As I discussed last week, I have no problem watching a few pitches float by when the market is in a correction and the temptation is to play for the big bottom. There are many ways to consistently profit in the stock market as a trader, but mixing and matching styles (e.g., turning a momentum trade into a mean-reversion play when it goes against you, waiting for it to come back) out of convenience is usually one of the easiest ways to blow out your account. I know what I look for, and it has by and large served me well over the years. Just as being a stubborn bull was the goal in the obnoxiously overbought market during the first quarter of this year, erring on the side of caution via an outsized cash position has kept me out of trouble since April, all the while getting a few huge wins in AEO DFS and MNST along the way inside the 12631 Trading Service.

I am focused right now on keeping a pristine watchlist, with stocks that may be firming up here and ready to lead us on the next sustained leg higher, whenever it may come. As an example, while the chart for the XRT, ETF for the retail sector, is quite sloppy on many accounts, there are a few highly impressive individual retail stocks to observe. Quite a bit of attention has been given to athletic apparel and footwear firm Under Armour. Indeed, UA has been impressive during this correction, holding up very well and pushing up towards the highs over the past week.

In addition, note two stocks in the same broad industry–Foot Locker and Finish Line. Just as with Under Armour, Foot Locker is actually too extended for me in the short-term for a proper swing trading entry point. As a pin action play, though, I am looking at Finish Line if it can squeeze past $23 tomorrow in a strong overall market.

In sum, I am prepared but will not force the action. The overall technical picture has considerable room for improvement, which means I am going to patiently leg back in if the bulls can build on Tuesday’s rally.

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