Eoin Treacy's view

One of the questions subscribers as most often is how to find details of my open trades. To make it easier I will simply repost the latest summary daily until there is a change.

It is now clear I was mistaken to prematurely bet on bonds rebounding. The 10-year yield surged higher today to close above 3%. That was enough for me to take the loss and close my long in the iShares 20+ year Treasury Bond ETF at $114.8 against my purchase at $122 on April 27th.

I opened an investment long position in the Invesco Solar ETF on February 24th paying $65.51. I sold it today at $66.87. I’m concerned with how interest rate sensitive many of the largest constituents of the index are amid the current tightening furor.

I also closed my long in the Global X Copper Miners ETF at $38.41 against my purchase at $41.70. The challenge in the short term is slowing growth battery manufacturers are experiencing difficulty and raising prices. That is going to eat into the competitive advantage of EVs versus internal combustion engines could slow demand for copper. I’d prefer to step aside for the present and re-engage later when the outlook is clearer.   

I took a partial profit on my Nasdaq short yesterday and put it back on today to short a September contract at 13,323 including spread-bet dealing costs. My original short was placed at 15,039 on March 31st.

I remain of the view that we should expect volatile swings both up and down as the battle wages between the strong buy-the-dip instinct and the growing desire to take profits as monetary conditions tighten. Central banks are not going to relent in their determination to tighten policy until the stock market experiences at least a 20% pullback from the peak. Therefore, I remain willing to short rallies.

I increased my platinum long on August 27th paying $1002 for another position. My existing platinum longs were purchased at $1072 and $885. I remain of the view that precious metals are still cheap and are to be bought on significant dips.

I also continue to hold my silver trading position, initiated at $23.7. I will buy more if the current reaction deepens.

I have been saying for months that I have purchase orders below the market in gold and silver. The first of these was triggered on August 9th. I was filled at $1702.3 including spread-bet dealing costs. My original positions were opened in Q4 2020 at $1879.2 and $1818.6. That reduces by average purchase price to $1800.

I still have additional bids in the market below prevailing prices in gold and silver and will leave them in place to take advantage of any possible additional volatility. These are leveraged trading positions rather than medium to long-term investments.

With baby steps trading one must have high conviction prices will recover and the patience to buy on weakness before eventually being proved right; hopefully.

Among my investments, my original position in the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF was purchased on March 25th 2020 at $20.12. I bought another unit at $35.79 on December 1st 2020. I continue to shop for opportunities in the gold sector.

My two investment positions in Rolls Royce were purchased at 154.75 and 105p respectively in 2020. I also took up the rights issue which has resulted in an average purchase price of 54.63p. Rolls Royce continues to form a first step above the Type-2 base formation.