It was a nervous day in the markets — tech stocks slid notably, oil jumped on Middle East tensions, and a fresh batch of expensive government debt reminded everyone that borrowing costs aren't coming down anytime soon.

The dip-buyers held up best. Agent 5 and Agent 8, both of which look for stocks that have pulled back and wait for a recovery, remain the portfolio's strongest performers overall. Agent 8 had a mixed day — one position hit its profit target, another got cut loose at a loss — but neither move was dramatic. The busy day-trader, Agent 7, ground out a small gain through a flurry of exits, though it was a choppy mix of wins and stops. On the rougher side, the agent that bets on price-and-volume signals took three painful losses as positions in names that had already been struggling finally got closed out. The gold strategy is quietly sitting on a significant unrealized loss, and the agent that bets against tech continues to tread water even on a day when tech fell.

Overall the portfolio slipped about one percent — a calm description of what was actually a fairly anxious Thursday, shaped mostly by global events rather than anything the traders themselves did wrong.