Stocks Stabilize Ahead of Thanksgiving, Low-Volatility Trading Takes Center Stage
2023.11.17 02:26
The finished Tuesday’s session up a tenth of a percent as it continues to digest the huge rebound from the October lows.
S&P 500 Index-Daily Chart
Stocks fall quickly from overbought and unsustainable levels. While holding gains for two sessions is not conclusive, it demonstrates there is some support for these prices. And the longer we stay here, the more real they become.
That said, as good as the market looks, I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The market gave me huge profits over the last three weeks, and I won’t allow myself to get greedy by asking for even more. , I locked in some really nice profits:
I’m not calling this a top and the index’s momentum could easily push us higher for a few more days, but common sense tells us the rewards above our heads are far smaller than the risks underneath us.
This has been a great trade, but all good things come to an end. We only make money when we sell our best trades, and this is the time to be collecting some very well-earned profits.
Next week is Thanksgiving, and most big money managers will be on vacation, so we shouldn’t expect a lot of buying. The junior associates manning the desks don’t have the authority to initiate new positions, so it should be a quiet week.
That said, without big money’s guiding hand, that does give emotional retail traders more influence. Lucky for us, these impulsive traders have small accounts and can’t drive the market very far, but they can inject some volatility if they get whipped up into a frenzy.
Limited upside and elevated risks for increased volatility mean this is a great time to watch from the sidelines.
Spend next week with friends and family, not obsessing over whether ten points up or down is the start of the next big move. There will be plenty of trading opportunities in the final weeks of the year. Enjoy our recent run of good luck and take some time off.
