Daily Trading Recap - 1/30/26
Mega Metals Meltdowns
TLDR
Clean short on SNDK early, but left the bulk of the move on the table.
Missed the huge metals trend day by not adapting to the momentum.
Shorted HYMC on relative weakness as metals sold off.
Lost once trying to bounce U, then caught the second attempt.
Trades I Took
SNDK 0.00%↑
SNDK gapped big on earnings after an already extended daily run. My expectation was profit taking, so I was focused on shorting failed strength rather than chasing.
At the open it pushed, cleared premarket highs, then slipped back into the opening range. That rejection was my signal to get short. I recycled the position and caught the first leg down before covering and moving on.
The trade worked, but I moved on too early. SNDK stayed weak all day and I treated it like a scalp instead of holding a piece. With the sentiment across the market today the fade makes sense but my focus was elsewhere.
SLV 0.00%↑ / GLD 0.00%↑ (Options)
Both SLV and GLD opened with big gap downs after bouncing into the close yesterday. I expected some chop and wanted a bounce before trying another short. I did not expect what unfolded next.
Instead, once morning lows broke, both names trended steadily lower all day. Silver fell over -30% making a historical move! I scalped some 0DTE puts on SLV but kept it small and defensive. The 0DTE’s went insane, some moving up over +6000%.
This was a clear miss. The trend was obvious and I stayed stuck waiting for a better entry. On strong trend days, waiting for pullbacks can mean missing the entire move. This will be main watch on Monday for the bounce.
HYMC 0.00%↑
With gold and silver getting crushed, HYMC stood out as still green and lagging the downside move.
I got short midday as it failed VWAP, leaning on the broader metals weakness. It slowly moved down but was never able to clear opening lows. I covered it all at the close for a clean and easy win.
Good reminder to keep scanning for relative weakness when a sector starts unwinding.
U 0.00%↑
Unity started capitulating on news around Google’s launch of “Project Genie” and the tape picked up quickly. I don’t trade bounce setups often, but I saw exhaustion potential.
My first bounce attempt failed and I took the loss. I tried again on the next setup and caught it. I scaled out after about a 10% bounce into VWAP and trailed the rest.
Execution improved on the second try, but this is still a setup I need more reps with.
Swings
Swings are holding on by a thread after today’s action.
Current holdings: GEVX HUT IREN LUMN
Takeaways
After such a big move yesterday I figured the metals trade would consolidate a bit before their next leg. My expectations were off and I didn’t adapt fast enough when momentum took over. Waiting to “see” what they were going to do cost me participation in the biggest move of the day. Going forward, when a trend establishes itself early, I need to engage instead of overthinking. These types of trades only come around a few times a year and I need to be prepared for all outcomes.