Geez... the calendar turned into October and traders are acting like Halloween is already here! The up-and-down trading action so far in the first three days of October can be downright frightening if you're chasing every whipsaw in this schizo tape.

Considering my portfolio is leaning a bit long at the moment, it feels prudent to put some downside exposure on.

The biotech space has been a laggard all year. If broader markets still have additional spook in them, it is likely biotechs will lead the way. So I'm positioning myself accordingly.

In our last Chart of The Week, we took a look at Pharmaceuticals to identify opportunities on the short side of that sector.

Today we're taking a step back and at the performance of Emerging Market equities as an asset class.

How are you liking the day to day swings in the market? Is it too much for you? Go through this checklist and make sure these questions are answered before moving forward.

Today, I thought it would add value to take a step back and see what's happening in the market bigger picture. They love distracting you with noisy headlines, but the way we approach it is: Whenever In Doubt, Zoom Out!

Here's how we see things in Stocks bigger picture:

We're all here for different reasons. Each of us have our own time horizons. My risk tolerance is different than yours.

There are 3 questions every investor should answer before ever entering into a new position:

1. Why am I here?
2. What is my time horizon?
3. How much am I willing to lose?

Let's address each of these one by one:

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

Tuesday's Mystery Chart is one of my favorite charts right now, so thank you all for your feedback and participation.

It seems almost everyone was on the same page here, getting involved in some way, shape, or form on the long side.

With that as our backdrop, let's get into it.

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

In late August we wrote about the weakness in Biotech and its coming breakdown on an absolute basis.

Now that we've gotten that breakdown, let's take a look at the entire Healthcare sector and identify what risks remain.

Hey guys I'm coming to Cleveland on Thursday October 24th. I will be a guest speaker at the Northern Ohio Chapter of the CMT Association. It should be a lot of fun. I hope you can make it!

Here are the details: 

Stocks are still trying to break out of this massive range since early 2018. After some selling early this week, the range is still intact. I think this chart of the Global 100 Index tells the story best:

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

Today we're taking a look at one of the most important Emerging Markets out there, Brazil, on an absolute and relative basis.

Let's see what's going on there.

Today we're looking at our updated Monthly Chartbooks to identify the structural trends in India's major indices, sectors, and stocks.

This is the video recording of the October 2019 Conference Call for Members of All Star Options

This is a question I get a lot from friends and family or someone I just met that knows what I do for work.

What's funny is that they don't ask it quite like that. They won't ask, "JC how do I make money in the market?", even though that's what they really mean to say. It's usually more like, "Which pot stock do I buy?" or "Which Crypto Currency should I buy?", depending on where we are in the cycle. It's rarely an IF, and more of a Which One?

The way I see it, you can add the same amount of money every month for decades and just let it compound. If you're disciplined enough to do it (most of you aren't), I can see a good case for that strategy. But if you're looking to get into more specific trades or investments, I think a well-defined risk vs reward strategy is the only way to profit. If you can't manage risk responsibly you'll be gone soon.

Here's my take: