Separating Illusion from Reality

The zoomed-out 30-minute chart for the Russell 2000 Index ETF, below, pretty much illustrates the wild swings (or "violent indecision" on the part of market players) we have seed in the tape for a good while now. Eventually, the marker will distinguish the illusion from reality, in terms of whether we are topping or instead gearing up for an explosive move higher. Until this sloppy pattern resolves itself, the trading waters are likely to stay rough and choppy. Hopefully, you can see why I have been so adamant and fastidious about keeping losers contained while scaling those big wins, all for the sake of discipline and maintaing emotional control over an otherwise cunning market. Headed into the final hours of trading today, fast and casual dining plays BKW BLMN DIN EAT RRGB SONC TXRH remain respectable long ideas, as are electronic medical records plays CERN MRGE QSII. And on the short side, MBLY could easily be following GPRO LOCO lower, in terms of recent IPOs now getting crushed.