Daily Trade Recap - 4/13/26
USO, RCT, and SKYQ: Oil Plays and a Monday Morning Trap
TLDR
USO gapped up on Iran/US talks falling through, shorted the lower high
RCT top gapper, trapped longs above pre-market highs, joined the sellers
SKYQ extended oil name, waited for crude to confirm, shorted the trend down
Trades I Took
USO
Oil gapped up hard on the Iran/US negotiation breakdown, and I got short pre-market near the open looking for a lower high on the daily. I caught a solid wash early, held a portion through the reclaim with a wide HOD stop, and covered more when it eventually made new lows later in the day, closing the gap.
RCT
RCT was the top gapper this morning, so I gave it room to show its hand before it tried to push above pre-market highs, failed, and trapped a wave of longs. I joined the sellers on the bounces and covered the majority of the position into the wash below $1.
SKYQ
SKYQ had already run hard on Friday and gapped up again today, so I waited for oil to confirm weakness before committing, then got short on pops once SKYQ started trending down off the open after a big shakeout. I added on the range break below low of day and rode it back to the green-to-red level.
Takeaways
Patience was the common thread today. On SKYQ especially, waiting for oil to confirm weakness before committing saved me from a potentially painful early entry. The RCT trade was a reminder that top gappers on Monday mornings often need more time to setup vs taking the first entry. And with USO, holding a portion through the noise with a clear stop rather than getting fully shaken out ended up being the right call.
Tomorrow’s Focus
Watch whether oil continues lower or finds support and reclaims, because that context will dictate whether any of these names are worth revisiting or if the move is largely done.
Question for Readers
On a trade like USO where you get your initial cover but then watch it run back to the open before eventually working again, do you tend to hold the core and wait it out or would you rather clear the position and re-enter fresh if it sets up again?
Thanks for reading!