300
14th February 2008, 08:21 AM
The Dow Jones surged higher overnight by 178 points (the second day running of 100+ upward moves) due to higher than expected retail sales reported for the month of January. I hope the statisticians were discounting all the post Xmas sales! The rise in consumer spending is important to the US economy and implies a glimmer of hope that the economy is starting its road to recovery. However, another report showed that US business invetories grew in the month of December. The stockpiling of goods shows that people are not really dipping into their pockets month after month - which isn't a good sign for a recovery.
The ASX was travelling at an even keel yesterday making up early losses by lunchtime but went on a slide in the arvo to finish 80 points lower at the end of the day.
As a side update, the RA Portfolio has approx $1,600 in the bank and the original two stocks chosen have since falled further to be at least 30% lower than the buy price. Given that we had put in a stop-loss percentage of 15% we have potentially saved ourselves $400 by not losing another 15% on the buy price. Being patient and waiting for the time to get back in has also potentially saved more $$. Now with most stocks at rock bottom, we are in a pretty good position with cash in the bank to get back in, in the near future. So the lesson is to be disciplined enough to keep to your exit points when dealing with the stock market. It's only business after all.
Just my 2 cents!
The ASX was travelling at an even keel yesterday making up early losses by lunchtime but went on a slide in the arvo to finish 80 points lower at the end of the day.
As a side update, the RA Portfolio has approx $1,600 in the bank and the original two stocks chosen have since falled further to be at least 30% lower than the buy price. Given that we had put in a stop-loss percentage of 15% we have potentially saved ourselves $400 by not losing another 15% on the buy price. Being patient and waiting for the time to get back in has also potentially saved more $$. Now with most stocks at rock bottom, we are in a pretty good position with cash in the bank to get back in, in the near future. So the lesson is to be disciplined enough to keep to your exit points when dealing with the stock market. It's only business after all.
Just my 2 cents!