Security Reasons

If you don't already know, trading was halted today for security reasons. Now, what does that mean? When I first read the notification regarding the halt, I really had no idea what the 'security reason' possibly be. This is the first time I encountered that. It is usually for network problems. Apparently, Tower One had a bomb threat and everyone had to evacuate the trading floor and the whole building for that matter. This was at 10.20am. Whether trading would be extended, we weren't really sure so some of the traders in the office just left. I heard the traders from the floor disbursed to neighboring establishments like Starbucks upon exiting the building. With the sweep taking at least an hour, the likelihood trading will resume before 12 is slim. Good thing I decided to stay behind because trading resumed at 1 pm. We haven't had lunch so we decided to just order from MCDO. Funny, it turns out, our friends from downstairs also had their lunch in MCDO. Apir! :)

I remember I mentioned before that buying/selling behavior changes whenever the market is halted. The real trend usually manifests itself immediately as orders are sent out sooner rather than later. Basically, I see the halts as a catalyst for momentum to kick in. Today, the behavior showed a little variation but was essentially the same. We first had a shallow correction, which is understandable given the bomb threat but apparently, that was short-lived as we rallied soon after. Of course, the 129 point gain in the Dow contributed to the market's enthusiasm but the halt made the eventual rise more urgent. To tell you the truth, I got dizzy this afternoon as almost all of the stocks on my watchlist were moving! I felt the urgency. And those that lacked that urgency fell, which only makes the lack of buying pressure more obvious as compared to normal trading when it can be hidden by keeping prices at a certain level. This is all just intraday tough. Tomorrow could be different. Just keep in mind that the index is still moving sideways and we are now back closer to resistance at 4,253. 

Today was a bit frustrating for me. I sold AP too soon at 26.45. Talk about intraday lows! I was supposed to buy back when the market resumed but I chickened out when prices suddenly corrected. It snapped back up but it was only upon break of 26.80 that I decided to buy back. AP closed 2 flucts above my cost but you know what keeps appearing on my mind? A consolidation at current levels in the next couple of days. Maybe I'm just "praning". Also, I had a buy posting of PNB at 65. I didn't get to cancel it upon resumption of trading and my order got hit. PNB closed at 64.30. Selling AP early and the matching of my order for PNB spoiled my mood a little. 

The superstar today was RFM. Drool.  

:P