Market Insights
Bringing you the trading news around the world.
Stories
It’s a Quiet Week for Stocks After Mixed Earnings from Apple and Amazon.com
It's a quieter week for stocks after mixed earnings from major technology companies and big economic news. The S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent between Friday, January 27, and Friday, February 3. It was the fourth gain in the last five weeks, bringing the index back to...
Technical Analysis: Does the Nasdaq Need a Pause?
The Nasdaq-100 has been running as investors flock back to growth stocks. But is it time for a pause? The index has gained each of the five weeks so far this year -- its longest winning streak since November 2021. Speaking of November 2021, the Relative Strength Index...
Apple, Trendline Break and ‘Golden Cross?’ Market Trends This Week
Sizing Up the S&P 500 50-day MA nearing "Golden Cross" vs 200-day MA2022 bearish trendline brokenBreadth: Advance/decline line highest since AugustSector mix: "risk-on" cyclicals leading, safe-havens lagging.Intermarket: Dollar index lowest since AprilIntermarket:...
Stocks Begin New Year With a Bang as Inflation Slows
Stocks rallied to start the New Year as investors looked for inflation to ease and the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 6.2 percent in January, its best monthly performance since October. Some of the gain resulted from bounces in...
One Measure of Cryptocurrencies Turned the Most Bullish in Over a Year
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin tumbled in the last year as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, but now spirits could be improving. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which includes factors like Volatility and Momentum, hit 61 on Monday. It was the highest reading...
Is Tesla Driving Stocks Toward a Breakout Before the Fed?
Tesla could be driving the stock market toward a breakout as a flood of major catalysts hit. The electric car maker jumped 33 percent last week after reporting strong orders and saying production could reach 2 million vehicles this year. The news lifted sentiment in...
Technical Analysis: Pullback in Yum Brands
Yum Brands had a strong rally in late 2022. Now after a pause, the restaurant company may interest pullback buyers. The first pattern on today's chart is $125.70, a daily closing high from last April. YUM hesitated below that level in November and then began the New...
Remembering the Pandemic: How the Market Went Crazy 3 Years Ago
It's been exactly three years since the coronavirus pandemic started impacting financial markets. Today, as conditions show signs of returning to normal, Market Insights takes a look back at key moments that defined the crisis and recovery. One Bearish Story After...
Good-Bye Bear Market? We Could Find Out This Week
After a small pullback, stocks could be trying to end the bear market that started a year ago. The S&P 500 declined the first three sessions of the holiday-shortened week between Friday, January 13, and Friday, January 20. It was down as much as 2.8 percent at...
It’s a Quiet Week for Stocks After Mixed Earnings from Apple and Amazon.com
It's a quieter week for stocks after mixed earnings from major technology companies and big economic news. The S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent between Friday, January 27, and Friday, February 3. It was the fourth gain in the last five weeks, bringing the index back to...
Technical Analysis: Does the Nasdaq Need a Pause?
The Nasdaq-100 has been running as investors flock back to growth stocks. But is it time for a pause? The index has gained each of the five weeks so far this year -- its longest winning streak since November 2021. Speaking of November 2021, the Relative Strength Index...
Apple, Trendline Break and ‘Golden Cross?’ Market Trends This Week
Sizing Up the S&P 500 50-day MA nearing "Golden Cross" vs 200-day MA2022 bearish trendline brokenBreadth: Advance/decline line highest since AugustSector mix: "risk-on" cyclicals leading, safe-havens lagging.Intermarket: Dollar index lowest since AprilIntermarket:...
Stocks Begin New Year With a Bang as Inflation Slows
Stocks rallied to start the New Year as investors looked for inflation to ease and the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 6.2 percent in January, its best monthly performance since October. Some of the gain resulted from bounces in...
One Measure of Cryptocurrencies Turned the Most Bullish in Over a Year
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin tumbled in the last year as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, but now spirits could be improving. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which includes factors like Volatility and Momentum, hit 61 on Monday. It was the highest reading...
Is Tesla Driving Stocks Toward a Breakout Before the Fed?
Tesla could be driving the stock market toward a breakout as a flood of major catalysts hit. The electric car maker jumped 33 percent last week after reporting strong orders and saying production could reach 2 million vehicles this year. The news lifted sentiment in...
Technical Analysis: Pullback in Yum Brands
Yum Brands had a strong rally in late 2022. Now after a pause, the restaurant company may interest pullback buyers. The first pattern on today's chart is $125.70, a daily closing high from last April. YUM hesitated below that level in November and then began the New...
Remembering the Pandemic: How the Market Went Crazy 3 Years Ago
It's been exactly three years since the coronavirus pandemic started impacting financial markets. Today, as conditions show signs of returning to normal, Market Insights takes a look back at key moments that defined the crisis and recovery. One Bearish Story After...
Good-Bye Bear Market? We Could Find Out This Week
After a small pullback, stocks could be trying to end the bear market that started a year ago. The S&P 500 declined the first three sessions of the holiday-shortened week between Friday, January 13, and Friday, January 20. It was down as much as 2.8 percent at...
Trend Following: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pullback
Everybody talks about buying the pullback, but sometimes it's easier said than done. Fortunately, TradeStation's desktop and web platforms include several tools for investors looking to follow trends. This information-packed educational video demonstrates how...
Chart of the Day: Is it Prime Time for Amazon.com?
Amazon.com has retraced almost all of its pandemic gains. Is this an opportunity for buyers? Let's consider some chart patterns. First is the $101.79 level (split adjusted). It was a peak in July 2019 and a breakout area immediately before the coronavirus selloff in...
Recession Fears Swelled Last Week. Is That Good News for the Nasdaq?
Stocks fell again last week as recession worries increased, but there could be some positives as the second half begins. The S&P 500 fell 2.2 percent between Friday, June 24, and Friday, July 1. The decline finished another negative quarter, however a bigger story...
Every Tech Company in the S&P 500 Fell Last Quarter — Except July’s Mystery Stock
The technology sector just had its worst quarter in 14 years. Every member declined in the period -- except for July's mystery stock. The SPDR Technology Sector ETF (XLK) fell 20 percent between March 31 and June 30 -- its worst quarterly performance since late 2008....
AMD Was the Busiest Symbol at TradeStation for the Fifth Straight Month
Advanced Micro Devices made new lows in June, but it remained the most actively traded symbol at TradeStation Securities for the fifth straight month. AMD declined as investors shunned economically sensitive semiconductor stocks. It's lost more than half its value...
Technical Analysis: Discount Retailer Holds Gains as the Broader Market Tanks
The broader market has been super volatile lately, which makes the tranquil behavior of one retailer interesting: Dollar Tree. Notice how the discounter plunged on May 18 after Target's (TGT) poor quarterly results. Also notice how quickly it rebounded after its own...
Investors Return to Growth Stocks as a New Quarter Approaches
Investors just pivoted back to growth stocks as inflation worries fade and a new quarter approaches. The S&P 500 jumped 6.4 percent in the holiday-shortened week between Friday, June 17, and Friday, June 20. More than 95 percent of the index's members advanced,...
Bullish or Bearish, Here Are Three Methods for Decoding the Stock Market
2022 has been a difficult year for many investors as technology stocks retreat and inflation surges. Despite the volatility, there have been clear patterns based on company fundamentals and macroeconomic factors. Traders aware of certain cues could potentially benefit...
Chart of the Day: This Drug Developer Rallied and Now It’s Pulled Back
United Therapeutics spent more than a year consolidating around its 2015 highs. Now the biotech may be attempting a breakout. Notice the surge to new all-time highs late last month. The rally followed news that the Food & Drug Administration approved its Tyvaso...
Suddenly Another Global Name Is Moving
Attention has focused heavily on China, Italy and NAFTA. But suddenly today another part of the world is in play. The iShares Brazil ETF (EWZ) rallied 6 percent today and has gained 8 percent in the last week. That places it well ahead of the S&P 500 and other...
Master Options at Our Power Session This Month
Are you getting everything you should out of the stock market? If you don't trade options, the answer is probably "no." Everyone has excuses: "Options are too complicated." "They have confusing Greek letters." "They have time decay and may expire worthless." We've...
Options Are Moving in This Forgotten Space
Biotechnology's quietly coming to life, and options traders are flocking to one of the biggest names in the space. Want to learn more about options? Sign up for our "Options Stars 2018" symposium in Chicago this month. Call volume is spiking in Gilead Sciences (GILD)...
Traders Try to Catch a Falling Knife: Options Recap
Someone's trying to call a bottom in one of the market's worst-performing stocks. General Electric (GE) has lost more than half its value in the last two years, landing it at the bottom of the S&P 500's rankings over that time frame. It would also be the top loser...
Options 101: Hedging With Ratio Spreads
This post is part of an educational series on equity derivatives. Want to learn more? Sign up for our Options Stars 2018 symposium in Chicago next month. Sometimes I love trading options so much I forget they were invented to be used in tandem with stocks. This post...
Options Light Up as Cannabis Craze Sweeps Market
Marijuana's supposed to calm people down, but that didn't happen in the stock market yesterday. Frenzied with Canada's legalization on October 17, traders streamed in and out of a trio of high-profile weed stocks. The moves were epic for companies many clients had...
Good Tech, Bad Tech: Options Activity Recap
Call volume spiked noticeably in two different technology stocks yesterday, with two very different meanings. Just look at Broadcom (AVGO). The chip maker went from a darling to a pariah two months ago by purchasing software maker CA (CA). Investors, confused by the...
Options 101: Going ‘In the Money’
One of the confusing things about options is, quite simply, all the options. Every underlier has dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands of related contracts. Where on earth to begin? There are many ways to approach this question, so today we'll consider options...
Someone’s Digging for Gold in the Options Market
Precious metals are bouncing today, and someone's trying to leverage the move with options. Approximately 27,000 October 11 calls were purchased this morning in Goldcorp (GG). The initial blocks fetched $0.15, before the demand lifted premiums as high as $0.23. Calls...
Traders, Keep an Eye on Chip Stocks
Semiconductors have been a weak spot in technology for most of the year. But now the group may be trying to break out. The Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is challenging an old peak from earlier this month. It comes at a time when the broader technology sector...
Is Biotech Quietly Breaking Out?
Biotechnology stocks are trying to break out as investors await potential catalysts after Labor Day. The iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB) has closed at new 52-week highs in the last two sessions. It's now pushing back to price areas last seen in the summer of 2015....
Is the Global Picture Brightening?
Global stocks have been a hot mess all summer, but some recent events may suggest the tide is turning. Over the weekend, for instance, China allowed its currency to appreciate against the U.S. dollar. That's being viewed as a sign Beijing won't deploy yuan devaluation...
Goldilocks Drives S&P 500 to New Highs
If the longest bull market in history had a patron saint, it would be Goldilocks. This Wednesday marked the 3,453rd session in the uptrend that began on March 9, 2009. That outlasted the earlier run between late 1990 and early 2000. While improving economics and...
Swarming the Markets with Hivemind’s Suite of Algorithms
Many clients want to trade swings in the market. They know how to do it and understand, but are too busy to time entries and exits. If that sounds familiar, you might want to learn more about an automated product in our TradingApp Store. Triforce Platinum is a suite...
Looking Behind the Numbers as Stocks Test Old Highs
The S&P 500 hit a new all-time high yesterday, slightly above its previous record in January. Many things have changed since that previous peak. Then, stocks drifted upward in a mindless and complacent bubble. Now, they've proven themselves with two strong...
Don’t Forget About Mexico
Everyone's focused on China, but don't forget about Mexico. That was a message on this week's Market Action webinar, and so far it's been playing out. In case you missed it, officials on both sides of the border have suggested a deal is close. They include White House...
Small Caps Trying to Break Out
Almost a month ago, Market Insights spotted a bullish triangle in small cap stocks. Today they're trying to break out. The chart below shows the tightening range on the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) over the last two months. Notice how it's made higher lows while...
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Levels on the S&P 500
Ever heard the saying that "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?" It means coming close to a goal isn't good enough for most projects. But it can be good enough when it come to charting the S&P 500. Last week, for instance, Market Insights surveyed...