{"id":1875,"date":"2009-09-18T07:31:35","date_gmt":"2009-09-18T12:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=1875"},"modified":"2009-09-18T07:31:35","modified_gmt":"2009-09-18T12:31:35","slug":"before-the-open-sep-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=1875","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Sep 18)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Options Expiration Day.<\/span>
\nThe Asian\/Pacific markets closed mixed \u2013 China was a big loser (lost 3.2%).<\/span>
\nEurope is currently mixed and little moved from yesterday\u2019s close.<\/span>
\nFutures here in the States suggest a flat open for the cash market. …
\n<\/span>
\nThe put open interest once again dominated the call open interest, and here we are near the highs. The bears keep betting on a big move down, and they keep getting burned. When will they learn? Wall St. hasn\u2019t changed in 100 years. When traders\/investors are super bullish, it pays to be skeptical. When they\u2019re in panic mode, it pays to look for bargains. Right now there\u2019s no fear. Nobody is worried. Everything is peachy keen. Good times are ahead. Or at least that\u2019s the sentiment. Here\u2019s the SPX 30-min<\/strong> chart. It\u2019s moved about 80 points in just over two weeks. It deserves a break.<\/span>
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\nWe\u2019ve talked about the US dollar<\/strong> several times the last month. As long as it drops, the market will remain propped up. The large multinational companies which dominate the indexes are able to sell goods overseas at more favorable levels. They make more money, and their stocks respond. Here\u2019s the dollar. I\u2019m not going to call yesterday\u2019s candle a reversal, but it\u2019s something to keep an eye on in the near term.<\/span>
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\nThe trend is up, but we\u2019re in nosebleed territory. Play good defense. Exit laggards to free up cash for new positions. Take a few bucks off the table with trades that have worked well. Repeat, repeat. And don\u2019t try to guess when the market will top. It\u2019ll happen when the bears are thoroughly frustrated. We\u2019re not there yet.<\/span>
\nheadlines at Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/span>
\nstocks to watch from MarketWatch<\/a><\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a><\/span>
\nyesterday’s Sector Performance<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings Reports<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
\nopen a real-time futures demo account at…<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>
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