The general commentary on the US figures is very muted with much concern about stimulus packages which are running out.
My positions are slightly down because they're largely defensive. My only high beta stock is Karoon which has rallied 25 to 775.
After doing some testing on how many positions I might have on peak days, I've culled the number of stocks I look at to about 20. All top 100 stocks between 100 and 600. No particular reason there, just a mix of liquidity and volatility versus stability that suits me.
I've also come to accept that I need to hold my positions for longer. I realised it a long time ago but have been reluctant to change my ways because the downside of holding for longer is that I can also become inclined to ignore my stops. I've spent a lot of this year practicing being unemotional about stopping out so hopefully that will pay off.

It means that once they've run their course I'll be taking Bxb and Kar off the radar and also Fgl which I'm scratching because it's too choppy.

11.31 Most of the stocks that are trending down are having a retracement today but although I'm interested in reversals back up, that's generally in the context of a longer term uptrend. At the moment, a lot of stocks look like they've topped so I'm ruling them out.

The exception in my list is Fortescue.

Fortescue has been running its own bearish race for a while but recently had a decent rally which breached previous lows. After an abc down, today it's reversing and I'm interested in a buy here as it potentially makes a higher low.

The problem is I'm leaving shortly for a weekend away. I also think the market is likely to close on its lows so the best bet might be to wait for Monday.

12.20 Decided to buy a half amount of Fmg at 386. More on Monday.