For everybody, honesty is critical in life, but as far as careers like trading are concerned, honesty with oneself is more important than any other trait. On that note, let me admit we are taking a very hard beating lately. I don’t have too much to say today, other than it will take time to turn this around, not only will this massive, surprise downtrend have to slow down and then reverse, it will take even more time for a full uptrend to kick in and start making us money. Am I worried about making money on our positions, not really, and even if we don’t score big, I am quite sure we will exit at far more favorable prices than what we have today. These are the times that really test a trader, and I can hear the whining from all angles now, in fact it’s the only thing that has me thinking we are close to a bottom, however, that is not enough to go “all in”.

About the only positive I can mention is that I stuck to the plan, and didn’t buy on the open, as I mentioned I would do in the Friday recap. Fortunately, I waited until just after 11 am when the intraday 30 minute stochastics finally reached oversold before I started doing any buying. Make no mistake, this was a very painful two hours to start the week, watching accounts I manage bleed, then bleed some more, expecting them to go even lower before I get a signal to add. I won’t lie, it can be torture, but we must stay true to ourselves and our plan. At times that is all we have to lean on, and more so lately than usual!

I will spare you the charts this afternoon, and please understand that while I am fine and still looking to position for a score, I also need to decompress at times. The beating has been relentless, but my hope is that if readers can see I still come out of this intact (and even wealthier), then they know what is possible in this business. Difficult as it can be, I still maintain this is the best business in the world, and certainly for a person that can think and act on their own.

As the markets just closed, I need to unwind and review everything. I might make another post later tonight or more likely in the morning if anything is worth noting. I hope readers understand the realities of trading, too many sites trumpet their successes, all too often ignoring their losses. In these crazy times with governments printing unlimited money, lies and lockdowns, etc, it’s getting hard to find people that tell the truth. I may be getting spanked hard, but I can handle it, and I tell readers the truth. It is the ONLY way to success, and keep in mind that just like we take merciless beatings as in the last month or two, we also get paid too much and far too fast at times. Just the thought still brings a big smile my face. People need and appreciate the facts more than ever, its my promise to continue to deliver on this. Despite the pain, try and stay with the strategy until we see it through, I am quite sure the results will be nothing like where and how we feel today, it is just another step in the process. I have said it before, but I will not be the least surprised if we cash out with big gains by the time we exit. It is these times like this that show us who we truly are. Can we stick to the plan, or is the pain too great to continue?

Stay tuned (for more beatings, or the turn of a lifetime that ushers in a rip yer nuts off rally!) 🙂

Today brought more weakness to the mining sector, a big enough drop to allow me to bring up my holdings in Hecla Mining (HL) and Equinox Gold (EQX) to full-risk positions, as well as add to McEwen Mining (MUX). I had limit orders in all day bidding for more GDXJ and SILJ, but those did not get filled. Since I still don’t see many people, if any talking about buying into miners, I will probably try again next week but will explain below how I will handle the opening on Monday, I won’t go running to buy right out of the gate.

What allowed me to step in with some larger orders was not only the price being knocked down sufficiently to levels where things like gaps closing occurred, along with 50% fibonacci retracements on various individual stocks, but also we started to see miners hold up better than the metals. Miners usually move around double what the metal does, so when we se gold down 2.5% and silver down close to 4%, we normally expect to see gold miners down 5% and silver miners down 8%, but that was nowhere near what happened. Instead, we saw GDX down 3%, and SILJ really stood out, dropping only 1.93%! Until today, miners have really underperformed the metals, but when the trend changes, it will likely start with miners showing relative strength versus the metals like we saw Friday. We are not out of the woods yet, but the daily stochastics are now reaching oversold as well, something I pointed out yesterday, and after another poor day for the sector.

Lets take a look at the weekly GDX and GDXJ charts with their fibonacci retracement levels, since the etfs are more indicative of a group’s strength or weakness than an individual miner. While I examine the charts of the various individual stocks I am trading or investing in, I always want to first know where the group stands and how it’s performing, as most stocks in that sector will trade similarly. First is GDX…

The WEEKLY chart fibonacci is drawn from the depths of the March 2020 low, all the way to the August 2020 high. It’s hard to believe it, but we have now been in a downtrend for an entire year since that high in August! I would note that is a typical time for a sideways to lower consolidation after a big bull run. For whatever reason, miners seem to run higher sharply for 6 months or so, then go sideways or lower for a whole year, before they mount another sharp rally. In any case, this fibonacci chart suggests GDX could still drop to the $31 for a full 50% retracement, a couple dollars lower from Friday’s close. Also note the horizontal trendline at $31, too, it seems that we might get to that level but also that it should hold, or mount a rally from there. Now let’s see what the GDXJ WEEKLY chart has to say on the matter…

GDXJ confirms what GDX suggests, that they could drop a bit more if they are to complete a full 50% retracement. However, GDXJ also got closer to closing that gap during trading as it dropped to $42.98, only a dollar away from it’s 50% level, before closing at $43.79, leaving it about $1.80 from its 50% level. Both charts tell me that while we are getting very close to bottoming, we might not be there yet and we might have to take a little more pain. For sure, it’s not worth trying to get out here to try and evade any additional downside, because once miners do decide to turn in earnest, they will make up these few last dollars of downside so fast that we are more likely to miss the opportunity than to save from any additional losses. In short, it’s time to be buying or sitting tight, nothing else.

As far as how I will handle trading early next week, as in Monday morning. Because of how my holdings closed on the intraday 30 minute bar charts, with stochastics just barely coming out of overbought, my hunch is we could see some weakness, or at least a cap on any upside or gap higher, for a couple hours after trading opens. So I am still looking to buy/add to positions, but as mentioned in the opening, I am NOT going to do any panic buying on Monday. I will wait for the market to work off the overbought technicals, then assess where my positions sit and decide how much to buy and at what limit prices. This tactic on timing into positions has really helped give and edge, and saved a lot of money over time, even if it’s just 10 or 20 cents per share, it truly adds up over time. We also take the same edge when exiting, so put another 20 cents per share into your account. On many trades, this alone is the difference between making a profit or loss, but even on a $1 gainer per share, an extra 15 cents saved in AND out, is 30 cents to the bottom line. When talking a $1 profit per share, an extra 30 cents is 30% extra! It’s wise to pay attention to detail in this business. I might have an update on the game plan before trading starts on Monday, depending on how the futures markets action is shaping up Sunday night and before the open on Monday. I think we are nearing turn in the markets and the precious metals sector, we just can’t know what minute it will start, but it’s close I believe.

Another day, and more losses. What can I say, other than it happens and as professional traders we must deal with it. We must always look for opportunities to improve. Today is another odd one, with several miners reporting great earnings results, only to see little interest in the group. When rallies start to move up, they haven’t been able to hold the gains. It’s uncomfortable, but we know what to do in any situation.

Some things to note on the daily charts, dare I say they are positive observations? 🙂 For one, we see gaps being closed on the daily charts today for GDX and GDXJ (also closed recently on SIL and SILJ). This alone is not a reason to buy, its more an action trigger for somebody that was already looking for an entry on these names. Another positive is that the daily stochastics I use (5,3,3) are nearing oversold, not quite there yet, but maybe we get there in the next trading day or two.

Lastly, I see the half-hour bar charts are oversold as we close the trading day. What does this mean? Well, a trader could buy this afternoon and then see what the morning brings, either add more, or enjoy a possible gap up. Either way, it looks like in the very, very short term, our holdings are due for a bounce. My preference is to see a lower open tomorrow, or at least a move lower after the open, maybe for the first 45 minutes or so, which would give an ideal opportunity to add to positions, for the trip back up to overbought. This is just a near term timing technique, something I use when it’s time to make the trade, either a buy or a sell, I always check the intraday (30 min bar charts) first.

I did place a few trades today, though nothing to get excited about just yet. Members should have received alerts of various trades, including Equinox Gold and Hecla Mining. As always, the data is posted in the Stops tab and the Daily Account Screenshots for members, which includes total position sizes, stop levels, and unrealized gains and losses which can have some big swings around here! No worries, as long as we keep our total risk controlled and push our winning trades for maximum gains. I’m going to post just a few charts, most look similar at this point anyway, so no need to go through too many. Let’s look at GDX, since I mentioned the gap closing and the daily stochastics approaching oversold (not there quite yet). In addition to closing the gap from the other day, notice GDX also sits right on it’s 10 day moving average. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty not to like as well, such as the “death cross” kicking in soon as the moving averages cross each other heading lower, and the general downtrend. We have to let the market tell us where it’s headed, all we can do is have contingency plans and then let it play out as it chooses.

Here is a quick look at Hecla Mining, which had a positive earnings report and tried to mount a serious rally, but all it could hold onto was meager gains. This can mean that in the short term that the pullback isn’t quite finished. I added to to my HL today and might buy more in the near future, but I prefer to see the group get some traction before I do any big buys. This market has required lots of patience recently, so I will wait to see if the weak close today in our holdings might give us a better buy setup in the morning, specifically the first 90 minutes of trading. Let’s see what happens.

Since there isn’t much movement in the markets today, and I am just waiting for possible fills on some limit orders to buy or add to positions, I will take a minute to show you what I think happened with miners this morning. After a nice gap up, they sold off all morning until now, actually going into the red on the day. Luckily, we only starting buying a few minutes ago, because we use short term intraday charts to time into and out of trades, and we waited until they got oversold before hitting the buy button, so we got some good prices on a couple items already. Members should have received Trade Alerts to their email which tell them what stocks, how many shares and prices paid, but should also check the Stops tab to see new position sizes, as well as the Daily Account Screenshot we post after the close of trading each day. This is the best way for people to get the most accurate and useful information a trader needs.

Moving on to today’s odd action, I can only figure that it was the gap up leaving GDX right in the face of a double moving average (50 and 200 day) resistance. On top of that, the moving averages are sloping lower which is OK but not ideal. Even worse, the two moving averages are making a death cross lower! Keep in mind all this is occurring on the daily chart, so it can change quickly, as in a few days. We are invested on WEEKLY and MONTHLY signals, so we have to ride through adverse moves on daily charts as we keep our eyes on the prize, the longer term trend higher. Here is the daily chart of GDX with a recently broken steep downtrend line (good), and now starting a small uptrend that we would like to see extend.

So that is my best guess as to why GDX didn’t hold it’s gains today (as of 11:30 am, it could change by the close). Rather than worry or obsess about it, the best thing an experienced trader can do is use the weakness as an opportunity to add, especially when we see a possible reason for the adverse action. It might take a few days to work through this resistance, or it also would not surprise me to see buyers step back in and push miners up again into the afternoon. That is why we took advantage of the push lower to add at overold technicals on the intraday chart.

Today was a very slow day, not much volume traded in most things, even the QQQ’s have traded only a little more than half their average daily volume today. I did manage to use the oversold intraday chart this morning to add to my HL (Hecla Mining) LEAP options, and my EQX LEAPS as well. Members should have received those trade alerts this morning, but I haven’t been filled on any other buy orders, including limit orders to buy in GDXJ, MUX, MGMLF, NOVRF (got close), and a few others. I will spare readers having to see the same charts over again, and instead post some things of interest being we have some down time with Canada’s stock markets closed for a civic holiday.

First, I suppose I will post a chart of MUX (McEwen Mining), since I get this question a lot, about “breakdowns” below supports or moving averages. If you recall a few days ago when we reviewed the MUX DAILY chart, I received several email pointing out how ugly the chart was as it had broken through and was holding below the 200 day MA. Well, those observations were true, but I mentioned how I always assume support and resistance will hold, even repair slight breaches, rather than continue through with the break. MUX is a great example, now that we have the benefit of hindsight to review. Notice how suddenly the chart looks great? It’s above the 200 day MA, and even looks like now it has held that support! Same stock, same chart, all that matters is who is assessing it. Supports and resistances are NOT lines in the sand and always so clear and obvious breakdowns and breakouts when crossed. Just like that, MUX looks like a fine buy candidate!

And for those that have asked why I am so heavy into the precious metals miners right now, I will post some words from others, at the risk of “talking my book”. I don’t start out so heavy, but I can get very, very invested in a group when I have taken initial positions and they start to work for me. I like to get into positions where I can add to a winner, have the big size on when the trade really starts to take flight. Yes, it’s paying up, but it isn’t chasing if we don’t buy into the up-movement. We can add to a winner as it rises, which makes me uncomfortable unless the move up has just started, or we can wait for the eventual pullbacks that occur after we are sitting on nice unrealized gains, which is my preferred situation. This strategy works best for those with the big picture analysis in mind, and trying to capture the long term trends.

Just a quick note, I tried to post some links here but the system won’t let me, yet. I will figure it out, and get it fixed, so you can see and use exactly the same things as me.

To prepare for tomorrow, I noticed some nice “prints”, ie. big buy orders come into some miners at the close, usually a sign somebody with deep pockets is acquiring more shares for a move higher. I have my list ready, and will review the stocks, possibly add a few others, and be ready to buy more in the morning, BUT only once they have gotten oversold on the intraday charts. Near the close, most technicals were in the middle ground, forcing me to sit tight an be patient for the next oversold signal to buy. We should get an opportunity to add tomorrow, but we can’t yet know when the market will push lower enough to get oversold, it could be around 10 am, or it might not happen until the afternoon. When it occurs, we will be ready to add!

Today was the first trading day of the new month, thus we have data for new monthly charts, which are the charts longer term traders use to make their investment decisions as they typically have less “noise”, aka false signals. Today was relatively uneventful, but I did make a few transactions and want to post a few charts of what I’m seeing. Members should have received 3 trade alerts today, sent to their email in real-time just after the trade is made.

On a very short term basis, some charts of miners are looking overbought on the daily time frame. That is not a problem or something we try to sidestep, as long as the time frame we originally used for the buy signal is still intact. At times we have to prepare for possible pullbacks, without fear so great that it forces us to sell and try waiting on the sidelines. If you watch new traders or ones that can never seem to learn, they will often react to every little wiggle or gyration, they try to get out before any dinky pullback they anticipate, but often lose focus of the bigger picture and potential, then lose their positions! We are in a confusing area for the very near term, as we have been in a down trend in miners for example, yet have now also had a rally out of the lows. This confuses traders, some think the bull is back and want to buy in, others think the trend is clearly lower now, and this bounce is a perfect contra-move to get short. Personally, the largest and longest trend is still long in miners and metals, so I am in the camp looking to get long this sector even more than I am already.

There wasn’t too much particularly noteworthy to report today, instead I am looking forward to tomorrow morning when the 30 minute bar charts reach oversold stochastics, so that I can add to positions. Today, I did add to both EQX (Equinox Gold) and HL (Hecla Mining). Members should check their trade alerts, as well as the Stops tab and Daily Account Screenshots tab above for all the specifics, including prices paid, total position sizes and unrealized gains and losses, all the most important details to a trader. Here is EQX…

We also added to HL (Hecla Mining) today on a couple occasions….

I could have been more active buying today, but I prefer to have the intraday charts (half-hour bar charts, for example) oversold before I buy, just as I wait for the signal on a daily, weekly or monthly chart. It’s just an additional edge, and the savings on good fills really add up over time. I intended to show readers some chart annotations I made on some monthly charts, but my charting service was screwy today and didn’t allow me to save the charts along with annotations. I will look into it, so that I can show readers some of the things I’m seeing longer term, some setups, trend lines and fibonacci levels we should keep an eye on as they get closer.

Trying to get my charting service working correctly, let me post this weekly chart of Silver with a simple trend line and see if it comes up correctly. Silver closed last month right on the trend line, or maybe even slightly below, but members will recall that I don’t view a trend line as a line in the sand, more an area that is likely to hold rather than not. To me, so far it looks like the Silver bull has held it’s ground and remains intact.

Today was the last trading day for July, 2021, and while not eventful, I always look forward to seeing the new month’s charts the following week, since longer-term investors use the monthly (and quarterly) charts to make new investment decisions. Professionals and big money will also try to “paint the charts” near month end, in order to influence the trading decisions of others. July is now in the books and done, let’s see how the longer-term charts look next week when they print. Silver was close to “make or break” time according to many analysts, while I don’t think the $25.50 level is a definitive line in the sand, to me we closed close enough to confirm the long-term bull market remains intact.

Today didn’t have anything outstanding to focus on, it was a pullback day after a strong day for our accounts yesterday. I did take advantage of the weakness to add to a few names, and if one wants to check the intraday charts, they will see we got lucky on some of our buys today. We bought the afternoon pullback which turned out to be good timing, as miners turned higher not long after our buy orders were filled. The hourly action is not overly important to traders focusing on our time frames (usually weekly and monthly signals), but it’s always a welcome edge to find our accounts heading higher not long after we get out buy orders filled. 🙂

Looking to next week, I will focus on opportunities to add to miners since it appears the group is trying to turn higher. We also have some seasonal tendencies that should start to support the sector near term. I’m expecting to see a move higher lasting several weeks at least, so it’s important not to sell too early into the move up, since we cannot know yet how strong or far the stocks will run. I will look to add to anything I have added to recently, and focus more on things like the GDXJ etf LEAPS, or my most recent additions being stocks like HL (Hecla Mining), and the junior copper/gold explorer Freegold Ventures. I will also look to get heavier is my biggest winners like MGMLF (Maple Gold Mines), now bouncing off it’s 200 day moving average. Rather than drown you in charts, know that many look similar and therefor we can trade the miners as a group right now, however I will still try to add to the best in the group. How do I know which will be the best? I don’t, that is just being honest, but I will judge by the charts, or in the case of a news driven stock like EQX (Equinox Gold), the fundamentals and how they are changing in my favor. In short, when we get a strong move in a group it often hardly matters which stock we buy!

Just a few charts to keep in the back of your mind over the weekend. If one gets overwhelmed by how many stocks look like good buys, one can always look to a popular etf. This can hurt out upside, but also eliminates lots of company specific risk, like unexpected secondary offerings which dilute shareholders. I will try to add to GDXJ and maybe some of my newest buys as well, since I am not yet up to full-risk positions in stocks like EQX (Equinox Gold) and HL (Hecla Mining). I look forward to the new MONTHLY charts that will print on Monday, but the weekly charts for the mining sector continue to suggest they go higher for several weeks at least.

I added to HL (Hecla Mining) today, still looking to increase position up to full-risk. Here is the WEEKLY chart, nice and simple, oversold and at support.

And the DAILY chart looks similar as far as sitting on support (200 day MA), though the stochastics are no longer oversold. In a situation like this, I’m often asked which is more important, the daily not being oversold or the weekly being oversold? I will always defer to the longer term charts as they have more history, more action that has created the longer term chart, however, I will respect the fact that the daily has already moved out of oversold and could be due to turn lower for a few days. I’m not predicting it goes lower, but when looking to buy or add to my position, I take this fact into account and try to buy with limit orders only, and maybe below the current market price. Basically, I am more patient with my buy orders when the time frames don’t match up perfectly. Here is the HL DAILY…

Let’s look at GDXJ’s WEEKLY chart again, I will likely add to this one next week…

MUX was weaker than most miners today, but has been stronger than most lately, so the daily chart had me buying comfortably as I was adding to a winning position, and the stock sits on it’s 200 day moving average (not shown here, as this is a weekly chart). Using the very short term 30 minute bar charts of intraday action, allowed me to get nice fills near the day’s low prices, not long before the stock rebounded and climbed into the close of trading. More importantly, the WEEKLY stochastics are very oversold like most stocks in the group. Stop levels have been updated, members can check the revised numbers, and should review the daily account screenshots for pertinent information like average costs per share, unrealized gains and losses, etc.

Too many miners look similar, so that we don’t need to go through them all, but let’s check on EQX (Equinox Gold) via it’s WEEKLY chart, again quite similar to others in the group, so why did I pick this stock to talk about? For one, it has been pushed much lower than most of the group, being it had unfavorable news in the form of blockades on it’s Mexican property, which temporarily shut down the mine (it was re-opened this week, so this issue should be getting behind us soon). Also, EQX was a sector leader in the earlier stage of the bull market in metals and miners, a result of great production numbers, and increasing reserves. In short, Equinox was firing on all cylinders before the blockade, which hit at the same time as the sector pullback resulting from the FOMC news they might tighten rates sooner than the market anticipated. I mostly ignore the FOMC, but the market does react to their lies and double-talk, so I take that into account. In any case, EQX was one of the best and still is, so I bet the market re-discovers this in the next leg up for the precious metals bull market. I don’t want to limit the upside, but a double on this one would not surprise me at all, nor would it shock me to see it occur quickly once the group move starts. It might be happening now, but if not, I expect a move higher sooner rather than later. Here is the WEEKLY chart of Equinox…

That’s enough for this afternoon, you get the picture. If I uncover anything worth noting over the weekend, I will try to make a post here, but members can get all the details and account information, changes to stop levels and portfolio in the tabs above. The news and analysis are good to know, but the numbers and risk-control are what matter most. Keep it simple and let’s see what next week offers.

We saw some follow-through today on yesterday’s strength in most of our positions, I think only KWEB weakened and closed lower on the day, after it opened strong (up 2-3%) before selling off. It’s been a good few days and I expect more upside over the next weeks, while we could retrace for a day or two at any time, I think the tide has turned and miners will outperform most groups heading into September. At least, that is what history suggests.

Today we saw the GC (August gold) futures contract get right up against resistance at the 200 and 50 day moving averages. It’s a tough call to guess what might happen the next two or three days, not much would surprise me, but I think looking out a few weeks we should be well on our way with higher prices for gold, silver, and their miners. About $1832-1833 is the area gold needs to clear before it can search for new resistance at higher levels. I will point out that many recently beaten down miners were up double-digit percentages today, even some stocks I have stopped out of have jumped over 10% a few days in a row! It’s ok, it’s part of the game and we need to focus on the next opportunity, knowing we also still own many positions that are running higher now with the sector.

Let me also point out that tomorrow is the last trading day of the month. It’s important, as longer term investors use monthly or quarterly charts to make their investment decisions, since these eliminate a lot of the “noise” in daily or hourly charts. We will get our final price data for July at tomorrow’s close. Silver cleared a level today, that if it holds, some long term bulls say the big bull market is still in force. I think that is in the $25.50 area, but as you know, I don’t treat support and resistance as lines in the sand, I treat them as general areas. In any case, silver made a nice push higher into the end of the month, more upside tomorrow would be even better!

I added to a winner in MUX, a loser in FVL.TO (which I don’t think will be sitting on unrealized losses much longer), and started a new position in Hecla Mining (HL) LEAPS. Members can see total position sizes, stop-out levels, average cost per position, and unrealized gains and losses in the tabs above. All this data is real and the statements are actual screenshots of daily account statements, not just a reporting by somebody that might or might not have experience or trade profitably. The truth is all that matters!

I’m only going to post two charts this afternoon, the first is the GC (gold) futures contract mentioned above, the second is my new position in HL (Hecla Mining). There are several reasons to own HL, but the most important to a precious metals bull like me at the moment is that the company’s free cash flow is exploding higher the last few earnings reports. I think HL might even have the fastest growing free cash flow from operations of any mining stock in the GDX or GDXJ (can’t recall which at the moment), making it one of the better miners to own in this cycle in my opinion. The charts would support my idea, as HL just made new 10 YEAR highs in June. In this world oppressive governments and local indigenous people protesting for more freebies from miners all the time, it’s nice to have a company whose operations are primarily in the US and Canada, it’s a perceived extra layer of protection for investors as the risk of nationalization is lessened (though not eliminated). Here is the WEEKLY chart of Hecla Mining (HL), and the DAILY chart of the August Gold futures contract…

Now, onto the gold chart…

If the gold futures can clear the double resistance at those moving averages, I think the price is heading significantly higher. I will also say I think gold will indeed clear that resistance, it’s only a matter of time, and I don’t think it will take long, in fact I bet it’s soon. I say this because Silver also put in a good performance today, as we near the month end the closing prices dictate what longer term investors will do with their positions. If Silver can hold up here or gain on the last trading day of the month, the long term charts will remain very bullish.

Members receive real-time trade alerts, as well as access to our stop levels, total position sizes, and unrealized gains and losses, the way it should be, when somebody is asking you to trust their claims. Why don’t more newsletter writers just show you their results? I don’t mean just tell you, or type it, the easiest and most honest thing to do is to post their actual account statements like we do here!

Today was the central bank’s FOMC announcement on interest rates, usually its very quiet a day or two leading up to the meeting, then investors step back into the markets and take positions, causing the volatility to come back into the markets. Personally, I typically do not try to sidestep these meetings as many traders do when they are nervous about the news event. I understand as the volatility can shake people up, but in my experience I have found more often than not, whatever trades I had on are still valid after the FOMC news. Yes, prices get crazy and can make one seasick if they haven’t seen it a million times before, but I’m used to it by now and today was no different. In fact, today was relatively calm after the news release, compared to the last FOMC meeting which kicked off the big decline we have seen in miners! One thing for sure, I never make trading decisions off the news release, as they are known to often reverse the original move. This is why I have found it best to just stick to my plan despite the gyrations, or reacting to how I feel at any particular moment in time. We have a valid plan, all we have to do is stick to it!

Today we saw the government of China step in and essentially ask banks to help them quell their markets after the Hang Seng lost 7% the prior day. While the politicians and regulators initiated the recent collapse, I think seeing their biggest and best Chinese blue-chip technology stocks lose over 50% in just a couple months was enough to begin to scare them as much as investors! So we got a BIG bounce today in the KWEB etf, up about 10%, and strong all day. We cannot know, but this could very well be the turn higher, at least for a little while as the PE ratios of great companies like BIDU got down to 7, while they have earnings of $21!!! It´s certainly worth taking a shot with numbers like that, and then things like the mood can change overnight. Nobody would touch the Chinese internet companies, then buyers come of out the woodwork in force.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/dip-buying-retail-army-plows-chinese-stocks-just-plunge-protectors-arrive

We have looked at the KWEB chart so much lately that I hate to bring it up again, but since we finally have a big green bar and it could prove to be a pivotal day, not to mention I was able to bring accounts up to full-risk position sizes yesterday, its worth seeing one more time. Let’s use the weekly chart…

I must say that is one lovely hammer on the far right side of the chart, the handle created by the massive beatdown KWEB took the first two days of this week, now trying to reverse higher. I can’t say if it’s straight up from here, we could muddle around awhile depending on what other markets do, for example if the QQQ´s etf in the US starts to get very weak, I would expect that to drag down KWEB, or at least keep a lid on the upside. In any case, charts this oversold that reverse hard as KWEB has done today, are typically close to a bottom if it isn’t already behind us. This is a good trade for prospective members to watch play out, as it’s rare that a position goes so hard and fast against me right out of the gate. KWEB has required patience, focus, and courage, more than most trades this early into the investment. If it can hold its ground here or gain some, I will certainly look to increase my position size. Let’s let the market tell us what to do, for now we managed to get our full position and it’s heading higher, not bad for a trade that was looking to flush out not long after we started it!

Moving on, I also added to my GDXJ LEAPS on the junior gold mining etf. I am not yet to a full position on this one, so will continue to add when given opportunities for good fills. It’s important when trading LEAPS (options) that we pick our liit prices carefully and stick to them, as spreads can be ¨wide¨on options, especially the farther dated expiries. However, we can use that to our advantage, if we are patient with limit orders we can sit and wait for the markets to come to us and give us some great fills that save us big money over time. Just think of an option that is bid at $5, offered at $5.50, which is quite common. The person that can’t wait has to pay $5.50, a full 10% more than the guy sitting at $5 patiently until he gets filled. Those numbers add up quickly, so its best to learn how to get filled on the bids or at least in the middle of the spread, rather than pay up every time we decide we want something. Of course, we could miss a trade by waiting on the bid, but there are other methods and ¨tricks¨ to help us be sure and get the position, like placing our buy orders only when the stock or option is in down movement, looking to buy from a current holder that might be panicking. Here is the GDXJ WEEKLY chart…

There are a couple things I like about this junior gold miners chart on GDXJ, for one, the stochastics are very oversold and just now starting to turn up again. We could get a solid 6-10 weeks of upside before it reaches overbought again. Another thing that excites me, although I have not drawn it on this chart, is the approximate 50% fibonacci retracement (pullback) we have seen, from the substantial March 2020 crash bottom, all the way to the August 2020 high, then back to current prices. Also note the pullback takes us to old resistance which is now new support, in the $45 area. This is as good n area as any to take a position, or add to one as I have done.

I also added to EQX (Equinox Gold), which used to be a darling in the sector, but fell from grace when the natives in Mexico put a blockade on the mine forcing it to shut down. I had already started a position, but chose not to add once that news came out, preferring to see how things shake out. I’m happy to say the mine is back up and running, and as the stock was responding positively today, combined with the fact the sector looks like it might be turning higher for a bit, had me thinking today was a relatively low risk opportunity to add to my EQX LEAPS. I am still not up to a full-risk position, in fact I am at exactly half of my desired position, so will continue to add to my EQX on dips as I am not near stopping out. If EQX can re-start an uptrend, these LEAPS could become big winners, especially now that the negative news has been removed for the time being. As as aside, the mining legend Ross Beatty has Equinox as his major project at the moment, they have 4 producing mines and are executing as well or better than any others. I don’t fall in love with positions, it can get very costly, but there isn’t anything I don’t like about this trade now that the blockade has been removed and mining has resumed, which was only on their Mexican mine anyway. I won’t be surprised if EQX makes new all-time highs again, but let’s take it one step at a time. Here is the WEEKLY EQX chart finally a green bar on the far right side!

So there was plenty of action today, and I’m happy to report our accounts had some very nice upside. More importantly is what happens next, and the charts are starting to suggest we could be turning the trend from lower to higher, in all the above positions. There were other trades today, members receive real-time trade alerts with sizes, prices, stops, and even unrealized gains and losses in the Daily Account Screenshot, so be sure to check those out for the details.

The destruction of China’s technology stocks continues today again, I linked an article below that gives a brief idea of what is happening over there, but the charts say it all. Today, I’m posting the KWEB WEEKLY chart, since yesterday we already examined the daily and monthly charts. I took today’s decline as my opportunity to bring accounts up to full-sized position in KWEB LEAPS, I welcome the opportunity to put this position on cruise control now, and look at other ideas. The beating has been relentless, I can only say I am glad that just now I am reaching full risk on this one, because went straight down faster than any other etf I have seen in my 25-30 year trading history! Still, I won’t be surprised if we end up making money on this trade, due to proper risk control more than anything else. This helps explain why Chinese stocks are in a tailspin:

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/tencent-shares-tumble-wechat-removed-chinese-app-stores

And the WEEKLY chart of KWEB:

I also began to nibble again on a junior copper/gold explorer, FreeGold Ventures (FVL.TO), which was adding to a losing position like many miner positions lately. I will continue to look to add to this one and others, as the miners might be getting ready to mount a rally if the general stock market is going to weaken further, like it is today. The Nasdaq was down 2% at one point today, I wager if it can get a red bar (down month) on the monthly charts, it might be the catalyst we need to get miners headed higher again. Here is the DAILY chart for FVL.TO…