Sectors
Oil and Currencies in Play as China Stumbles

Oil and Currencies in Play as China Stumbles

Oil, China and currencies: They’re all in play today as a slew of global events sweep markets. Market Insights recently detailed how President Trump’s trade policies weakened business confidence overseas. Last week we cautioned the slowdown — especially in China —...

Consumer Stocks Drift Higher Before Events

Consumer Stocks Drift Higher Before Events

Consumer stocks on the rise, just in time for a series of important news events. Of all the major sector-tracking SPDR ETFs, consumer discretionary (XLY) is closest to its 52-week high. (See RadarScreen® below.) That shows bullish sentiment toward the group and may...

How to Manage Risk in a Teetering Giant: Options Recap

How to Manage Risk in a Teetering Giant: Options Recap

Disclosure: This post is intended for educational purposes only. Options may not be suitable for all investors. What happens if you want to own a stock but are worried about short-term volatility? Use options -- that seemed to be the answer from a big investor...

Massive Leverage in Drug Maker: Options Recap

Massive Leverage in Drug Maker: Options Recap

How much leverage can options produce? Keep reading to find out. On Friday, an investor crafted a three-part strategy in Mylan (MYL) that involved selling two contracts to buy another. The result was a position with the potential for massive percentage gains but also...

Don’t Forget about Iranian Sanctions Early Monday

Don’t Forget about Iranian Sanctions Early Monday

President Trump's trade spat with China has gained a lot of attention this week, but don't forget U.S. sanctions on Iran take effect on Monday, August 6. The measures will obviously have an impact on energy. The only trouble is no one really seems to know what it will...

Not Perfect but Big Names Come Through: Earnings This Week

Not Perfect but Big Names Come Through: Earnings This Week

It hasn't been a perfect week for earnings, but the big names came through. First and foremost, Apple (AAPL) shot to a new all-time high above $200. Not only did did the tech giant beat estimates, details of the income statement revealed a company that's evolving in a...

Sentiment May Be Shifting in Oil Before Iran Sanctions

Sentiment May Be Shifting in Oil Before Iran Sanctions

For months, the story in crude oil has been bullish. But some recent developments may show sentiment is turning. First, look at inventories. The government says they rose by 3.8 million barrels last week, while forecasters had anticipated a decline of about 2.4...

How Time Was Money on Tech Earnings: Winning Trade in Apple

How Time Was Money on Tech Earnings: Winning Trade in Apple

Earlier this week, we outlined a potential options trade on Apple (AAPL) before earnings. That strategy hit maximum profit this morning after strong results sent the tech giant to a new all-time high. Let's take a look with TradeStation's OptionStation Pro. The green...

Riding a megabank on the cheap: Options recap

Riding a megabank on the cheap: Options recap

One big investor is riding a megabank on the cheap, thanks to the leveraging power of options. Bank of America (BAC) has been on the move since late 2016. A large call roll yesterday seemed to show that a money manager is using options as a surrogate for owning...

Big Tech De-fangs the SPY: July at TradeStation

Big Tech De-fangs the SPY: July at TradeStation

FANG ruled the roost in this month as volatility swept the Nasdaq. The two busiest stocks for TradeStation clients in July were members of the high-tech quartet: Facebook (FB) and Netflix (NFLX). Both crashed from record highs after mediocre quarterly reports raised...