1420 SPX held. I didn’t think it would after dipping to a low of 1419.28, and retesting support, with a pivot low of 1421.44 in the final hour of trading. I never did see news that would account for the fast, 20 point recovery before the close. Could it be that the Plunge Protection Team was busy buying S&P futures to hold that important level of support? Or was it just a matter of supply and demand as usual? This morning brings a current gap down to that important level. I didn’t attempt to buy the drop yesterday, but may today, if there’s a decent setup.

After triggering a buy signal on the daily chart, the Nasdaq negated the signal by trading below the pivot low. The bulls can celebrate though. The index closed above it’s 200dma… for now.

This is a scalping market for me. Gold stocks changed their trend back to bullish on the 60 minute chart, forming a higher pivot low, and taking out the previous pivot high. XAU held previous support in the 163 area. I’d like it back above the 50dma.

I’ve been working on how my psychology is affecting my trading. I’m writing down my thoughts, and the time, to see how they compare with what happens on the chart. The only way to correct mistakes, is by finding the problems, and eliminating them.

Have you ever held a stock for a long time… sell in frustration, and it immediately (and finally) works? Have you sold a stock too soon, and cut your profits short? I do the same. I’ve been trading QLD lately, and looking for a correlation between my thoughts, and intraday mistakes.