Indexes and ETFs
Put Volume Swells in Junk Bond Fund

Put Volume Swells in Junk Bond Fund

Options traders seem to be bracing for downside in junk bonds as negativity sweeps financial markets. The iShares High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) is having its worst month in over three years as investors shun leveraged companies. The largest options trade so far...

Stocks Hammered as Gloom Spreads

Stocks Hammered as Gloom Spreads

Stocks just had their worst week since March as sentiment swung from optimism to fear. The S&P 500 plunged 4.6 percent between Friday, November 30, and Friday, December 7. Barely one-tenth of the index's members closed higher. In a potentially bearish sign,...

Safe Havens Keep Stealing the Show

Safe Havens Keep Stealing the Show

The market's shift toward "safe havens" is continuing. Utilities, consumer staples, real-estate investment trusts and health care are outperforming again today. They all benefit from lower interest rates and are less exposed to swings in economic growth. Meanwhile...

Bulls Ran Wild Last Week After Fed Backed Down

Bulls Ran Wild Last Week After Fed Backed Down

Stocks Just had their best week in seven years as the Federal Reserve turned dovish. The S&P 500 surged 4.9 percent between Friday, November 23, and Friday, November 30 -- its biggest weekly gain since December 2011. More than nine-tenths of its members advanced,...

Guess What Index Just Had a Great Week

Guess What Index Just Had a Great Week

Transportation stocks just had their best week in a year. The Dow Jones Transportation Average ($DJT) advanced 4.35 percent since the close on Friday, November 23. Big names like Union Pacific (UNP), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United Parcel Service (UPS) were among the...

Is the Nightmare Over? Options Trader Sees Huge Rebound

Is the Nightmare Over? Options Trader Sees Huge Rebound

October was a painful month, but now a big options trader is looking for the entire selloff to reverse. Here's a breakdown of the massive call volume detected yesterday morning in the market-tracking SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): A block of 75,000 December 288 calls was...

This Forgotten Industry Is Quietly Shining

This Forgotten Industry Is Quietly Shining

Remember solar stocks? They're quietly screaming higher. PowerShares Solar Energy exchange-traded fund (TAN) is up 14 percent since the end of October. That outpaces every other major portfolio on our Market Action dashboard and puts the industry on pace for its best...

S&P Battles to Defend Key Level

S&P Battles to Defend Key Level

The S&P 500 is trying to defend a key level, battling off waves of bearish headlines. 2700 has been important several times this year. It was resistance in mid-April and support in late June. The index bounced slightly above it on October 12, and last week's sharp...

The Real Winner of Midterms May Be This Sector

The Real Winner of Midterms May Be This Sector

Less than a week after the mid-term elections, health-care stocks have emerged as winners. Health care was a top issue ahead of the election, with voters demanding a response to drug prices and the cost of care. Maybe that's why stocks in the sector had their best day...