Total's trades net me $400+

As a short-term trader, one of the things I love are news events that are guaranteed to move the market in some fashion. Events such as those allow me to bet one or the other, and the leverage of options really allow me to profit off of those quick moves.

Today is a good example. I knew early today that the minutes of last month's Federal Reserve would move the markets. Traders and analysts would be scrutinizing every word to see if another cut was on the horizon.

Feeling optimistic, I bought 30 October 53 QQQQ (Nasdaq-100 Index) Calls and 15 November 54 QQQQ Calls, as well as 10 October 158 SPY (S&P 500 Index) Calls. Around mid-day, the calls were about even, but the market had been fluctuating up and down for a while.

Right around 1:30PM, 30 minutes before the minutes were to be released, volume picked up, and the price started to trend upward. After the news was announced, that all the Fed governors were unanimous on the rate cut decision, the Nasdaq actually went negative while the S&P continued upward.

I wasn't phased. It always takes a bit of time for the market to digest Fed news.

By about 3:30, the frenzy started, and both Nasdaq and S&P ended up, pushing my Qs and SPYs to, so far, a $414 gain. I expect another good day tomorrow, but I will sell off some to decrease downside risk. By Thursday, I plan to dump it all.