Never say never

These 3 cute words were used in the reborn James Bond movie starring Sean Connery when he reprised
his role in one last "fling" after passing over the baton to Roger Moore...and since then I tend to use
this catchy phrase ever so often ,from eating unhealthy food again to watching silly cowboy movies...
like they say ..nothing is forever..

I do intend to move on to the formal website but a few hiccups may mean a slight delay..so till then guess
all of you readers need to put up with me again albeit less frequently...

To all Chinese readers...Gong Xi Fa Cai and may the Snake bring  "THE " long awaited ( and I mean close to 2 decades ago ) stock market rally that will finally awake KLSE from the perpetual slumber.....

Swan song

Today marks the end of January 2013 or about 3 months from
the time I first started this blog site..Like they say ,all good things must come to an end..
Well,not exactly in that sense..it is more like "moving house " Effective from Feb 1 ,2013
all the new postings on the stock market can be viewed under the following website...
chrischootrade.com...Besides the "general "market overview any subscriber to the forum
will also have access to a continuous "live" market readings and outlook of individual stocks
as the day progresses...Those who are keen to know more can contact Julie at 012-2009389
or email to chrischoo55@yahoo.com

To those regular readers of this blogsite ,a big thank you for your support over the last few months
and may the best be with you always...

A dedication

When it comes to music ,I consider myself "lucky" ,having 3 kids who somehow keep me abreast of
the latest musicals acts and songs...My peers may know of the extremely well known ones like Taylor
Swift ,Justin Bieber,One Direction and the likes but the more exotic sounding ones like Swedish House Mafia and The Wanted may not be in their vocabulary...I have to admit even an oldie like me can latch on
this "peculiar " kind of music if repeatedly compelled to (ie frequent hearings via the car stereo ) during the daily drives bringing my teenage daughter to and from school every day..On the flip side I have managed to
convince her and my 2 other older sons to occasionally go back in time and give a listen to music of a different genre...good old music from the 70s and 80s when lip syncing was unheard of, lyrics and catchy melodies were a real part of a song and the distinct voice of each and every singer was immediately identifiable...Solo acts from Neil Diamond to Lobo and groups like Bee Gees and Chicago ruled the airwaves and many of us can still sing along to their songs even in current day karaoke sessions...

Personally ,the one singer who became my childhood idol and still is right up till today has to be the late country singer ,John Denver...It was through listening to his songs that I learned to play the guitar ,sing in public and best of all ...won my wife over.My "heartfelt " renderings of some of his songs like "Annie's song
and "Follow me " apparently melted her heart away 26 years back...No fancy candlelight dinners or exotic
holidays could have done better (not that I could afford those then ) .And for nature lovers,how could songs like "Rocky Mountain High" or "Whalebones And Crosses " not tug at your heart.When my dad passed on 2 years back at age 80 ,I could not think of a better farewell gift than singing "Perhaps Love " with just a guitar at his wake..really felt a deep connection with my dad  throughout the song.When John died in a plane crash in 1997 ,at around the time Princess Diana died in a car accident ,both my wife (who adored the Princess )     and I went through a mourning period lasting quite awhile ..each of us wondered then why such beautiful and
nice people had to be taken away so soon...each gave a positive impact to mankind but never lived long enough to fulfil their respective dreams...

Still...listening to my daughter humming to "Country Roads" on rare occasions never fails to lift my spirits...

It has been 15 years since you left us ,John...I feel so privileged to have seen you performed live in KL and may you rest in eternal peace and happiness ,wherever you are...

A lazy Monday

A really nice relaxing Monday afternoon...As far back as I can remember ,perhaps 45 years back ,I always
dreaded Mondays...for many many reasons..firstly it meant having to go back to school after a relaxing
weekend of sleeping in late ,watching television and catching up on hobbies like kite flying ,netting  fish
from the longkang (drain ) or just a simple get together amongst friends.In my case ,there was one other "major ' reason why I dreaded going back to school..I was a slow learner...had big problems with almost
every single subject in school from spelling to dictation to simple mathematics...somehow I could not
get the "pass" mark ie at least 5 out of 10 correct answers, and with that the punishment always included been whacked on the palm with a ruler and skipping half the recess time.Monday was also not a day I looked forward to in my early working years...As a junior executive ,and hence bottom of the management staff ranks ,you can sort of expect loads of "can I see you " hand written notes awaiting you the moment you
stepped into office..Of course I am certain this relatively "harsh " working environment would have all but
disappeared in recent times..as an employer you would not "dare" try this stunt too frequently lest you end up without employees fairly quickly...

Now that I am self employed ,Mondays don't really make that much difference ..after all who cares whether
you present yourself or not on a working Monday.You can take Monday  or any day off for that matter but
that means your takings or income will diminish too..but that said it is different when the holiday is an
enforced one ,like today...you don't feel guilty and it gives you a chance to spend quality time with the
family or friends ..or go kite flying,.....

A nation grieves

I extend my deepest condolences to the parents of William Yau. No words can
possibly describe the heart and gut wrenching pain the parents must be going through..The agony
and pain will surely bear upon them in immeasurable intensity and possibly consume them whole .As a parent
myself ,I share their pain and agony somewhat but no one except them can possibly fathom the
extreme grief and overwhelming sense of loss they must endure and live with to the end of time..How
such cruel fate could have befallen upon such a young and innocent child is beyond imagination. A child who
had so much much to live for in a supposedly "safe" country and not a war strife country elsewhere.Soon enough,the blame game will take centre stage and recriminations of all sorts will fly in every direction ,but ultimately none other than the parents of William and those who had suffered the same fate could know what it feels like to lose a child.Give his parents a break, don't judge nor berate them at a time like this..No sane
person .let alone a parent would wish for such a tragedy . All of us makes mistakes or blunders in life ,it is just that this particular one turned extremely tragic in a most cruel way ..Instead berate those low life
opportunists who try to cash in on someone's misfortune .I always wondered whether these 'low life"
half humans ever have a conscience built into their mental faculty..

On a personal level , I remember an incident in which my own son (he was about 6 years old then ) was nearly accosted by a stranger as he was walking along a passageway after leaving a toy shop.Been hyper
active he somehow ran ahead of me and fortunately and thank God for that ,I ran too ..,because just as I caught sight of my son, ,I saw a stranger literally backing off from him and quickly walking away..The stranger's look and gaze and the way he hurried off was in my opinion a give away to his possible bad intentions..I have always reminded myself how lucky I was then and till today make it a point to remind
friends and relatives never to take your child's safety for granted...of course that advice extends to all adults too nowadays ,sadly....

May William Yau's soul rest in peace..

Talk on Price Action Technique (PAT )

I will be giving a talk on the above trading technique
The talk is organised by Jupiter Securities and the
 details are as follows..

Date  : Jan 30, 2013 ( next Wednesday )
Time  : 6.30 to 8.30 pm
Venue : Subang Jaya office of Jupiter Securities
Contact : 03- 20709800 (Customer Services ) or email
               servicecentre@jssb.com .my

Attendance is free .Those who are keen to learn more about intraday and short term trading
are strongly encouraged to come.PAT is also suitable for mid to long term investments.

Bear trap

Slowly but surely the market is inching closer to the long Lunar holiday break ahead...and
before that,  are the Thaipusam and City day breaks ...music to the ears of all salaried
workers but may not necessarily be to those on daily wage or bosses of companies with high
overheads...And definitely not to the stock market generally ..Holding on to stock positions
especially open ones during long breaks is not everyone's cup of tea ,more so in times of
uncertainty .The ever looming national elections are always playing on everyone 's mind and with that
the inevitable worries over the market direction as the day draws closer..in fact there was a noticeable
drop in overall market volume today ,no thanks to the long weekend ahead...

Short term players should trade with the full knowledge that come early next week there would be
heavy delivery or due date of stocks bought early this week ..Unless broad market sentiment picks up,
the due date stock sale could further dampen the already cautious and jittery market especially among
2nd and 3rd liners,and nobody welcomes that...sometimes it may be prudent to sit out the whole
cycle altogether,hoping to latch on to "apparent" rebound counters too prematurely and make a quick buck
may backfire ...after all if everyone thinks along the same line,the 'rebound" may be short lived..so unless
you are familiar with the game ,might as well sit back ,watch and learn...

If only ,should have 

Over the many years in my dealings with people of all ages ,clients or otherwise
the most oft quoted words of regret or missed opportunities would invariably be "If only
I have bought or sold earlier ,later or should have done this or that and so on...I too
am no exception and do lament on occasions where the matter refers to family or personal
relationships.However I make an exception when it comes to the stock market..with the sound belief
that if you have done your homework sufficiently and have taken all steps necessary to make an informed buy ,hold or sell call ,you should not on hindsight rummage through your mind over and over again if the decision turns out to be a wrong one..This train of thought no matter how one views it is in my opinion
destructive and will greatly impair sound trading or investment judgements..ask anyone who has lost
big time in a casino and they will tell you the tipping point towards"losing it all ' is when the feeling of
"revenge " or wanting to recoup all their losses overcomes the mind and all hell breaks loose..
It is perfectly normal to feel frustrated on a bad call ,we are human beings after all ..but one needs to learn
to handle bad calls in a positive manner ( ironic but true ) ...this is more so if you an active trader where focus
and a clear mind is imperative for sound decision making...

Countless literature can be found on the internet as to how best one can learn to be positive ,realistic and so on in the face of adversity ...My 2 cents worth opinion includes the following ...everyone loses now and then
,nobody is right all the time and best of all treat each loss as a bad business decision and learn from it...apply a more " stringent" stock selection criteria and improve on your trading technique...will technical charts be sufficient or a more wholesome and all encompassing trading technique be used instead,,,whichever you choose is entirely up to you..as long as you remember a troubled mind is a defeated one ...if necessary
go for a break and come back to the drawing board later....

Technical Rebound

There was noticeable relief for trend traders when the market rebounded in earnest
just as it was looking like another free fall day.The1600 key support level was never really threatened but the
early fall did caused panic selling among retailers and as envisaged yesterday the contrarian and astute
trader would have capitalised on such a phenomenon and made some quick and handsome gains along the
way...early volatility paved the way for cherry picking and as expected the O n G counters led the way...

Throughout the day bouts of selling (presumably from foreign funds spooked by impending elections ) were
interspersed with bargain hunting ..and the tug or war did result in a more "normalised" market compared to
yesterday...

No one can say for sure how the market will move from here in the short term.What is more important
is "how " one copes with so much uncertainty.Doing nothing is of course one possibility but is it the most
ideal ? There are so many trading or investment opportunities that have opened up in the last 2 days alone...
Stocks that you always wanted in your portfolio but was a tad too expensive may be within your budget now...Further you can also consider share swapping ie selling a slow moving stock (non performer ) with a hot favourite eg O n G counter. This makes perfect sense if the "new " prices are about the same.Whichever
way you decide as long as you have a clear objective in mind you are probably better off than doing nothing...

Market mayhem

Some time ago I blogged about the virtues of day trading as against the more conventional
and generally favoured longer term positions .The argument against day trading is that it is akin
to gambling and not better than hedging your bets in a casino..There are merits to this assertion
if one practises this form of trading without proper technique or a good understanding of the stock
market..but with sufficient training and good technique one can actually make consistent returns (although
not necessarily astronomical due to the short time lag between buying and selling ) .On the plus side,the closing of most if not all positions within a day provides a safety net against violent market fluctuations or
volatility as what was witnessed today...A drop of more than 40 points all in a span of one day in a low
beta market like ours does "shake the senses " and when translated can mean a substantial wipe out of carefully planned and diligently crafted stock positions taken over a few weeks or months even...It is  wishful thinking that one could have "anticipated " the fall today considering that the much talked about driver or
"excuse " is the impending general elections ,an expected development which is not new to the market.

The fall has put many on the defensive by market close..several support levels were broken along the way.
All is not lost though...as astute trader would be watching the market like a hawk ,hoping to catch a market rebound and make quick gains along the way.If probably executed, a volatile market like now gives ample opportunities for day trade .Once the market finds a new comfort level more selective longer positions may be taken on  badly beaten down favourites eg O n G counters with ongoing contract awards.Either way
stay focus and one can ride out the storm...

Talk on "Stock Entry Points'

I will be presenting a talk on the above  soon. Details
are as follows...

Date : January 23 ,2013
Time : 8 to 10 pm
Venue : Unit 809,Block A
             Lift lobby 3
             Damansara Intan
             No 1 Jln SS 20 / 27
             47400 P Jaya ( next to Tropicana City mall )
Course
content : Learn how to identify correct entry points for stocks consistently under the
              Price Action Technique (PAT ) so as to maximise profits on sale at a later point...
              under the context of both day or position trading

Free for all forum members and first time attendees. A charge of RM 80
for the rest
If you are keen to attend kindly contact Julie at 012-2009389

...Roots...s

A long long time ago, back in my teens, I remember reading this best selling book aptly titled
"ROOTS" (eye catching book cover too ) which chronicled a few generations of an african
family enslaved in the old West .What made it memorable for me was the determination of each
descendant family head in preaching and practising the virtues of one remaining faithful to his
heritage regardless of where one is living ,forcibly (as described in the book ) or by choice (as what
it is for most of us today ) ...
Thus ,sometimes I do feel sad when my peers tell me stories of their kids wanting to uproot themselves
and build a nest (reside ) somewhere in a "developed" western country..I,for one have nothing against
the next generation pursuing a tertiary education and post that, staying on to pursue a career perhaps due
 to better  prospects (which itself is a subjective matter ) ,better work exposure or simply higher pay..That
said some of these youngsters begin to get carried away and somehow figure out the only way to happiness
or contentment is to stay put in the foreign country for good...Granted it is a personal choice for many but
from a parent viewpoint I can't help feeling that "good prospects" aside there are many asian cultures and values that may get lost in the process...My own brother in law told me his 2 grandchildren who are now
residing in UK actually cried when told they are chinese.!! And both their parents are Malaysian
Chinese ! The young parents apparently seem proud that their kids are  more like"ang mohs "  How sad can one get ...On a broader sense some
of these kids also  miss out on the usual  festivals like the Lunar New Year celebrations and a host of other festivals representing the many races in Malaysia...bear in mind in most if not all western countries these
all important occasions which help all of us stay true to our culture and heritage are not even represented by a public
holiday or even mentioned in the media...imagine going to work as usual on the first day of Chinese New
Year! That being the case "lesser ' festivals from Moon cake to Winter
Solstice festivals and their origins and significance are completely and permanently forgotten...addressing
your grandparents as grandpa and grandma seem completely normal when a more appropriate Yeh Yeh
and Mah Mah / kung kung and por por would better depict asian chinese culture...These examples are just but the tip of the iceberg
if one chooses to forget where we come from in the first instance...

My younger son will be embarking on his tertiary education in Australia soon ...So far I have never failed to
inculcate what I believe are certain core cultural values that he should remember wherever he may be ...go
,experience life and gain better exposure to other cultures but never to forget one's roots....I hope and I believe he will not ...

Portfolio management

Silly as it may sound ,if you ask any retailer chances are he or she would have sold all
the performing shares and are left with those with paper losses,regardless of the quality
or long term prospects of the counter.This behaviour is particularly glaring in a retreating market like today. Personally,I  have clients who are still holding onto shares bought in the early 1990s ie during the peak prices of the super bull run ...some of the shares are worth a fraction (literally ) of their original cost and worse still some have long been de- listed .Sentiments aside ( how can anyone be possibly be sentimental with stocks anyway ! ),
I suspect the real reason is the misconception that these retailers have about shares...false hope
that share prices will somehow recover to their acquisition price .That futile hope and the belief that there is no actual loss until the shares are sold...The truth cannot be farther..paper losses are real losses (why do
accounting standards require investments to be written down to lower of cost or market ) and holding on
forever can mean tying up whatever remaining capital or a complete write off in some cases..Then there is the opportunity cost of not been able to latch on to better quality stocks unless you have unlimited capital.

A more dynamic and pro active stance would be to allow performing stocks to stay on the books ,allowing for temporary dips as long as the mid or long term trend is intact..This phenomena should be common among
the usual super blue chips ,where dividend yields are fairly attractive or high growth stocks where the contract flows are still ongoing..eg certain O n G counters...conversely highly speculative stocks which are bought during a  market frenzy should be accorded a very short term hold period..Should the "chase " subside and the counter falls out of the radar ( eg out from the top actives ) clear them and take the loss if the
belief is that the game is over and re -enter if there is a new wave ,which may never come in the first place...some retailers have this peculiar belief  that if a stock has been "played" before it will be due for another run later...they fail to understand that if the stock  is that of a distressed company ,the operators or owners would have cashed out and definitely would not  be so charitable taking out the stale bull holders in a subsequent run...

Back with a vengeance


Just when you think the market is winding down for the next major festival , the lunar new year,
it came charging back with lots of help from the current favourite,Alam M.It goes to show how
unpredictable the market can be and the importance of solid market moving news..."Mirror"
O n G counters no matter how remote they are to the type of business Alam is in ( other than being in the
same sector or has a "oil" sounding name ) soon took cue from it and moved aggressively in turn..Keen
eyed traders would have spotted the trend and probably made handsome gains today ...the beauty of it
all is that other than being alert and quick to the draw (pun intended ) no knowledge of fundamentals or technicals is needed .Perhaps a quick hand and  plenty of guts may be helpful ..The broad market recovery also brought cheers to other sectors like property and some third liners..
That said, players have become more market savvy the last few years...most take on a very short term
view,"stretching" from a few minutes to perhaps a day or two and if given an opportunity would love to square off all positions within the same day.Gone are the days where the "long white candles" provide
solid assurance for a prolonged rally or up trend...there is a light hearted joke ( which unfortunately
carries some truth at times ) that says when you catch an up trending stock be ready to skip your
toilet break lest you end up catching a falling knife ! Then again there are always exceptions especially
among the higher quality stocks and where the goodies have yet to be announced...
Let us all hope the feel good market will linger for awhile...

The power of news

Just how important is published news to a serious trader or investor ?

Although the zillion year old mantra about "buying on rumour and selling on news " is still
an important guide many novice investors sometimes get too carried away and without
hesitation instruct their remisiers to sell the moment a write up about the chosen stock appears in print..
Imagine an investor selling off GOB  ( formerly Equine ) today after a fairly interesting write up of this
company appeared in the weekly Edge ,The counter moved up more than 10% and closed up at the high
after the news and not before...

Under the Price Action Technique, news flow is an important variable of stock trading and one only needs to know and decipher the different types of news flow to trade profitably .It would be sheer over generalisation
to conclude that the counter price will collapse the moment the rumour becomes news.Obviously a counter
which has moved up a lot based on rumour before the news disclosure (possibly due to a combination of insiders and speculators ) would encounter heavy profit taking ,sometimes even overshooting on the down side if the news is not up to expectations...Conversely interesting news flow which surprises the market and where little activity is detected before the disclosure may result in the counter reacting positively .A market
player should learn the intricacies of the published news.Does the news give indication of new growth and if
so ,is it in the short ,medium or long term..Change of shareholders may give rise to more exciting developments for the company...Multi million contracts conversely may have little or no impact on share price if the margins are small and business risk high ..Likewise a MOU no matter how "juicy "  it may sound is just that,a Memorandum Of Understanding...Related company contracts should also be carefully scrutinised ..it would be helpful to understand simple accounting concepts like transfer pricing ,goodwill amortisation ,deferred taxation writebacks and so forth...seek professional help when in doubt.,.like they
say better be safe than sorry...

Defending the indefensible

The other day one of my newbie twenty something clients popped this rather
unusual or irritating ( depending on which way you see it) remark ...along
the following lines...How can you expect me to trade if you are not going to tell me the exact price to buy and when exactly to sell and at what price,telling me which counter to watch out for is insufficient,after all
that is why you charge a commission (brokerage ) ...After I pointed out the usual rules of engagement, eg risk appetite, affordability, he became sullen and distant ,as if some great injustice had been inflicted...Feeling
somewhat bad ,I switched to some more upbeat topic and silently hope that this young man will "grow" and
eventually mature into someone who will not blame society for everything...I am inclined to believe this peculiar behaviour of his may be traced to the so called "Gen Y " upbringing of which we ,the "baby boomer
parents are to be blamed...From parents who rightly or wrongly defend the actions of their children at all cost to helicopter parents who accompany their child to job interviews to sending
their pampered sons for weekly facials some of us parents could be doing great harm to their self development and personality.,..A simple chit chat session among my peers would inevitably include "horror" stories about boys and girls from the late teens to even late twenties or thirties ( some married with kids of
their own ) who are incapable of even addressing the more elderly a simple "uncle or auntie"..a smile or a even a "hi' may seem generous at times...in a extended family get together including my own ,these youngsters seemingly love to stay incognito ,burying their eyes on the latest electronic toys ( I phones,pads )
with little or no regard to the ongoing conversations...one can actually find it tiresome trying to engage them in small talk..some parents even go to the extent of answering questions on their behalf ..or inviting guests for a lunch or dinner on their behalf so much so that that the invitee will not know who is actually giving the treat,parent or their child...Some of my peers ( fortunately ) share my beliefs that at the end of the day ,we should still take pride with the old fashioned and the timeless but priceless teachings of our parents ..basic good manners, respecting others and giving and sharing as opposed to just taking are as important if not even more important than the straight As and high paying job one could aspire to achieve...respect is mutual and the world does not owe anyone a living..Just this afternoon,in a family get together,my brother actually passed some well meaning advice to one of my nephews(an only son ) who is married and works in the UK to consider coming back to work in Malaysia as he would then be able to be with his parents who have literally dedicated their entire lives giving their very best and sending him for a complete overseas education,His dad ,ie my brother in law is an extremely filial son who despite his own advancing years still takes care of his mother .It pains some of us to watch such "unfairness " and out of diplomacy and respect for my brother in law ,most of us just kept quiet rather than voicing our unanimous agreement on this issue...On a personal level I feel proud as a parent when a third party
sings praises about my son or daughter having impeccable manners ,self respect and respect for others,young and old regardless of their standing in society..


Have a nice weekend...

Friday blues

Volume today ballooned to a hefty 1.2 billion shares or so, thanks or no thanks depending on which way you  look at ,on some extremely voluminous play on some 3rd or 4th (wonder if there is such a thing )
liners... One peculiar feature of this market is that on occasions you will find some highly distressed company
have its share price literally fly like a bird ,increasing its market value many times over for no apparent reason....perhaps a MOU here and there and that is it...If you are lucky and more importantly bold enough to catch the up wave you can make tons of cash,catch it late like a falling knife and you may get wiped out...Both these up and down waves were prominently displayed on different counters today...glaring to the naked eye...

By and large ,with one or two exceptions ,the O n G counters which were the darling performers took
a breather today ,possibly due to contra selling on the gigantic volumes traded the last few days...no
one will dare discount the possibility of a second buy wave once the overbought position is neutralised...In
fact short term players should always be mindful of contra due dates as guessing it wrongly may mean one
buying at at a much higher price ...Further it would be important for traders to set realistic price targets as
most speculative stocks move in bands of 2 to 4 bids with few exceptions ...that until a more bullish market
sets the tone for a more definitive upward thrust ...

Have a good weekend..

Rotational stock play

As envisaged in my earlier blogs the market has started its rounds of rotational plays in earnest..Water
based stocks led by Puncak led the pack for the first session but tapered off by afternoon..presumably
the catalyst may have been the perceived shortage of treated water in Selangor and the need for a meaningful resolution .The afternoon session was more towards the infrastructure based stocks like WCT and its warrants..O n G counters generally took a breather except for Pantech with an "energy boost " from
a leading research house upgrading its target price...The other main beneficiary of a price target upgrade
was Myeg..As always those who have been doing their homework by following market news ,bid patterns
and technical charts and acted quickly and decisively were the big winners ...Trend or momentum traders
could have moved in and out with respectable gains...Conversely late comers or apprehensive players either
went in too late and hence buying at peak prices or missed out on arbitrage opportunities altogether...

If current sentiments hold,  laggard sectors may be the next and the favourites like O n G counters may
return with a second wave especially those backed by positive news flows eg contracts...Those with flag
formation during the contra period may provide a "hint ' of further upside...

Happy trading

Going with the flow

There was profit taking through out the whole day but overall volume was still a healthy one billion
shares..pale in comparison with regional markets but nevertheless quite respectable by any standards...
Those who have been following and riding on the O n G counters the last few sessions would have
noticed a distinct slack this afternoon ..in fact other than Alam which climbed even higher with strong
volume progression ,there was digression amongst the rest...Seasoned players would have noticed that
the usual "mirror" effect was missing  by mid session and would have acted upon early ,eg by taking
profits while the going was still good...

Trend and momentum traders are always mindful and alert toward sudden changes in market conditions
which can affect the performance of stocks..by studying the bid patterns of stocks that are in play a
day trader can more or less guess the likely stock movement much earlier than any short term chart can
possibly map out the eventual trend...

Sometimes a trader or investor can get too caught up with just the stocks within their portfolio and not
take notice of the real time broad market changes...Their rigid belief in the "intrinsic value ''in their stocks
may hamper their judgement in deciding whether to hold on or sell the shares ...This rigid stand can be
greatly detrimental when the broad market starts to react for instance to a sudden negative development and
 the  investor decides to hold on ...Sooner or later the high flying stock will succumb somewhat to the negative development and the very least will give up a big chunk of the recorded gains...Other than a very
selected handful ,no share is an island...

Will the upward thrust resume tomorrow? We shall see...

 Stock pickings

For readers of this blog who bought into the O n G counters , congratulations ! ...many of them
have recorded gains of between 5 to 20 % in 5 short days and if you subscribe to the time deposit return
comparison ,the gains seem astronomical...either way it is still a good start to the new year...

The volume  today is at its highest for the year ( just a few days into the year though ) ..All things being equal ,it augurs well for the
stock market in the short term...Renewed strength on many second and third liners have added market
breadth , a phenomenon missing for quite awhile..Although not really out of the woods yet nor is anyone
"sure" of the tenacity of the current upward thrust ,most can take comfort in seeing reduced paper losses on some non performing stocks and that is good enough news for now..O n G counters have continued to hog
the limelight but other sectors ranging from infrastructure to property are beginning to show promise..

That said it is imperative for players to be able to pick winners..As  the market may not "mature" into
a bull market with so many market uncertainties it would help if serious traders do  lots of homework during
off market hours and fine tuning the choice of "likely" movers when the market begins trading in earnest..As I have talked about in earlier blogs,  there is no foolproof trading technique /investment technique but my preferred technique of Price Action Technique have assisted many clients with both short and medium term trading horizon in securing respectable gains.Regardless of techniques a disciplined trading approach is important..A keen mind coupled with an astute sense of judgement are key ingredients of successful trading..
Weighing newly disclosed project /contract awards against traded volume and price movement over preceding periods on top of studying chart patterns are just examples of homework that any successful
trader needs to do..existing stock fundamentals and sector the counter is in together with share holding
structure all play a role in determining share price movement ..

Lets hope the market continues to grow in strength in the coming days and makes everyone a winner...

Passion

Everyone knows the meaning of this word but I always wonder how many actually realise
its importance...just look around wherever you are and you can easily spot those who
have at least some degree of passion in whatever they are doing...there are many who go
through the motions of living ,seemingly so laden in their thoughts or actions that any third party
would hesitate to ask any favour from them no matter how small...From the bus driver to the
hotel receptionist right to the know all medical specialist ,you can easily pick out those who have
passion in their work and those who do not...There are many including me who sometimes wish
we can tell them straight in the face to either work with more passion or simply ship out...Why bother
to come to work when your heart and mind are zillions of miles away ..granted you need to make a living but would it not be easier to do something you love (or at least not mind ) and make less rather than forcing
yourself to do something very much against your inner calling...When I checked out  from a hotel this afternoon after a short visit to lovely Penang island I was truly pleasantly surprised by the cashier ..Not
only did she exchanged the usual pleasantries like how was your stay and so on ,she actually asked me
to come back to this hotel for my future visits and help spread the good services the hotel can provide..all these from a young but a zestful young receptionist who obviously is passionate about her work...compare
 this to the not too uncommon sour faced doctor who answers your medical questions with contempt ...

Likewise with the the stock market...Tons of self help and free literature is available on the internet for anyone
who is keen to learn more about investment techniques or picking the right stocks but there are many out
there who think they can simply outsmart the market by making "intelligent" guesses and hope to make
money all the time..Many do not realise even professional gamblers who frequent casinos do lots of
homework planning their game plan meticulously before betting their first dollar...Like everyone else
they are passionate in their endeavours without leaving things to chance ..eliminating all controllable
risks and increasing the success rate...Do that with the stock market and one should see steadier
returns over time...after all there is no such thing as a free lunch especially in the stock market...

 Solid follow through

The renewed buying yesterday and today has finally given a ray of hope to retailers...The broad
market is actually beginning to resemble the the good old days where one can find certain counters
performing with more than a single price bid rise...like young bamboo shoots...At a volume of close
to a billion shares the price rise for certain counters is healthy enough for short term traders to take
profits..better still some players are more willing to either hold their positions overnight or pick up
the shares in anticipation of further rises in coming days or weeks..Cyclical and sectoral plays were
more pronounced today and not just restricted to the On G counters...a definite welcome change

Everyone is hoping for a more sustained rally and not a one off shot in the arm..While the going is
good ,a seasoned player should be able to judge the money flows.. Through a combination of
sound trading or investing technique and personal judgement one can easily "guess" which counters
will be able to move up aggressively and record 5 to 10 % gains in a limited time...Repeat this successfully
and one can easily forget the market was in the doldrums in the first place...Within each stock sector
eg O n G or infrastructure or instance there is always a market leader ..catch this pattern early and you can
easily buy a "mirror" stock within the same sector and ride on it..The momentum alone may carry this mirror
stock a few bids higher..As the market becomes more bullish attention should also be given to both
call and company warrants as they tend to underperform in a bear market an do the inverse in a bullish market...

To learn more about a proven trading technique do attend my free talk next Thursday. Details are as follows;
Topic: Price Action Technique
Date ; Jan .10 ,2013
Time : 8 to 10 pm
Place Damansara Intan ( next to Tropicana Mall near SS 2 )

Those keen can contact Julie at 012-2009389 or email me at chrischoo007@gmail.com

Renewed buying

To those who do not follow the market closely they may wrongly assume the market performed
badly today just as most wrongly assumed the market performed very well on the last trading day of 2012...Just goes to show how the CI can play havoc with market perception ...all the market did
today was to correct the excessive last minute (or last 5 min) gain recorded on Monday as part
of the window dressing activity...In a way the "depressed" CI throughout the day has actually
helped the performers shine and removed the tendency of a volatile CI in pressuring share prices..

Expectedly the O n G counters led most of the gainers with the possible exception of SKP which
went against the trend on profit taking ...many players are beginning to subscribe to the idea O
n G counters are here to stay and will continue to be hot stocks for 2013..with intermittent climbs
and dips along the way...

Volume has continued to remain low but short term players who do their homework in timing their
purchases and sales well can actually make decent returns on their investments..capital gains of
5 to 10 % can be made in a single day if one is "lucky" ...Low daily volumes can unfortunately be a
bane to counters not in play...Exaggerated falls due to lack of interest can mean shares losing 5 to 10
% a day just on normal sales, contra or otherwise...Thus the key is to be savvy in choice of sector and
counter...if one is not sure then staying out may be the best choice...

Hopefully the next few days bring more counters to the fore and invigorate the lethargic market...We shall see...

A good "feng shui " closing !

The year has finally come to a close and by "coincidence" the closing CI reading of 1688 which literally
means "continue to prosper" in cantonese does give a good feeling to all no matter how cliche or cosmetic
sounding that may be...Spotting and catching a winner by riding on the window dressing activities was no easy task..as opposed to previous years the price gap only occurred during the lock in period between
4.45 and 4.50 pm and unless you were watching like a hawk and lady luck was with you, it would have been
rather difficult to guess the likely winners...most of them did not show any indication of volume progression
or steady price rise as in previous years ...That said, kudos to those who did succeed in their quest and hopefully this new found luck or skill will carry them well into 2013...

On a personal level ,I had a good year too ...my eldest son found a good job with a well known conglomerate,my younger son gained acceptance to a prestigious University in Australia and my
little daughter secured  good results for her PMR...Like any parent ,watching your brood spread
their wings and gaining an elated sense of well being give tremendous pride and joy ,much more than
just gains from the stock market...I am quite sure parents and people around the world will reminisce just about everything ..fond memories of experiences special to each and everyone of us,to be treasured
for eternity...

No New Year celebrations will be complete without a family feast and with that in mind, I brought mine to
a western food joint which served delicious food .The warm ambience was just the right tonic to end the year
on a high note..At close to midnight and on the way home, we parked the car alongside the elevated highway and witnessed the yearly display of fireworks launched from the Petronas Twin Towers....which officially
marked the end of 2012 and the ushering in of another year...2013...

Wishing all friends and readers of this blog...

HAPPY NEW YEAR...