Results Week Ending 12/20/24
I had a great beginning of the week but the market did not end the week so well. The Fed Chair, Jerome Powell announced that there would be a .25 basis point reduction in the prime lending rate, which was good news, but he didn’t stop there. He felt compelled to talk about possible interest rate moves that would be made in 2025. With a new administration coming in, and a lot of new policies, I felt the extra conversation was unnecessary at this time. We do not know how the new policies will affect the economy and what changes might take place in the Fed’s plans when it comes to interest rates. His comments have to do with the time period of the new administration so, to me, politics is involved where it should not be. This feeling might just be mine alone, but I feel a little optimism toward the new administration might have given us a stronger Santa Claus rally. This week will tell us if we even get a rally.
Powell’s comments gave us one of the worst days of the year. I was able to have a good week because I jumped out of winning positions early in the week but I’m still holding a bunch of Long Options that I wanted to be out of to end the year. Now, as a result of Powell’s comments, I might get out of positions solely for a tax write-off. Let’s see how the market recovers; most of the time the market has a short memory.
Below are the trades I exited which gave me a good week.
12/12/24 – Buy to Open 1 TSLA 1/10/25 $425.00 C @ $31.50
12/16/24 – Sell to Close 1 TSLA 1/10/25 $425.00 C @ $41.50
Profit +$1000
Tesla
12/12/24 – Buy to Open 1 TSLA 1/10/25 $425.00 C @ $30.00
12/16/24 – Sell to Close 1 TSLA 1/10/25 $425.00 C @ $50.00
Profit +$2000
ISHARES BITCOIN ETF IBIT
12/9/24 – Buy to Open 2 IBIT 1/17/25 $57.00 C @ $4.80
12/16/24 – Sell to Close 2 IBIT 1/17/25 $57.00 C @ $6.90
Profit +$420
SoundHound AI
12/16/24 – Buy to Open 1 SOUN 1/17/25 $20.00 C @ $3.65
12/20/24 – Sell to Close 1 SOUN 1/17/25 $20.00 C @ $4.65
Profit +$100
Quantum Computing Inc.
Assigned In-the-Money Covered Call
11/25/24 – Buy 100 Shares QUBT @ $8.30
12/20/24 – Assigned 100 Shares QUBT @ $8.00
Loss -$30
12/16/24 – Sell to Open 1 QUBT 12/20/24 $8.00 C @ 65¢ (+$65)
12/20/24 – Expired 1 QUBT 12/20/24 $8.00 C
Profit +$65
Mara Holding
12/16/24 – Sell to Open 2 MARA 12/20/24 $26.00 C @ 50¢ (+$100)
12/20/24 – Expired 2 MARA 12/20/24 $26.00 C
Profit +$100
Palantir
12/16/24 – Buy 200 SharesPLTR @ $77.41
12/20/24 – Assigned 200 Shares PLTR @ $78.00
Profit +$118
12/16/24 – Sell to Open 2 PLTR 12/20/24 $78.00 C @ $1.65 (+$330)
12/20/24 – Expired 2 PLTR 12/20/24 $78.00 C
Profit +$330
Total Weekly Gain +$4103
I am very happy with this week but I’m worried about the position I still hold. Let’s watch to see how this coming week turns out. This week is the last full week of 2024.
Successful trading,
Steve
The Option’s Coach