[Options Premium] A Pause That Refreshes

Sean McLaughlin
December 24, 2018

U.S. Stock Markets will only be open for a half day tomorrow Monday December 24th for Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day. And the following week will follow a similar pattern, being completely closed on Tuesday, January 1.

And the muck in between is no-man's land, especially given the market we're current in as best described by our pal Howard Lindzon: "This is one shitty market."

Unless you've got positions in distress that need defending in this sloppy, bearish tape, it's best to sit on the sidelines and wait until Wall Street gets back to work for real after New Year's Day. As such, we will not be adding any new positions to the All Star Options portfolio this week.

We're fortunate

to have been primarily on the right side of this market slide since mid-October and don't find ourselves holding any open positions currently that are in any need for urgent attention. The positions that are still open all have defined risk and there's no need for worry. Of course, we'll check in each trading day to see how they are doing and if any action is required, we'll make the necessary adjustments. But, for the most part there really isn't anything to do until we get in to January and have to start making some decisions on open January spread positions that are approaching expiration.

If you're reading this, I trust you're fairing better than many of our non-All Star Options and All Star Charts trading friends who are getting their fingers chopped off trying to time market bounces in this ugly tape. You're better than that, and it shows in your results. Let's count our blessings and step forward with gratitude.

Merry Christmas out there to those of you who celebrate this holiday, and Happy New Year to everyone. I'm very much looking forward to an amazing 2019!

~ @chicagosean

P.S. You should join us February 22-23 in Breckenridge, Colorado for Chart Summit 2019. Great lineup of speakers including yours truly, and the rest of the All Star Charts team. Details here.

 

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