The stock of semiconductor equipment manufacturer, Novellus Systems Inc - NVLS, was the 2nd stock on my list that I spotted a trading pattern in. Novellus has been trading in a gradual uptrend the past two months, not straying far from its channel. This morning, the stock gapped down to it’s 50 day moving average. From past technical analysis, I’ve seen many stocks continue down the same day they lose the support of this moving average. My bias was down.

The 5-minute chart attempted to put in a BL2 (buy signal), which quickly failed. The 4th candlestick would act as R, with a short executed below it. This had a risk of .16. Using the pivots as stops yielded a 2+ Reward on the trade if held to the close. It’s too bad I failed to pull the trigger on the trade.

Today in the TEVA trade, and in this NVLS trade, I made two popular mistakes traders have trouble with. After a few days of trading light, I need to be prepared for a number of trading opportunites that may come my way. I’ll get the next one.

It’s always a pleasant trading day when my friend volatility makes his return. Today was jam-packed with tradeable market action. My first trade was in Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd - TEVA. Teva must have had some type of news, because it was on my morning gap list, and added to the watch list. The stock of this drug manufacturer caught my eye on the 5-minute chart about 3 bars up off the open. It bounced off it’s 50-day moving average and was trading in a fluid motion.

I was looking for the stock to form a BS2 day trading pattern. It seemed to be a move heading fast and furious into overhead supply. I cheated, and sold the stock short at 35.35 with what felt like a capitulatory move. R ended up = to that 5th topping candlestick. This happened, because I took an amount of shares which would allow a little upside to the entry. A stop was placed at the day high. I then covered the whole trade at 34.99. This was too soon, as the stock fell another 2 R before bottoming.

I was happy to take the quick profit after a few slow days of trading. Time to reread why taking profits early is detrimental to my bottom line. Set targets when I initiate my trades, sell in partials, and follow that plan, is all I need to do to take more money out of the market.