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PC Market Slump Drags On HP Ahead Of Fiscal Q1 Report

Personal computer and printer maker HP Inc. ( HPQ ) continues to slump on diminished prospects for the PC market in 2016. HP stock on Thursday fell to its lowest level since it split from the former Hewlett-Packard on Nov. 1. HP shares were down 3% near 9 in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Earlier in the session, the stock fell as low as 8.92. HP had climbed as high as 14.82 post-split. RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani on Thursday maintained his sector perform rating on HP stock but cut his price target to 11 from 13. He also lowered his estimates for HP’s fiscal 2016 “to reflect weaker market fundamentals.” “Recent PC-centric data points suggest to us that not just demand is soft, but there is also a continued PC inventory overhang, especially in Europe, that could negatively impact results in first half 2016,” Daryanani said in a report. “Similarly, we think both the print hardware and supplies businesses could have muted outlooks for fiscal 2016, based on Canon ( CAJ ) results/outlook and (foreign-exchange) movement.” HP is scheduled to report fiscal-first-quarter results after the market close on Feb. 24. HP executives have said the PC market will be challenging for several quarters but had expressed optimism for the second half of 2016. They had hoped Microsoft ’s ( MSFT ) Windows 10 operating system would help drive PC sales, particularly with enterprise customers, later in the year. “HP should see challenging growth dynamics through fiscal 2016 on foreign-currency translation headwinds, competitive industry pricing, and PC channel inventory issues,” Daryanani said. On Wednesday, Sterne Agee CRT analyst Rob Cihra reiterated his neutral rating on HP stock but cut his price target to 11 from 14. “While global PC demand remains weak and supply/demand negative starting calendar 2016, we actually believe HP’s PC inventories are in better shape than most, an ironic product of its weaker share in China,” Cihra said in a report. “But we still see a particularly weak start to the year.” Cihra is forecasting the PC market will unit declines of about 5% year over year in 2016, but HP could offset the industry decline through market share gains as the top-tier players continue to consolidate. The cash-cow printing business looks even weaker than PCs this year, Cihra said. On Tuesday, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brent Bracelin maintained his sector weight rating on HP stock but lowered his estimates for HP for this year and next based on “eroding PC and printing fundamentals.” RELATED: Apple Bucks Declining PC Sales Trend HP Inc. Q4 Earnings Exposes Dark Side Of PC business .  

The Psychology Of Losing Streaks And How To Overcome Them

By Maria Meramveliotaki-Simon In trading, consecutive losses are very common and some traders do not take it at heart. Instead, they try to make the best out of it, learn, adjust their strategy or money management plan if needed and just get on with it. It is not always that easy, however, to have this attitude. It is not unlikely, if you ever had a number of consecutive losing trades, to have thought that you are an incompetent trader or that you are possibly not fitted for live trading. You may have experienced anxiety, disappointment and anger at yourself or anyone else that is involved (such as your broker or the market). This is a natural human reaction that has a chemical basis; a losing streak activates the production of cortisol, our body’s stress hormone. While cortisol’s primary function is to prepare our body to cope with danger by increasing glucose, the prolonged exposure to it that comes in tandem with losing streaks will render us anxious or even sad. Anxiety and sadness will then work as “containers” for negative thinking. Suddenly, we see the world through those black glasses and we may engage in various unhelpful thoughts: ” I am a loser”, ” I will never make it”, “Should have never traded”. But what happens as you think in this manner? Your anxiety, disappointment and anger increases and with them comes a lot of confusion, feeling scattered, unsure, lacking in confidence and belief. There are some typical ineffective behaviours that traders may then fall into such as Overtrade to reduce losses Revenge trade to get back at the market Become extremely risk averse and trade too small or not trade at all Give up and close trading account Escaping The Vicious Cycle Of Losing Streaks If you do engage in some of the ineffective behaviours mentioned above, it is likely that you will end up trapping yourself in a vicious cycle. This is because risky trading behaviors such as overtrading or revenge trading are likely to make you lose again and, therefore, evoke the same unpleasant emotions and unhelpful thoughts that led you to it. Click to enlarge In order to exit the vicious cycle of losing streak psychology: 1. Become aware of the emotions that have emerged. Ask yourself: What am I feeling? Am I disappointed? Anxious? Am I Angry? 2. Understand the thinking pattern that accompanies these emotions. What is your mind telling you? Is it pulling you down, sabotaging you or maybe intimidating you? Typical thoughts following a losing streak would be: I am a lousy trader. Should have given up long time ago My strategy must be wrong; I have been wrong all the way I cannot afford to just let it be. I must make back the money I lost It is just embarrassing to have lost more than half of my balance 3. Are you about to make trading decisions according to what you are feeling or thinking? Is this the best way to trade? Has this helped you to succeed in the past? 4. You can choose to break the cycle. Having unhelpful thoughts and emotions is very different from acting on them . Remember that if you act on them, you maintain the vicious cycle. Instead of acting on your thoughts, keep your purpose in mind and act according to your goals: Examine if there are aspects of your strategy & methodology that need to be changed. You may opt to do so by going back trading on a demo for a while. But while demo can provide you with valuable insights about your strategy, it cannot simulate real market conditions; your psychology is going to be completely different when you trade live. Take a look at your risk/reward ratio. Are your stop losses too narrow or too wide? It often takes the time to determine the best ratio and you may have to be wrong before you get it right. When you trade, focus entirely on the present moment. Your mind may attempt to remind you of the past, or scare you with negative future possibilities. You must learn not to buy into it, because if you do, you will end up back in the vicious cycle. Your focus must be what’s happening in the market now. Keep educating yourself on trading. You could attend webinars, read online tutorials or join relevant forums. Exercise patience. You may be in the right way to achieve your trading goals and it could be that it just hasn’t happened yet. Be patient, have belief and don’t buy into negative self-talk. Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.