Top Takes From RealMoney

The RealMoney contributors are in the business of trading and investing all day on the basis of ongoing news flow. Below, we offer the top five ideas that RealMoney contributors posted today and how they played those ideas.

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Pullback Plays

By Alan Farley
12:12 p.m. EDT Tech stocks are a tough trade, after the Nasdaq-100(NDX Quote) broke its two-month rising channel on Wednesday. However, a number of other stocks and sectors have held up reasonably well through the selling pressure.

Here's a quick list of good-looking pullback plays:

• Ameristar Casinos(ASCA Quote)
• Boyd Gaming(BYD Quote)
• General Cable(BGC Quote)
• Oceaneering(OII Quote)
• Bill Barrett(BBG Quote)

No positions.

Bearish Hedge on the Dow

By Timothy Collins
10:14 a.m. EDT

We are buying the ProShares Ultrashort Dow Jones(DDM Quote) May 28 puts for 50 cents and simultaneously selling the Dow Jones Diamonds(DIA Quote) May 83 puts for 67 cents.

This is in a 1.5-to-1 ratio of DDM to DIA for a total net cost of 8 cents. This is a bearish trade. It will profit from a sideways or down move but would lose the 8 cents on a move higher in the Dow. This is a fast-moving market, so prices will change. Profits will accelerate on a downward move in the Dow.

Long DDM May 28 puts, short DIA May 83 puts

Breaking the Channel Lines

By Helene Meisler
8:47 a.m. EDT

After I wrote my column last night, I reread John Magee's chapter on channel lines and discovered something interesting.

The amount (of points) that the chart fails to reach the top of the channel by (in the Nasdaq's case it's about 40 points) is usually the amount by which it falls from the lower trendline before having its first snapback rally.

In this case we broke at 1,700 and closed last night at 1,664, so at 1,660 we'd be pretty close to that 40-point "number." That is in keeping with my thought that it's expiration week and we should have "one different" day. As I said in my column, it's usually a down day, but this has been a down week, so why not an up day?

I'd look for a respite from the downside.

No positions.