Day: January 31, 2012

Following a sizeable morning gap down, stocks fought their way back to close near session highs. Trade was light. All five major indices closed lower, with the small-cap Russell 2000 incurring the biggest loss on the day. The high beta index slid 0.8%. The S&P MidCap 400 dropped 0.5% while the S&P 500 lost 0.25%. […]

As traders, we are constantly in a battle between the need to think independently and avoiding the urge to fight market momentum. A trading idea can be correct, yet end up losing money because the trader (the “individual”) believes so strongly in the trade that they fight the market’s momentum (the “group”). This often occurs […]