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Breadth Widens as Soft Landing Goes Mainstream: Market Trends
Downloads are available here. TradeStation’s ideas on TradingView are available here. Register for Market Trends here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 trendline breakout improves weekly technicals. Potential resistance around 4500-4515: Weekly peak from...
Did Stocks Just Break Out? Here Are Key Facts as Inflation Cools
Higher inflation sank stocks into a bear market early last year. Now slowing inflation may be setting the market up for a return to new highs. The S&P 500 jumped 1.9 percent yesterday. But perhaps more important, the index broke a falling trendline from the...
Nasdaq Powers to 3-Month High as Fears Keep Dissolving
Big growth stocks are continuing their rebound as fears dissolve and investors put money to work before yearend. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent between Friday, November 3, and Friday, November 10. The index was little changed for most of the week before clawing...
Inflation and Market Conditions Improve Sharply: Market Trends Today
Register for Market Trends here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 rises 7 straight sessions, longest positive streak since November 2021 Nasdaq-100 up 8 straight sessions, longest positive streak since October 2021 S&P 500 holds monthly channel similar to...
Stocks Jump as Evidence Mounts That the Fed Is Done Hiking Rates
Stocks just exploded higher on hopes that the Federal Reserve is done hiking interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 5.9 percent between Friday, October 27, and Friday, November 3. It was the biggest weekly gain since last November. About 94 percent of the index's...
Goldilocks Could Be Emerging with Fed on Pause: Market Trends
Downloads are available here. TradeStation’s ideas on TradingView are available here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 rebounds from mid-May weekly support. Current bounce may lead to August low or falling trendline. Several potential levels at...
Can Stocks Rebound From The Longest Losing Streak Since 2020?
Negativity is plaguing the stock market as investors brace for today's Federal Reserve meeting. The S&P 500 fell 2 percent in October, returning to price levels from mid-May. The index has declined for three straight months, its longest losing streak since the...
Chart of the Day: Netflix Consolidates After Earnings Surge
Netflix jumped earlier this month after announcing results. It's now consolidating, and some traders may see potential for more upside. The first pattern on today's chart is the bullish gap on October 19 following the quarterly report. Prices cleared a peak of $394.90...
Earnings Have Been Decent, But the Market Has Other Worries
Earnings season is off to a decent start as key themes like Artificial Intelligence boost technology results. But other issues are weighing on the market. Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) all beat estimates. But they...
Breadth Widens as Soft Landing Goes Mainstream: Market Trends
Downloads are available here. TradeStation’s ideas on TradingView are available here. Register for Market Trends here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 trendline breakout improves weekly technicals. Potential resistance around 4500-4515: Weekly peak from...
Did Stocks Just Break Out? Here Are Key Facts as Inflation Cools
Higher inflation sank stocks into a bear market early last year. Now slowing inflation may be setting the market up for a return to new highs. The S&P 500 jumped 1.9 percent yesterday. But perhaps more important, the index broke a falling trendline from the...
Nasdaq Powers to 3-Month High as Fears Keep Dissolving
Big growth stocks are continuing their rebound as fears dissolve and investors put money to work before yearend. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent between Friday, November 3, and Friday, November 10. The index was little changed for most of the week before clawing...
Inflation and Market Conditions Improve Sharply: Market Trends Today
Register for Market Trends here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 rises 7 straight sessions, longest positive streak since November 2021 Nasdaq-100 up 8 straight sessions, longest positive streak since October 2021 S&P 500 holds monthly channel similar to...
Stocks Jump as Evidence Mounts That the Fed Is Done Hiking Rates
Stocks just exploded higher on hopes that the Federal Reserve is done hiking interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 5.9 percent between Friday, October 27, and Friday, November 3. It was the biggest weekly gain since last November. About 94 percent of the index's...
Goldilocks Could Be Emerging with Fed on Pause: Market Trends
Downloads are available here. TradeStation’s ideas on TradingView are available here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 rebounds from mid-May weekly support. Current bounce may lead to August low or falling trendline. Several potential levels at...
Can Stocks Rebound From The Longest Losing Streak Since 2020?
Negativity is plaguing the stock market as investors brace for today's Federal Reserve meeting. The S&P 500 fell 2 percent in October, returning to price levels from mid-May. The index has declined for three straight months, its longest losing streak since the...
Chart of the Day: Netflix Consolidates After Earnings Surge
Netflix jumped earlier this month after announcing results. It's now consolidating, and some traders may see potential for more upside. The first pattern on today's chart is the bullish gap on October 19 following the quarterly report. Prices cleared a peak of $394.90...
Earnings Have Been Decent, But the Market Has Other Worries
Earnings season is off to a decent start as key themes like Artificial Intelligence boost technology results. But other issues are weighing on the market. Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) all beat estimates. But they...
Chart of the Day: Carnival Pushes a Key Level
Carnival has been stuck in the doldrums since last summer, but now some traders may think it’s ready to cruise higher. The first pattern on today’s chart is Friday’s last price of $12.18. While the level was slightly below February’s peak, it was the highest weekly...
Are Buyers Pivoting Away From Tech as Stocks Break Out?
Investors may be pivoting to old-economy stocks as a new month begins and the market continues higher. The S&P 500 rose 1.8 percent in the holiday-shortened period between Friday, May 26, and Friday, June 2. The broad index outperformed the technology-heavy...
Semiconductors Led Tech Higher in May as Earnings Beat and Inflation Slowed
Stocks rose for a third month in May, fueled by an explosive rally in chipmakers and artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 briefly dipped below its April low but quickly rebounded to end the month up 0.2 percent. The Nasdaq-100 surged 8 percent, its third monthly...
Stocks Fight Higher as Nvidia Drives Artificial Intelligence Rally on the Nasdaq
Stocks keep rising as artificial intelligence revives interest in technology and growth stocks. Last week's big mover was AI leader Nvidia. The semiconductor giant jumped 25 percent after forecasting revenue far above consensus estimates. It closed at a record high...
Stocks Challenge Highs as Bulls Wait for Debt Ceiling Progress
Stocks are challenging their highs for the year as investors wait for Congress to raise the national debt limit. The S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent between Friday, May 12, and Friday, May 19. It was the biggest gain in the last seven weeks as the index reached its...
Growth Stocks Are Leading Again as Inflation Worries Fade
Growth stocks like Alphabet are leading again as inflation continues to fade. The S&P 500 slid 0.3 percent between Friday, May 5 and Friday, May 12, while the Nasdaq-100 rose 0.6 percent. It was the third consecutive week that the technology-heavy Nasdaq...
Attention Fed Watchers: 4 Reasons Why April’s Inflation Report Could Be Good News
Consumer prices rose 4.9 percent in April, which could be good news for investors worried about inflation and the Federal Reserve. The reading was below 5.25 percent, the top of the central bank's target range. This represents the first drop below the Fed funds rate...
Options Alert: Call Volume Grows as Salesforce.com Nears Highs
Major technology stocks like Apple and Microsoft jumped on quarterly results. Will peer Saleforce.com make a similar move? Marc Benioff's provider of cloud-based marketing software is up 49 percent this year after a sharp selloff in 2022. It has paused over the last...
Technical Analysis: Amazon.com Could Be Struggling After Uncertain Guidance
Amazon.com may be showing signs of weakness after another post-earnings drop. The first pattern on today’s chart is the rising trendline along the lows of March and April. AMZN fell to that support last week after issuing so-so guidance and has remained there since....
Options Traders Are Looking for This Satellite Radio Stock to Blast Off
Sirius XM has gone nowhere for years, but now bullish options trades are building as the satellite-radio company partners with TikTok. Call volume has climbed steadily in the last week, according to TradeStation data. Today's top contract is the September 8 call,...
Reopening Stocks Surge Back as the Post-Covid Summer Begins
The reopening trade is surging back as the summer vacation season begins and coronavirus infections plummet. Investors piled into stocks like energy, cruise lines and casinos on Tuesday. Those stand to gain from increased travel and economic activity as social...
Options Activity Is Rising in ‘Meme’ Stocks Like AMC and GameStop
Heavily shorted stocks like AMC exploded higher in January. Now they may be moving again, with options traders jumping on board. The theater chain rallied 19 percent yesterday, following a 20 percent gain on Tuesday. AMC is up 62 percent since last Friday, its biggest...
Options Activity Alert: Bullish Activity Detected in Square
Square (SQ) has gone nowhere for months, but options traders seem to be keeping the faith. Unusual call volume was detected yesterday in the fintech company run by Jack Dorsey, with two distinct transactions occurring. First, investors amassed more than 15,000 28-May...
Energy Stocks Could Be Facing Long Term Resistance
Energy stocks have led the market this year as investors looked for travel to resume after last year's lockdowns. But now the sector could be sitting at long-term resistance as potential negatives mount. The chart below shows the SPDR Energy ETF (XLE) with weekly...
Options Trade Explained: Deciphering the Large Bullish Activity in a Global Oil Giant
Someone is targeting a breakout in oil giant BP with a carefully crafted options strategy. Transactions occurred simultaneously around 12 p.m. ET in the July 23 puts and the July 29 calls. Large blocks of similar size occurred at the same time, spaced out over 20...
Four Key Options Strategies to Know With the Biggest Week of Earnings Season About to Begin
Next week is the biggest week of earnings season. More than one-third of the S&P 500's members announce results, including the biggest companies like Apple. This blog post will focus on options strategies that can help stock investors during earnings season. It...
Semiconductors Are Breaking Out. Here Are the Top Stocks For Options Traders
Semiconductor stocks are breaking out amid a global shortage of microchips. Let's take a closer look at an industry that's crushing the market, even with the broader technology sector lagging. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) has risen 18 percent so far...
Unusual Options Activity Targets Breakout When Citi Reports Earnings
Banking giant Citi reports earnings in two weeks, and one big investor is looking for a breakout. Unusual options activity was detected in the April 76 calls. Traders started buying for $1.11 shortly after the opened, with larger transactions for $1.08 after the...
How Low Can Oil Go?
Energy just had its worst month in decades, and the bears are still in control. Crude oil futures (@CL) dropped 7.2 percent yesterday, their biggest decline in over three weeks. Not only did they break under the psychologically key $50 level, @CL also closed at the...
Stocks Halt at Key Level as Greenback Soars and Retailers Climb
The S&P 500 paused at a key level yesterday, while a soaring U.S. dollar weighed on global stocks. It might feel like an eternity, but only three weeks ago, the S&P 500 rolled over near 2800. It had been support in August but turned into resistance during last...
Support and Resistance at Play on Some Key Charts
Support and resistance may be at play on some key charts. In case you don't know, support and resistance are important price levels where buyers and sellers tend to be active. Traders often use them to decide when to enter or exit positions. One technique is to buy a...
Yuan and Yen Showing Risk as China Troubles Mount
Asian currencies are still flashing red signals as the situation in China worsens. The yuan hit a 10-year low against the U.S. dollar overnight before rebounding slightly. Meanwhile, the safe-haven Japanese yen continues to advance against other economically sensitive...
Don’t Ignore This Currency as Fear Sweeps Market
The Japanese yen is gaining steam as fear sweeps the market. The currency has long been viewed as a safe haven because of Japan's huge trade surplus and low interest rates. Money traditionally flows away from the country when times are "good" and vice versa when times...
Energy Waffles as Iran Sanctions Draw Near
The S&P 500 bounced after last week's sharp drop, but oil hasn't been so lucky. Crude oil futures (@CL) closed yesterday at their lowest level in a month. The weakness comes as news events turn potentially bearish for the commodity. Government statistics on crude...
Emerging Markets? More Like Diverging Markets!
A sharp dichotomy has appeared in emerging markets as Asia struggles and oil rallies. The iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) is down 8 percent in the last two weeks and the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) has declined 2 percent. Meanwhile, the iShares Brazil MSCI ETF...
Attention Returns to Oil as Iran Sanctions Loom
Bullish sentiment seems to be growing in the energy market as Iranian sanctions take hold. U.S. WTI crude oil futures (@CL) are pushing the top of their 2018 range, while the spot price on European Brent hit a four-year high this week. The gains have come despite...
There Are Signs of Fear Leaving the Market
Stocks are bouncing today after Washington and Beijing exchanged tariffs. Beyond those headlines, various signs have suggested fear is leaving the market. First, look at sector performance. In the last week, "risk-on" sectors like energy and industrials have...
FANG Gets Disrupted as the Dow Strikes Back
Two major "FANG" stocks are getting disrupted as members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average take business back into their own hands. First, Nike (NKE) announced it will stop selling merchandise on Amazon.com (AMZN). Second, Walt Disney's (DIS) new Disney+ service got...
There’s All Kinds of Positive News Involving China Today
November 7, 2019: Did the tide just turn in U.S. relations with China? Consider the flood of positive news today. First and foremost, Beijing and Washington agreed to simultaneously cancel tariffs on each other. The news directly rebuffed nagging press reports this...
Deja Vu for the Bulls? These Two S&P 500 Charts Look Very Similar
The S&P 500 flew to new highs last week, and its technical patterns strongly resemble an earlier breakout. First, consider this TradeStation chart study of the index in late 2012 and early 2013. Notice how the S&P 500 consolidated for several months near its...
Gold Miners Seem to Struggle as Fear Bubble Deflates
Gold miners rallied hard over the summer, but now face a potentially big test. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) rose more than 50 percent between late May and early September. The main reasons were rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and worries about the global...
Monex Crypto Market Weekly: October 11
This post is a translation of the weekly cryptocurrency analysis by Crypto Lab, a wholly owned subsidiary of Monex Group (Tokyo, Japan). Monex is the parent of TradeStation Group. Due to the difference in time zone, we’re able to share Friday’s report today. Summary...
Yesterday’s Selloff Had Some Important Lessons For Traders
Stocks fell again yesterday, illustrating three important lessons for traders. The first lesson is that activity focuses on indexes and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) when the market crashes. For example, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) traded more than 6.1 million...
What Recession? Chip Stocks Had Another Strong Quarter
Two strange things happened last quarter: Chip makers went up and health-care stocks went down. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose almost 7 percent between June 28 and September 30. Meanwhile the SPDR Health Care ETF (XLV) slid about 3 percent. This is...
What You Need to Know as Money Rotates Back to Value Stocks
A potentially big change tried to continue in the market yesterday. Two weeks ago, a new kind of stocks began to rally: banks, industrials, retailers and small caps. Meanwhile previous outperformers including technology, gold miners and real-estate investment trusts...
Options Action: Big Trade Detected in the Small-Cap ETF
Stocks keep grinding higher, and one trader is inching up protection on the small-cap index. Check out this morning's options activity in the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM): 52,825 September 145 puts were sold for $0.1252,825 September 142 puts were bought for...