Too early and my hands are bleeding

I recently convinced myself that I had found two worthwhile investments among the worst performing segments of the market: regional banks and refineries. I picked National City and Tesoro and they have both continued to drop. I was too early. I won’t add to those positions until I have proof the market is upward sloping.My entry prices will prove to be profitable, but they don’t feel good at the moment.

There are some bargains in this market which makes it a more difficult environment to operate in. This past year or so was easy as most stocks didn’t make any sense so they were easy to sell into or bet against. Raising cash was good. Now you can find compelling stocks, but they will still probably go down if the overall market trades down another 10%.

I’m going to rest for awhile and see what the market does as I felt smarter earlier in the year and I prefer that feeling.