Trying to catch an ITC breakoutI tried multiple times to catch a breakout on ITC and it has had it's ups and downs.
1st position I built was on 1st June. I tried to be a little greedy with the possibility of a reward, chose Options. Bought 220 CE and ITC being ITC promptly retraced back below resistance, and pretty much wiped out the money in the position.
The 2nd time I tried a month later when the pullback looked promising, and this time I went with a Future contract instead. It again fizzled out and I had to exit early as the Future position was naked and had started to bleed losses.
The 3rd time I built the position the right way. I hedged my futures with just OTM puts, thereby capping the loss possibility. With the hedge margin benefit, I could open double the position and that offset the "loss" due to hedge. Once that was done, I was free to maintain and hold the position for as long as needed till a breakout did occur.
Why was I confident about a breakout? Well ITC has been forming a multi year symmetrical wedge - with Lower Highs, and Higher Lows. Though this has an equal chance to break both sides, at a price point near 200-215 ITC is very fairly priced even for a consolidating market - and given the bullish market sentiment, quite underpriced comparatively. For now I am continuing to trail SL on ITC and for the medium term expect it to make an up move to catch up with the rest of the market.
Learnings :
1. Stay away from naked options no matter how attractive they look . Though the rewards on Options looks awesome on paper, it is very very difficult to time a larger move correctly. More often than not, with a reversal you will quickly erode capital. Better avoid them to gain longer term rewards.
2. Always hedge your futures. You can in fact make more returns on a hedged position with twice the buildup, than you could with a naked single position - and you will still spend only half the margin requirement.
3. Be patient with your trades. Many a time we're looking for quick returns, especially if we're new in the market. The trick is to slow things down and look at the bigger picture. Make sure you limit your losses, and ride your winners for long - till they turn around decisively.
