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MOON program trading.com article -Reply



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This is it!  Thanks.

>>> "Gitanshu Buch" <onwingsofeagles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 01/08/98
02:43pm >>>
If this is what you were looking for... with Clyde Lee's comments
attached from a related post.
You may have heard of the old commodity trading saying, "buy the new 
moon and sell the full". It may be good advise for 
some commodities like beans and greens and corn bread, but for trading 
S&P's or OEX options this year, it hasn't been 
worth a flip. Why? Because so far this year any trading day that also 
happened to be the full moon, has closed Positive 83% 
of the time. So much for old commodity trading sayings, huh? Well, not 
really. Like most things in the markets there is another 
side of the story. So we asked our computers to give us some additional 
information on trading during a full moon. Here are 
the results. 

So far this year we have had 10 full moons. Only two fell on a weekend 
so we used the following Monday as the "full moon 
day". We asked the computers to look for any patterns on the 3 trading 
days before a full moon day, and (since everyone 
wants to buy an option, hold it for a week, and hit a home run) on the 5 
trading days after a full moon day. What we found is 
very interesting. 

As you learned above, full moon days close up 83% of the time. AND
that 
is the worst day to be short, as the average drop 
on a full moon day is only 20.10 points on the Dow. BUT, shorting before 
the full moon does much better. The average 
cumulative drop during the three days BEFORE a full moon trading day is 
90.40 points. That's the equivalent of over 10 
points on the OEX. AND, the best day of the three to be short, or in 
puts, is the day BEFORE the full moon, which averages 
dropping 35.20 points. 

BUT, if you really want to go for a big lick in puts, study this. The 
average cumulative drop in the week (5 trading days) after 
a full moon is 168.80 points. That's 19 points on the OEX and not bad 
for a weeks work. The best day to be short is the 
THIRD day after the full moon trading day, which averages dropping
72.50 
points. The second best day to be short is the 
FIRST day after the full moon trading day, which averages dropping
35.60 
points. 

Now before you start thinking that this full moon stuff is a bunch of 
bull, tell us how much and on what day was the biggest 
one day drop in 1996 (so far). We'll even give you a hint. Elaine 
Garzarelli had nothing to do with it. While your at it, tell us 
how much and on what day was the biggest one, and two day drops in
1995. 

Give up?  The biggest one day drop in 1996 was -216 points on March 8.

It was the THIRD day after the full moon. The 
biggest one day drop in 1995 was -133 points on July 19. It was the 
fifth day after the full moon. The biggest two day drop 
was that day and the day before, the fourth day after the full moon
when 
the Dow dropped -58 for a total two day drop of 
-191 points. 

Of the 15 biggest one day drops in 1996 so far, 11 of them were within 
the time frames examined by our computers during 
the full moon each month. Ten of them fell in the "week" after the full 
moon. If we ignore the Garzarelli selloff days that means 
that only 2 of the biggest drops this year have NOT been during a full 
moon. Making 10 out of 13 of the biggest drops hitting 
after the full moon. All other things equal, we know of no better time 
to be holding puts. 

Only once in the past year has holding puts right after a full moon not 
worked very well. That full moon was also a "Blue 
Moon", proving once again that that old saying of "once in a Blue Moon" 
really is something unusual. 

  
H. L.Camp

October 1, 1996