Yesterday was yet another grueling test of patience for those trying to squeeze off a shot in the index futures. My crosshairs were trained on the S&Ps, but the only trade I executed all day was a misfire. I had a limit bid in somewhat below the market but inadvertently turned it into a market order with an impatient keystroke. So much for picking one's opportunities. Naturally, I compounded the error in the usual way -- by attempting to turn a small profit on the way out. It was at this time of the morning that I received an e-mail from a market-savvy friend who has pulled back from trading recently. Below is his note, followed by my reply. The dialogue may be insightful for those of you, investors and traders alike, who have been frustrated by the stock market in recent months. '[Tim E.] told me he's in five chat/trading rooms and can't seem to find anybody or anything to make money. He asked me what I'm doing. I told him that I'd find it impossible and probably self-defeating to try and follow so many people/disciplines. There are three markets, as you know. In two of them, you can make good money, since there is a trend up or down. But then there are the sideways trends characterized by narrow ranges -- just right for stopping out the bullish and the bearish. For my part I feel I've profited simply by recognizing that this is not a market environment to take much risk -- yet. I did tell him that I would start following your newsletter and eschew any others. I'm occasionally playing a gap or bond trade and little else. Refuses to Roll Over 'Of course, I wasn't trading for a couple of travel months. But I did
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