It is very important to keep firmly in mind the great variety of trading styles that are out there when you are developing your own market strategy. One of the key aspects of my trading style is that I try not to be overly anticipatory. I want to focus on what is happening at the moment and react to it as it unfolds.
Of course, it is impossible not to be anticipatory to some degree because we are essentially trying to predict the future. But my goal is to minimize anticipation.
I bring this up because it has a great impact on how I view the market presently. I simply don't see any huge negatives at the moment, thus I'm not going to anticipate all the things that people are telling me I should worry about. When I look at my screens, I see mostly positive action. I have maybe 150 long positions, and the technical action overall continues to be very strong. I see no reason not to continue to hold, and, in fact, I see plenty of other things that look like buys.
I've always believed that market participants have a tendency to overcomplicate the stock market. They develop complicated long-term macroeconomic arguments about how and why the market is going to do something, and then they sit there and constantly look for data that back them up.
They become emotionally and financially tied to their theses and have great difficulty making adjustments to their thinking. My goal is to stay open-minded and not form a market view beyond a relatively short period. However, when I do see action that I like, which is the case right now, I stay with it until I can find a reason not to. I see no reason not to at this point.
P.S. Will you be there when Cramer makes his next move?
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Rev Shark Blog Long Side Looks Tasty 3/3/2006 10:25 AM EST After some profit-taking on Intel, the market looks ripe for some buying.
Rev Shark Blog Day-to-Day Dilemma 3/3/2006 9:18 AM EST What to do when a new day brings an entirely different tone to the market?
Rev Shark Blog Tech Hangs Tough 3/2/2006 4:44 PM EST And the major indices remain healthy technically, so my bullish bias is intact.
James "Rev Shark" De Porre is a self-taught trader who primarily trades for his own account from his home on Anna Maria Island, Fla. He is a member of the Michigan Bar Association and a former tax attorney and CPA. De Porre holds business and law degrees from the University of Michigan. He was formerly the host of America Online's The Shark Attack and presently operates SuperTraders.com. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Rev Shark appreciates your feedback; click here to send him an email.
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