ROST is correcting and that's OK - Long at 141.28People get panicky during corrections. Understandably, it can be nerve-wracking watching that stock you were sure was going up, going down. With the short term nature of the trading I'm doing, I don't worry that much, and especially when the corrections are garden variety ones.
ROST is down almost 10% since Dec 5th. That's a normal correction, especially for ROST. It's done that (or more) 4 times in the last 11 months, coming all the way back or more each time. Now I'm not predicting it will this time, too. The whole point of short term trading is not having to worry about earnings, the economy, who we enter a trade war with, etc.
But it is important to keep perspective and zoom out every once in a while. Looking too closely at the last two weeks for this stock could be unnecessarily frightening. 7 down days in the last 8. 4 in a row. Zooming out lets me realize that what's going on here isn't necessarily a crisis. It's (no pun intended) business as usual.
It helps that NASDAQ:ROST is one of my better stocks for trading the way I do. It also helps that there is some support relatively close. It helps that I have over 1100 backtested and real trades in ROST to look back on. When the history of the stock is 1122-2 (the 2 are the last two days), it makes the 10% drop lately seem less worrisome. Data is comforting in times of stress.
And those are lessons for everyone's trading, I think. Look at the big picture before getting nervous about the small one. Collect data on your trades, and let that story of success keep you calm in difficult times. And if it's a story of a lack of success, then at least you can avoid a mess before it happens and work on developing something new.
Per my usual strategy, I'll add to my position at the close on any day it still rates as a “buy” and I will use FPC (first profitable close) to exit any lot on the day it closes at any profit.
As always - this is intended as "edutainment" and my perspective on what I am or would be doing, not a recommendation for you to buy or sell. Act accordingly and invest at your own risk. DYOR and only make investments that make good financial sense for you in your current situation.
