There was plenty of bad news to go around. The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 5.5% — the biggest monthly surge in 20 years. Oil skyrocketed to end the week at $138.54 barrel. Combined with Thursday’s sharp move, oil zoomed more than $16 a barrel in two days — a jump of more than 13%. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States hit $4 for the first time ever Sunday.
With global markets in Asia mostly down overnight, I’m going to hold off on making a new recommendation today. As all Alpha traders know, in times of uncertainty, it’s best to pull in your trading horns.
In the meantime, don’t forget to tighten your stops on your double-digit percentage gainers, as I indicate below.
PORTFOLIO UPDATE
Your Global Bull Market Alert portfolio is in pretty good shape. Even after Friday’s market swoon, seven of your nine positions are in the black, as of Friday’s close. Four of those nine are up at least double-digit percentages, and three of those boast just about 20% or more gains — Potash (POT), Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), and NII Holdings (NIHD).
As you know from the Global Bull Market Special Alert I sent out Friday, it was a huge week for last week’s pick, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A.(SQM). The stock soared more than 12% just on Thursday, and on Friday morning I recommended that you to sell half of your stock to lock in your quick short-term gains. Even after correcting on Friday, SQM ended the week up more than 20%. Adjust your stop to $32.40.
I also recommended Friday that you sell your remaining options in NII Holdings (NIHD) for gains of 107.67%. Keep your eyes open as it’s likely that I’ll be recommending new options on NIHD in the coming weeks. Tighten your stop in the stock to $42.50.
Potash (POT) also hit record highs as the sky seems to be the limit on this blue chip fertilizer stock. The December $210 call options (PJNLB.X) that I recommended last week are already up 49.37%. Move your stop in the stock to $174.50.
Russia’s Mechel (MTL) continued its remarkable roller coaster ride. Tighten your stop to $39.50.
Oil driller Atwood Oceanics (ATW) and Brazil’s Vivo Participacoes S.A. (VIV) are the only laggards in the Global Bull Market Alert portfolio. The strong fundamentals of each stock should nudge both of these stocks back into their bullish trends at some point.
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