How to be a Fearless (and successful) Trader
Stockscores Foundation for the week ending June 15, 2026
In this week's issue:
In This Week’s Issue:
- Market Outlook – Oil Down, Markets Up
- This Week’s Market Minutes video – SpaceX Buy Sell or Hold
- Trader Training – How to be a Fearless (and successful) Trader
- Strategy – Stockscores Breakouts
Market Outlook – Oil Down, Markets Up
Since the War with Iran began, Oil prices have been at lofty prices and the market has shown volatility driven by headlines from the Middle East. With progress made on a deal for peace, stock markets moved higher and Oil lower on Monday. The trend for stocks remains up.
While the major market indexes are showing strong gains, most stocks have not gone along for the ride as elevated interest rates hinder the performance of small cap stocks. We are starting to see some stability in the bond market and that is helping small cap stocks start to catch up to the performance of the larger cap markets. After a quiet Spring, perhaps we will get a good summer rally.
Trading action has improved over the past two weeks, likely helped by the change in the minimum account requirement for US based day traders from $25k to $2k. There has been noticeably more volume, and emotion, in the low priced, highly liquid stocks that attract day traders.
This Week’s Market Minutes Video – SpaceX (SPCX) Buy, Sell or Hold
SpaceX went public this week and many are wondering whether the stock is a buy, sell or hold. There are simple techniques to understand how to answer that question, which I show in this week's video. Plus, I provide my regular analysis of the markets and the trade of the week on CAST.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/SLEWX8cibDI
Commentary – How to be a Fearless (and successful) Trader
Good traders are fearless without being reckless.
That may sound like a contradiction, but it is one of the most important distinctions in trading. Reckless traders take risks without understanding them. Fearless traders take risks because they have planned for them.
The market rewards the trader who can act decisively when opportunity appears, but it punishes the trader who acts emotionally. The goal is not to eliminate fear completely. Fear is useful. It reminds us that the market is uncertain, that losses are possible, and that discipline matters. The problem comes when fear becomes the decision maker.
Every trader must overcome fear. Not once, but repeatedly.
The Fear of Missing Out
The fear of missing out is one of the most dangerous emotions in trading because it pulls our attention away from the present.
FOMO often comes from looking backward or imagining forward. We see a stock that has already made a big move and think, “I should have bought that.” Or we imagine how much money we could make if the stock keeps going. In both cases, we are not focused on what matters most: the signal in front of us right now.
A trader once said, “The market does not pay you for what you missed. It only pays you for what you do next.”
That is the right mindset. There will always be another opportunity. The market is an endless stream of possibilities, but not every move is ours to take. When we chase because we are afraid of missing out, we usually arrive late, buy emotionally, and manage the trade poorly.
The solution to FOMO is presence. Look at what is happening now. Is there a valid setup? Is there abnormal price and volume activity? Is the crowd still in control? Is the risk manageable? If the answer is no, then the trade is not missed. It simply does not meet the standard.
Fearless traders do not chase the past. They trade the present.
The Fear of Losing
Most people say they are afraid of losing money. In reality, many traders are afraid of being wrong.
This fear often comes from poor risk management. When a trader has not defined their risk, every trade feels threatening. The downside is unknown, so the mind exaggerates it. A good trade is avoided because the trader becomes focused on what could go wrong instead of whether the trade has positive expected value.
The professional trader thinks differently. Losses are not a surprise. They are part of the business.
A store owner expects some inventory not to sell. A restaurant expects some food to spoil. An insurance company expects some claims to be paid. None of these are failures if they are planned for. Trading losses are the same. They are the cost of doing business.
The fearless trader says, “I know where I am wrong before I get in.”
That simple statement changes everything. When the stop is defined, the position size is appropriate, and the loss is manageable, fear loses much of its power. The trader is no longer hoping to avoid losses. They are prepared to take them.
A reckless trader ignores risk. A fearful trader avoids risk. A fearless trader defines risk.
The Fear of What Does Not Make Sense
Every trading day, there are stocks that make gains of 50%, 100%, or more. To many people, these moves seem irrational. The company may have little revenue, no earnings, a questionable business model, or news that does not seem worthy of the move.
The rational mind says, “This makes no sense.”
The market says, “It does not have to.”
One of the hardest lessons for traders to learn is that the market is not a courtroom where every price move has to justify itself with evidence. The market is an auction. Prices move because buyers and sellers act, not because the move is logical.
Trying to rationalize a hot stock can leave a trader stuck on the sidelines, watching while others participate. This does not mean we should blindly buy every wild mover. It means we should respect what the market is actually doing.
Price and volume are evidence. Momentum is evidence. A stock under heavy accumulation is telling us something, even if the story does not make sense.
The fearless trader does not need the market to be logical. They need it to be active, liquid, and tradable.
There is an old market lesson worth remembering: “The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain opinionated.”
Strong traders are willing to trade what is happening, not what they think should be happening.
The Fear of Paying Too Much
Most of us are trained to look for bargains. We like buying things on sale. If a television is 40% off on Black Friday, we feel smart for getting a deal.
That instinct works in shopping, but it can be dangerous in trading.
Stocks are not televisions. A stock that is down sharply is not necessarily a bargain. It may be weak because informed sellers are in control. A stock making new highs is not necessarily expensive. It may be strong because aggressive buyers are still accumulating shares.
In trading, strength is often a better reason to buy than cheapness.
The fear of paying too much causes traders to avoid the best stocks because they look extended. Instead, they buy weak stocks that “look cheap,” only to watch them get cheaper. This is bargain hunting applied in the wrong arena.
Hot stocks are driven by crowds. If buyers are in control, price can move much farther than seems reasonable. If sellers are in control, price can fall much farther than seems fair. Our job is not to argue with the crowd. Our job is to identify which crowd is in control and trade with it.
A simple rule can save traders a lot of pain: do not buy a stock because it is down; buy it because it is starting to go up.
Fearless traders are willing to pay up for quality momentum when the setup is right. Reckless traders buy anything that is moving. Fearful traders wait for a discount that never comes.
Trading Without Fear
Fearless trading does not mean confidence without rules. It means confidence because of rules.
The fearless trader can act because they know their process. They know what a good setup looks like. They know where they will enter. They know where they are wrong. They know how much they are willing to lose. They know that one trade does not define them.
This is what separates courage from gambling.
FOMO is overcome by staying present.
The fear of losing is overcome by managing risk.
The fear of what does not make sense is overcome by trusting price and volume.
The fear of paying too much is overcome by understanding that strength is not the enemy. Weakness is.
The best traders are not fearless because they believe they cannot lose. They are fearless because they know they can lose and still be fine.
That is the mindset every trader should work toward: bold enough to take the trade, disciplined enough to control the risk, and humble enough to accept what the market decides.
Good traders are fearless without being reckless.
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This week, I ran Market Scans for stocks with Sentiment Stockscores at 60 or higher and breaking through 80 day resistance. Here are two to consider:
1. BTQBTQ breaks up from a rising bottom with stronger than normal volume, making a decent turnaround chart pattern. Support at $3.90.
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2. T.WEFT.WEF has moved to new highs going back to the Fall of 2024. Upward momentum is building, making the stock worth considering for the longer term investor. Support at $13.
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