Stop Waiting, Start Trading

Jack Carter | September 23, 2024

Hey traders,

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that most traders are always waiting.

“I’m waiting for the Fed announcement.”

“I’m waiting for the jobs numbers.”

“I’m waiting for this big announcement to drop.”

Hell, I’ve even heard some traders say they’re waiting on the weather forecast to see how that might affect their positions!

I don’t get it.

The way I trade — spotting a trending stock and selling options on it — doesn’t require me to wait around for all these so-called market-moving events.

Why?

Because the trend rarely, if ever, changes based on things like the Fed or a jobs report.

When a stock’s in a solid trend, that trend tends to keep going despite the noise in the headlines.

In fact, the noise often just causes a temporary blip in the chart — but it rarely impacts the bigger picture.

So I started thinking, “Is there any reason I ever wait to get into a trade?”

And you know what? There are two times I actually do wait:

  1. At the Market Open: I’ll rarely place a trade right when the market opens. I like to give it at least an hour, sometimes 90 minutes, to let the market pick a direction. The open can be chaotic with knee-jerk reactions, so I wait for things to settle before jumping in.
  2. At the Start of the Week: Over the weekend, a lot of traders think about the market and place trades that get queued up for Monday morning. The result? Monday can feel like a rollercoaster, with a lot of volatility as those trades flood in. I prefer to sit back, watch, and see what the market’s doing before making any moves later in the week when things calm down and a pattern emerges.

But other than that? I’m not sitting on my hands waiting for some magical moment.

I’m not trying to predict what the Fed will do or what some analyst thinks will happen with inflation. I’m focused on the trend — the thing that’s right in front of me, staring me in the face.

It’s all about sticking to a winning strategy, day in and day out, and not letting the noise shake you up.

So next time you find yourself waiting on the next big announcement, ask yourself: Is this really going to change the trend? Or are you just stalling?

The traders who win consistently aren’t the ones waiting on the sidelines. They’re the ones getting in when the market presents them with opportunities and not wasting time worrying about things they can’t control.Because when you’ve got a strategy that works, all that noise doesn’t matter. Stick to your plan, and the profits will follow.

Trade well,

Jack Carter

P.S. Nate Tucci’s about to reveal what he considers to be the Trade of the Year! And it’s probably NOT what you think! Get all the details right here!

Trending Stocks of the Week — September 23, 2024

Jack Carter | September 23, 2024

Nate Tucci’s about to reveal what he considers to be the Trade of the Year! And it’s probably NOT what you think!

Check out his unique take on rivalry in the auto industry and how he plans to target an outsized gain, even if the market doesn’t fully play along.

Now for our top trending stocks of the week:

To help you discover the power of trends, every week, every week, I share with you a handful of the top trending stocks.

These stocks are picked by the custom-built TrendPoint software I designed to pick the strongest trending stocks in the market right now.

If you know anything about me, you know that every trade I get into starts with a trending stock.

Unless a stock is in a strong trend, I don’t want to hear about it. In my book, wishy washy stocks are the quickest way to losing money.

This Week’s Stocks

All 3 major indexes have been in a sideways chop since about mid-July.

The SPY and the DIA have finally broken out above their July highs, but the QQQ is still lagging.

So what do we do when the broad market isn’t cooperating?

We look to individual stocks that are trending more strongly than the broad market.

And here are this week’s 3 strongly trending stocks:

  • IRM
  • MSI
  • NI

And don’t forget about our previous list, which you can find here.

This week’s stocks show a strong trend and could still be in play for the next few weeks.

What can you do with these stocks?

Well, there are a couple of things you could consider — after doing your own research, of course:

  1. You could just buy the stock. This is probably the simplest thing you could do. Then just wait for it to go up and sell when you hit a profit target you’re comfortable with. This is only for stocks we’re long on. For stocks we’re short on, you can short them.
  2. You could buy an option. You know I’m not a fan of speculative plays, but every once in a while it doesn’t hurt to throw a little cash at a speculative option. Of course, while options can move bigtime if the stock goes up… the downside of options is that you have a time limit on how quickly you need the stock to make that move. So think about your risk tolerance and consider buying calls or puts depending on the stock recommendations above.
  3. You could do an income play. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that I’m a big fan of income plays, because they increase your odds of winning. We do this by SELLING options instead of buying them. If you haven’t tried your hand at income trading yet, I urge you to try this exercise for yourself.

    Without risking any money, it will really let you see the power of income trading and why it’s my favorite method.

    Whether you end up doing naked puts, covered calls or some kind of spread (like this bull put spread example), income plays like these are really my preferred method to use when I’ve found a great trending stock like the ones on this week’s list.

    Because even if the trend comes to an end, you don’t have to be exactly right. With a direction play like buying a call, you have to be exactly right. But an income play gives you a lot more “leeway”, where the stock can move against you and you still have room to breathe and win the trade.

That’s it for now.

Stay tuned, because I’ll be sending you a new list of TrendPoint Best Trending Stocks every week! (usually Mondays)

Trade well,

Jack Carter