News that the US is planning to levy a new 5 % tariff on Mexico on June 10, widening the new trade war to multinational including here in North America immediately hit stock index futures last night around 730 pm, dropping S+P 500 futures sharply lower thru this weeks regular trading hours low, with futures down all night, the market is taking this new tariff news very seriously.
I have been trading for 40 years, and the quantified risk that most concerns me most is having material, and substantial overnight risk.
Since the majority of market trading is done during NYSE hours of 930 am-400pm Eastern, most investors are literally at the mercy of what goes on overnight.
You can go bed at night feeling great about your investments, and then wake up the next morning, and find out that the market will open substantially lower. You've been blindsided thru no fault of you own.
The decision as a long term investor/trader to own stocks ultimately is a substantial risk situation, and that risk only increases the larger your bank is in the market.
You must take control of your investments in such a way as to minimize risk.
I have done that by mainly day trading my stock account for many years, being known as a Pattern Day Trader, with appropriate margin requirements in place.
Perhaps its just a pet peeve of mine, but most traders and investors work much to hard to be blindsided by overnight fundamental news that has absolutely nothing to do with the way you have managed your portfolio.
The bottom line here is because the market offers unlimited upside potential, dwarfing safe investments like bank accounts that the risks of such an opportunity should be almost the same.
Do yourself a favor.
The next time you have a very handsome profit, in one of your investments, lock it in by selling during regular market hours.
Don't allow anyone, or anything to take that away from you. if at all possible.
And make sure you take the added step of insuring against overnight risk if you have to be in the market overnight, by buying hedges, either put options, or leveraged short ETFS, or whatever works for you in total amount of your investment, to completely as possible hedge your portfolio against overnight risk in the stock market.
You will be secure in knowing that you took back control from some random overnight event that will hurt you financially and placed it back where it should be,..with yourself.
Good advice. :-) - Boy, Trump is just full of surprises isn't he. I think he underestimates the leverage that other countries have as well, especially China; if they want to inflict pain on US markets, then they can and will do just that, and it's getting to the point now where I think ol' Xi Ping is getting pissed- stay tuned.
Thanks buddy.
Thanks buddy.