Market Insights
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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...
Complex Options Strategy Targets More Upside in Banking Giant
Citi has been fighting higher since Christmas, and one big investor seems to think the move will continue. Check out this unusual options activity in the banking giant yesterday: 22,000 January 45 calls traded for $5.25.22,000 January 45 puts changed hands for $0.01....
Quadruple Witching Dates for 2023: How Can They Impact Stock and Futures Trading?
What Is Quad Witching? Quadruple witching is an event in financial markets when four different sets of futures and options expire on the same day. Futures and options are derivatives, linked to underlying stock prices. When derivatives expire, traders must close...
This Year Could Be Starting to Look Like the Mirror Image of 2022
Stocks just rose for the second straight week, potentially raising an important question: Will 2023 be a mirror image of last year? The S&P 500 advanced 2.7 percent between Friday, January 6, and Friday, January 13. It's gained the first two weeks of 2023. Last...
Futures 101: The Difference Between Trading Stocks and Futures
Not well-versed in the futures market? Scared about a new kind of advanced product? Here are some basic points to get started. Futures are different from traditional stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) because they track an index. You don't own anything. You...
Technical Analysis: Have Chipmakers Already Bottomed?
Most people know that technology stocks ended 2022 on a weak note. But they may not realize one group started to outperform: chipmakers. The first pattern on today’s chart of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is the falling trendline along the highs of last year....
Fear Could Be Evaporating After Another Cool Inflation Report
Inflation was lower than feared for the third straight month, and investors loved it. December's consumer price index (CPI) shrank 0.1 percent, compared with estimates for an unchanged reading. It followed cooler-than-expected readings for November and October,...
A Soft Landing? Why Stocks May Be Attempting a Turn as 2023 Begins
Stocks began the New Year with gains as investors see the potential for inflation to ease without a recession. The S&P 500 broke a four-week losing streak, rising 1.5 percent in the holiday-shortened period between Friday, December 30. Every major sector advanced,...
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...
Complex Options Strategy Targets More Upside in Banking Giant
Citi has been fighting higher since Christmas, and one big investor seems to think the move will continue. Check out this unusual options activity in the banking giant yesterday: 22,000 January 45 calls traded for $5.25.22,000 January 45 puts changed hands for $0.01....
Quadruple Witching Dates for 2023: How Can They Impact Stock and Futures Trading?
What Is Quad Witching? Quadruple witching is an event in financial markets when four different sets of futures and options expire on the same day. Futures and options are derivatives, linked to underlying stock prices. When derivatives expire, traders must close...
This Year Could Be Starting to Look Like the Mirror Image of 2022
Stocks just rose for the second straight week, potentially raising an important question: Will 2023 be a mirror image of last year? The S&P 500 advanced 2.7 percent between Friday, January 6, and Friday, January 13. It's gained the first two weeks of 2023. Last...
Futures 101: The Difference Between Trading Stocks and Futures
Not well-versed in the futures market? Scared about a new kind of advanced product? Here are some basic points to get started. Futures are different from traditional stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) because they track an index. You don't own anything. You...
Technical Analysis: Have Chipmakers Already Bottomed?
Most people know that technology stocks ended 2022 on a weak note. But they may not realize one group started to outperform: chipmakers. The first pattern on today’s chart of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is the falling trendline along the highs of last year....
Fear Could Be Evaporating After Another Cool Inflation Report
Inflation was lower than feared for the third straight month, and investors loved it. December's consumer price index (CPI) shrank 0.1 percent, compared with estimates for an unchanged reading. It followed cooler-than-expected readings for November and October,...
A Soft Landing? Why Stocks May Be Attempting a Turn as 2023 Begins
Stocks began the New Year with gains as investors see the potential for inflation to ease without a recession. The S&P 500 broke a four-week losing streak, rising 1.5 percent in the holiday-shortened period between Friday, December 30. Every major sector 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...
No More Mister Nice Guy? Market Sinks as Jerome Powell Brings Out the Big Guns
Stocks plunged last week as the Federal Reserve got more hawkish, and there could be signs its tough policies are starting to work. The S&P 500 tanked 5.8 percent between Friday, June 10, and Friday, June 17. It was the biggest weekly decline since March 2020,...
Takeovers, Approvals, Drug Data: Positive News Grows as Biotechs Hold March 2020 Lows
Biotechnology stocks have pulled back dramatically, but positive news has been growing as the sector tries to stabilize at a historic level. Positive news has emerged on several companies in the industry, including takeovers, regulatory approvals and drug-trial data....
Stocks Cross the Line Into ‘Bear Market’ as Inflation Worries Peak Before Pivotal Fed Meeting
Wall Street fell into a "bear market" on Monday as inflation worries inflicted broad damage across the S&P 500. Consider these facts about the selloff: The S&P 500 closed at 3750. That's 22 percent below its January high of 4819, crossing the 20 percent line...
Stocks Continue Lower As Inflation Spikes and the Market Looks for a More Hawkish Fed
Stocks are breaking down as investors prepare for the Federal Reserve to battle a historic inflationary spiral. The S&P 500 dropped 5.1 percent between Friday, June 3, and Friday, June 10. It was the biggest weekly decline since the correction accelerated in...
Finding Stocks That Haven’t Broken Down in 2022: TradeStation Tutorial
Most stocks have been sliding along with the broader market this year, but a handful of names haven't broken down. Today we'll consider ways to find them using TradeStation's desktop platform. The basic goal is to find companies closer to their 200-day moving averages...
Chart of the Day: Is This Semiconductor Stock Rolling Over?
Nvidia had a sharp countertrend rally two weeks ago, but now the chip giant may be rolling over. Prices jumped over $183 on May 27. They remained above that level and started making lower highs on June 2. That kind of descending triangle is a potential bearish...
Bulls in the China Shop? Call Buyers Just Piled Into Alibaba
Most stocks have been under pressure lately, but there could be bulls in the China shop. E-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) surged 15 percent to $119.62 despite the S&P 500 sinking more than 1 percent. The rally landed BABA at its highest closing price since February...
Can Anything Stop This Rampaging Tech Stock?
This year has seen plenty of gains in technology, but nothing compares with the monster rally in a once-forgotten chip stock. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has already doubled in the third quarter and has appreciated 190 percent since January. That places it ahead of...
Here Come the iPhones
The planet's most valuable company is back in focus as the world holds its breath for the newest iPhones. Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook will take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater in in Cupertino, California, at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow. As usual, the tech giant hasn't said...
Marijuana Momentum, Airlines Ascending: Groups in Focus
Two different groups have been "flying under the radar" and "hitting new highs" in recent weeks. Let's check them out. First: Flying under the radar. Yep, some of the airlines have been climbing. This group is a bit muddled because performance between carriers has...
This Is Why Options Traders Need to Know Gamma
The ancient Greeks were pretty smart. They gave us the Olympics, philosophy and medicine. But my favorite invention of theirs right now is Gamma. In case you haven't been following our Greek of the Week series on Market Insights, gamma is one of the key variables...
Greek of the Week: Vega
This is the fourth and final installment in a series about options Greeks on Market Insights. So far we've reviewed three options "Greeks," with memory tricks for keeping them straight: Delta: D is for direction. Gamma: G is is gaining Delta. Theta: T is for time...
Someone Just Made a Killing in this Software Stock: Options Recap
Someone made a killing in a cloud-software company. Just look at the options. Call volume spiked yesterday in Workday (WDAY), which shot to a new all-time high on Tuesday and is up 23 percent in the last month. It looks like the investor rang the register on a winning...
Greek of the Week: Theta
This is the third installment of a four-part series about options Greeks on Market Insights concluding Labor Day week. So far, we've looked at delta and gamma. This week, we'll turn to theta. Theta: T is for "time decay." Theta measures how much time value an option...
Calls Spike as Small Cap Goes Mobile: Options Recap
Last month, Market Insights highlighted a surging maker of smart-phone games. Yesterday, options traders lit up the name. Here's a breakdown of the large transactions detected in Glu Mobile (GLUU): A block of 5,500 September 5.50 calls was bought for $2.04. A block of...
Big Trade in a Little Gaming Stock: Options Recap
A small gaming stock has pulled back hard following a big rally, but now the bulls are back. Remember Scientific Games (SGMS)? It's a provider of gambling-technology like slot machines and lottery systems. But it was also viewed as a key beneficiary to the U.S....
Tracking the Bears in China
Global economic and financial issues are back in the forefront. Turkey's been the main story in the last week, but today China has some important headlines. Simply put, they're all negative. The country's economic reports for July had a triple-miss overnight:...
Turkish Turmoil Fuels the Volatility Machine
Bulls made money, bears made money. Turkey got slaughtered. That's pretty much what happened last week. The S&P 500 began with a steady climb on Monday and continued higher into Tuesday. That's when the bulls made money. On Wednesday and Thursday, the index...
As Expected, Volatility Hits Global Markets
Just two days ago, Market Insights said that "traders hankering for volatility may want to keep an eye on currencies and crude oil." Both of those events are now playing out. Oil came first, tumbling to a three-week low hours after the post. This morning,...
Traders Doubt Safety of Classic Safe Haven: Options Recap
So much for utilities being a safe haven. The SPDR Utility Fund (XLU) has risen about 6 percent in the last month, making it the top-performing major sector. But yesterday, traders braced for a potential selloff: A block of 75,000 September 50 puts in XLU was bought...
Just How Bad Is the Mess Overseas?
Just how bad is the mess overseas? Pretty bad and likely getting worse. Global stocks are lagging domestic small caps by their worst ratio since late-2008. Just look at the TradeStation chart below comparing the iShares MSCI EFA fund (EFA) with the iShares Russell...
Oil bears double downside bet in key ETF: Options recap
Disclosure: This post is intended for educational purposes only. Options trading may not be suitable for all investors. We just wrote about the drop in oil as the market braces for potential supply increases at next week's OPEC meeting. Almost simultaneously, a big...
Two sectors on breakout watch
This post is intended for educational purposes and should not be considered a trading recommendation. Two sector funds may be on breaking out as bullish sentiment returns to the stock market. The SPDR Materials ETF (XLB) and SPDR Healthcare ETF (XLV) spent the last...
Safe havens slammed as bulls charge: Midweek sector check
The S&P 500 is showing signs of a breakout as investors pile into higher-risk stocks. Meanwhile, safe havens are getting slammed. Here's a breakdown of the best- and worst-performing industries over the last five sessions. Winners: Technology is leading the...
Cup and Handle in the QQQs?
Several high-profile technology stocks seem to be forming a classic bullish pattern.