Taking A Hands Off Approach

Good morning. After yesterday's lull and disappointing close, the bulls look both ready and willing to get something going this morning following a better than expected trade deficit report - the deficit is now only $56,400,000,000 instead of $57,000,000,000 - and initial jobless claims which narrowed to 303,000 versus the 325,000 economists expected.

The day is void of economic catalysts, as earnings season drags on and the herd tries to figure out whether the post-Iraq election rally was just a garden-variety bounce before heading lower or this week's pullback is only the pause that refreshes before heading to new highs. There are a lot of frustrated players out there, both professional and individual, and emotions are running higher than usual as everyone tries to wring out some change from Mr. Market's pockets in the meantime.

As you know, I'm taking a hands off approach even though I've been fortunate to spot a couple of excellent trades here and there. In this environment, I think that's all you can do until the herd gets its act together and a better trend is begun. In the meantime, there's no rule you have to trade every day to be successful. Sometimes the market pays you to wait it out until conditions improve. As a trader, you have to understand that you'll sometimes experience long periods of boredom between frantic surges of concentration. Expect to stand aside, wait and watch when the markets have nothing to offer. Have a great day!