I can see where you are coming from. We backed off the highs today. Lots of data this week, Tuesday through Friday morning. Volume has been low since last week, blamed on vacations, Labor Day, etc. We will see how it goes.
You are dead on, it was near (1-2 weeks away) expiration, don't remember exactly when. I am doing this one to see how ATM works, so far not so good but it is an educational experiment.
Well, i hope you dont turn away from ATMs after 1 or 2 bad experiences. Given the 50/50 odds you can get quite a few of those in a row. It all depends on what you are playing for and how strong your directional forecast is.
Oh I'm not turning away from ATM. I'm just poking fun at my first trade gone bad (for the moment anyway). The trade hasn't gotten away from me yet so damage is minimal. A pullback over the next few days would be nice, then I can see how an ATM spread reacts when it goes in my favor .
cache, remember the long cals and diags we discussed before? Now that the VIX has collapsed and implieds went through the roof, perhaps i could interest you in a conservative way to play any market downside over the next month or so. VIX short calendars. - Nov 12.5 Calls at $3.5 vols at 160 +Sep 12.5 Calls at $1.25 vols at 115
Haha, I'd already been looking at that. You got me looking into VIX possibilities, and I've been checking them out from every different angle ever since.
Today's job numbers sure didn't help my XEO spread, I'm taking it in the shorts now. Could get out now and move on but I will probably hold on until at least Tuesday, see what happens when the big boys get back in town. Could extend my loss but I'm willing to wait.