Stop-Loss at Midnight

Karthik set his stop-loss at 2 AM, half asleep and fully confident. By morning the stock had touched it exactly, by one paisa, and then rocketed twenty percent. He stared at the chart for a long time. His wife asked why he was quiet. ‘The market,’ he said, ‘waited for me to leave the party and then played the best song.’ She told him to eat breakfast. He did, and then he re-entered, higher, and set a new stop-loss. It was hit by lunch. Karthik now says the stop-loss is the only friend who is always honest and always rude.