I realize that this goes against human nature that when items are cheap buy them and when they are expensive sell them. In the case of the stock market a stock is never too expensive. They can always go up in price. In fact most stocks will be worth more in 10 years then they are now.

The other day a new trader wanted to know if he should sell a stock that just hit a new high. He figured that the stock was so high that it was bound to go lower, afraid not. Actually, when a stock hits a new high it is considered a breakout and a bullish indicator.

If you had shorted RIMM when it hit a new high of $35 you would have lost money. If you shorted it a year later when it hit a new high of $67 you would have lost money. And if you shorted it when it hit a new high of $92 you would have lost money, get the picture.

Basically what it comes down to is, don’t short stocks that are going up. It will just hurt you. You might get lucky, everybody does. But eventually you will lose all your money doing that.