Quick Swing Trades In XOP Have Allowed Profits To Build

With geopolitical risk can come opportunity. Look no further than the price of oil and gas to see how that can play out. Headlines are tossing the prices around for oil as well as individual stocks in the field.

Yet, with some short-term swing trading, we’ve been able to build some profits in the State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Explorers & Producers ETF (XOP).

				    ↑
					X

This video file cannot be played.(Error Code: 102630)

								Stock Market 2026: Managing Risk With A New Year
							

							

								See All Videos
							

						

					
					
						NOW PLAYING
						Stock Market 2026: Managing Risk With A New Year

A Breakout For XOP ETF

After forming a cup with a 139.48 entry, XOP joined SwingTrader on a Jan. 29 breakout (1). ETFs offer an important portfolio management tool. They can give you exposure to an area without the individual stock risk. The average true range (ATR) tends to be lower and that can make it easier to keep positions with tight stops. Still, it doesn’t always work out.

XOP didn’t have a great close on our entry day and fell further two days later (2). We got shaken out as it hit our stop. Since we started XOP as a half position and never made enough progress to increase the position, the hit to the portfolio was minimized. One of the reasons for our smaller positions and greater reliance on ETFs is that failures have occurred. Especially on breakouts.

Even worse, a lot of times right after you get shaken out of a position, the stock comes right back. That was the case for XOP. We added it back to SwingTrader as it crossed our prior entry point (3). However, this time we got immediate gains. While we started with a half position again, this time we added to it as we made progress the same day.

We are still being very cautious so when the position faltered the next day, we simply peeled off our add at a higher price (4). Even by the close, XOP had reversed off its lows and shot up sharply.

Sitting Out Turmoil

After taking a pause for a few days, we did a smaller add as it popped above recent highs (5). The buy on strength was a problem again. The day after our add, XOP dropped sharply (6).

Scott St. Clair Shares New MarketSurge Enhancements

We started trimming right around the area of our last add around 148.57. Then trimmed a little more at 147.23 and the final position peeled off at 144.36, still above our initial entry. Even with the sharp drop from our first trim to our final exit, we left the trade with a solid gain for such a short period of time.

Though XOP had a solid bounce the next day, we waited for a little while to see how it would play out. After another attempt near 150, XOP got turned away again in almost a similar looking bar as our last exit (7). However, the multiple tests at the same level of resistance gave us a line in the sand.

When XOP popped above that resistance, we gave it a third try with another entry on SwingTrader (8). So far it’s working out, but we are remaining nimble to protect profits and minimize losses.

More details on past trades are accessible to subscribers and trialists to SwingTrader. Free trials are available. Follow Nielsen on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_JNielsen.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

With Value Back In Favor, This Value Fund Manager Shares Her Strategy

Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks

Using ETFs In Your Swing Trading Strategy

Looking For The Next Stock Market Winner? Start With These 3 Steps