It's been quiet for too long. Something is about to happen. If you're a parent, you know that feeling. If you are an active stock or option trader, you are faced with a life and death decision (well, maybe not that bad) – do you form an opinion and take a position in preparation for some event, or do you sit and wait until it starts.
Seasonally, the overall market quiets down this time of year. Over the next 5 weeks for instance, the S&P 500 has averaged just a 0.4% gain, with roughly a 50-50 track record of gains versus losses:
Recent low volume in the markets can be attributed to the holiday weekend and the start of vacation season. But how long have traders been on vacation?
Mosaic Company (MOS), the maker of agricultural chemicals, has a stock that was once popular with short term traders and institutions. Sensitive to the economy and the weather, for a while there were always good setups and trading opportunities. Ten to a hundred percent moves every few months were common:
But for the past nine months, as they say, this dog is dead:
You would expect this in a utility, or maybe an insurance stock. But Mosaic?
Showing a severe state of apathy, the VIX, the market's volatility indicator, has revisited lows from the mid-2000's, when life, and trading, was peachy-keen up until 2008.
Early summer isn't always quiet. In 2010, the S&P dropped 17% between late April and early July. In 2011, it was 8.2%. In 2012, it was 10.5%, and 2013 it was 7.5%. But there is no fear of a repeat this year.
However, the S&P 500 just set a new high at 1900.53, on weak volume, and it is late May. You know the kids are up, they're somewhere in the house, but it is just too quiet.
Of course, there's much more you need to know and many more stocks you can capitalize upon each and every day. To find out more, please click on the following link: www.markettamer.com/seasonal
By Gregg Harris, MarketTamer Chief Technical Strategist
Copyright (C) 2014 Stock & Options Training LLC
Unless indicated otherwise, at the time of this writing, the author has no positions in any of the above-mentioned securities.
Gregg Harris is the Chief Technical Strategist at MarketTamer.com with extensive experience in the financial sector.
Gregg started out as an Engineer and brings a rigorous thinking to his financial research. Gregg's passion for finance resulted in the creation of a real-time quote system and his work has been featured nationally in publications, such as the Investment Guide magazine.
As an avid researcher, Gregg concentrates on leveraging what institutional and big money players are doing to move the market and create seasonal trend patterns. Using custom research tools, Gregg identifies stocks that are optimal for stock and options traders to exploit these trends and find the tailwinds that can propel stocks to levels that are hidden to the average trader.
The content on any of Market Tamer websites, products, or communication is for educational purposes only. Nothing in its products, services, or communications shall be construed as a solicitation and/or recommendation to buy or sell a security. Trading stocks, options, and other securities involve risk. The risk of loss in trading securities can be substantial. The risk involved with trading stocks, options and other securities are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, an investor must evaluate his/her own personal financial situation and consider all relevant risk factors. See: Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (http://www.optionsclearing.com/publications/risks/riskstoc.pdf). The www.MarketTamer.com educational training program and software services are provided to improve financial understanding.
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