Market Insights
Bringing you the trading news around the world.
Stories
Stocks Have Had a Healthy Pullback. Will Buyers Step In?
Stocks have had their biggest pullback since the current rally began. Will buyers step in? The S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent between Friday, April 5, and Friday, April 12. It was the biggest weekly drop since October. The index also touched its 50-day moving average...
Are Rate Cuts Out the Window? Market Trends This Week
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 in midst of first negative month since October Prices break trendline, rising 21-day exponential...
Stocks Pull Back Before Inflation Data and Earnings Season
Stocks began the second quarter with a pullback as investors worried about higher interest rates and geopolitical risk. The S&P 500 fell almost 1 percent between Thursday, March 28, and Friday, April 5. (Markets were closed on March 29.) It was the biggest weekly...
Chart of the Day: Are Regional Banks Turning Higher?
Regional banks had a big surge in late 2023. Now, after a period of consolidation, some traders may expect further gains. The first pattern on today’s chart of the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF is the falling trendline along the highs of January and early March....
Bulls Pivot from Rate Cuts to Economic Growth: Market Trends This Week
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 holds 50% of March 15-22 weekly move, March 8 high Trio of key patterns remain: Holds rising...
Stocks Make a 3rd Monthly Record as Buyers Rotate Away from Growth
Stocks hit a new record for the third straight month in March, but there was significant rotation away from growth names and technology The S&P 500 rose 3.1 percent, outpacing the Nasdaq-100 by 1.9 percentage points. It was the biggest underperformance in the...
Chart of the Day: Palantir Stabilizes Above Old Highs
Palantir Technologies has advanced as investors embrace AI and non-government customers embrace its products. Is its current pullback offering an opportunity? The first pattern on today’s chart is the pair of rallies after the last two quarterly reports. Those may...
Traders Have a Powerful Tool in OptionStation Pro
OptionStation Pro is a comprehensive and powerful platform designed to meet the needs of options traders. Its intuitive interface includes tools for viewing, analyzing and trading options. This free educational video explains how customers can load chains, browse...
Dovish Fed and Strong Earnings Drive Stocks to Another Record
Stocks just had their best week of the year, thanks to a dovish Federal Reserve and strong earnings. The S&P 500 rose 2.3 percent between Friday, March 15, and Friday, March 22. It was the biggest gain since mid-December and followed two weeks of modest declines....
Stocks Have Had a Healthy Pullback. Will Buyers Step In?
Stocks have had their biggest pullback since the current rally began. Will buyers step in? The S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent between Friday, April 5, and Friday, April 12. It was the biggest weekly drop since October. The index also touched its 50-day moving average...
Are Rate Cuts Out the Window? Market Trends This Week
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 in midst of first negative month since October Prices break trendline, rising 21-day exponential...
Stocks Pull Back Before Inflation Data and Earnings Season
Stocks began the second quarter with a pullback as investors worried about higher interest rates and geopolitical risk. The S&P 500 fell almost 1 percent between Thursday, March 28, and Friday, April 5. (Markets were closed on March 29.) It was the biggest weekly...
Chart of the Day: Are Regional Banks Turning Higher?
Regional banks had a big surge in late 2023. Now, after a period of consolidation, some traders may expect further gains. The first pattern on today’s chart of the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF is the falling trendline along the highs of January and early March....
Bulls Pivot from Rate Cuts to Economic Growth: Market Trends This Week
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 holds 50% of March 15-22 weekly move, March 8 high Trio of key patterns remain: Holds rising...
Stocks Make a 3rd Monthly Record as Buyers Rotate Away from Growth
Stocks hit a new record for the third straight month in March, but there was significant rotation away from growth names and technology The S&P 500 rose 3.1 percent, outpacing the Nasdaq-100 by 1.9 percentage points. It was the biggest underperformance in the...
Chart of the Day: Palantir Stabilizes Above Old Highs
Palantir Technologies has advanced as investors embrace AI and non-government customers embrace its products. Is its current pullback offering an opportunity? The first pattern on today’s chart is the pair of rallies after the last two quarterly reports. Those may...
Traders Have a Powerful Tool in OptionStation Pro
OptionStation Pro is a comprehensive and powerful platform designed to meet the needs of options traders. Its intuitive interface includes tools for viewing, analyzing and trading options. This free educational video explains how customers can load chains, browse...
Dovish Fed and Strong Earnings Drive Stocks to Another Record
Stocks just had their best week of the year, thanks to a dovish Federal Reserve and strong earnings. The S&P 500 rose 2.3 percent between Friday, March 15, and Friday, March 22. It was the biggest gain since mid-December and followed two weeks of modest declines....
Stocks Pause as Earnings Pass and Inflation Rises
Stocks just paused as a blistering earnings season nears its conclusion. The S&P 500 slid 0.4 percent between Friday, February 2, and Friday, February 9. It was only the second decline in the last 16 weeks, according to TradeStation data. Technology led to the...
Chart of the Day: Will Goldman Sachs Get Going?
Goldman Sachs has gone nowhere for two months, but some traders may look for that to change. The first pattern on today’s chart is the $374 level. It was a weekly closing price from January 2023 that GS remained below through late December. The stock rallied above it...
Stocks Cross Historic Level on Strong Earnings, Economic Data
Stocks continue their advance into record territory as earnings beat estimates and recession fears melt away. The S&P 500 rose 1.4 percent between Friday, February 2, and Friday, February 9. It was the 14th gain in the last 15 weeks, and the fifth consecutive...
Microsoft and Toyota Break Out as Apple and Tesla Stall
Apple and Tesla have been two of the best performing large stocks for years. But now they may be falling behind two major rivals: Microsoft and Toyota Motor. The charts below demonstrate how AAPL and TSLA remain trapped under recent highs, while MSFT and TM have...
Earnings Surprises, Strong Economy Push Stocks to Another Record High
Stocks keep hitting new highs as strong megacap earnings and an accelerating economy draw money from the sidelines. The S&P 500 rose 1.7 percent between Friday, January 26, and Friday, February 2. It was the index's fourth straight positive week, continuing its...
Is Good News Priced In For Now? January Ends On a Weak Note
Stocks rose for a third straight month in January, but some investors may worry most of the good news is priced in for now. The S&P 500 advanced 1.6 percent between December 29 and January 31. At one point it was up as much as 3.4 percent, but fell sharply to end...
Netflix Leads Market to New Highs Before Fed Meeting
The stock market set a new record last week, led by communication companies like Netflix, Comcast and Alphabet. The S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent between Friday, January 19, and Friday, January 26. It was the third straight positive week, bringing the index above 4900...
Stocks Break Out as AI Boom Fuels Tech Rally
Stocks are breaking out to new highs as the Artificial Intelligence boom widens. The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent in the holiday-shortened week between Friday, January 12, and Friday, January 19. The index closed at a new all-time high for the first time in over two...
Chart of the Day: Can Intel Keep Running?
Intel has been rallying on hopes of a turnaround, and some chart watchers may see potential for more upside. The first pattern on today’s chart is the series of lower highs since December 27. The chipmaker has tested the falling trendline over the last week. Could a...
Will American Express Run Again? A Big Options Trader May Think So
American Express has dropped along with other financials this month, but one big investor is using options to stay long the name. Check out this large trade that occurred shortly before noon yesterday: A block of 34,843 April 125 calls was sold for $37.88.An equal...
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...
Options Alert: Trader Looks for More Upside in Chinese Tech Stock
Chinese technology stocks have been jumping, and one options trader is positioning for the move to continue. Check out this unusual activity this afternoon in e-commerce company JD.com (JD): Some 5,000 February 70 calls were purchased for $4.01.At the same time, the...
Rolling Options: Key Things for Traders to Know
Editor's note: This post was originally published on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. "Rolling options" is a common transaction for options traders, but there are several ways to do it. This article will explain the different ways and reasons why traders might roll...
Key Points About Selling Credit Spreads
A previous post covered debit spreads, when you pay a debit looking for a stock or ETF to move in a certain direction. Credit spreads are just the opposite, with traders collecting premium up front in hope that the stock won't move a certain way. What a Credit Spread...
Greek of the Week: Gamma
Editor’s note: This post, part of a four-part series about options Greeks, was originally published on Monday, August 20, 2018. We previously looked at delta. Delta measures how much an option changes in price when the underlying stock or ETF fluctuates. Calls...
Greek of the Week: Theta
Editor’s note: This post, part of a four-part series about options Greeks, was originally published on Tuesday, August 28, 2018. 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...
Greek of the Week: Vega
Editor’s note: This post, part of a four-part series about options Greeks, was originally published on Tuesday, September 4, 2018. So far we’ve reviewed three options “Greeks,” with memory tricks for keeping them straight: Delta: D is for direction.Gamma: G is for...
Energy Stocks Aren’t The Only Companies Riding the Inflationary Trend Higher
Inflation is a key theme for investors this year. Aside from lifting energy stocks, it's also boosting a lesser known corner of the market: agriculture. Companies like Deere (DE), Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Mosaic (MOS) have outperformed the market by a wide...
With Volatility Increasing, Here Are Key Index-Based Futures and ETFs to Know About
Volatility has risen in the stock market, potentially increasing the importance of indexed products. This post will cover some basic points you may want to know. What Is Volatility? What is volatility, and why does it matter? Volatility measures how much a stock or...
Silver Attempts a Pre-Fed Breakout: Technical Analysis
Silver has been dead money since the summer as the U.S. dollar ripped higher. But now it’s attempting a breakout -- despite next week’s looming Federal Reserve meeting. Notice how the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) made a higher low on January 6 versus its nadir the...
Is It a Good Idea? Learn How to Back Test Trading Ideas Before Risking Capital
Backtesting is can be an important part of refining market strategies. TradeStation's platform includes tools for analyzing trade ideas and methods. This instructional webinar covers how traders can use both long and short entries on an unlimited number of ideas,...
Energy Charts Are Challenging Key Levels as Forecasters Predict More Price Gains
Two key energy charts are challenging important levels as investors and analysts look for prices to keep rising. First is the weekly price of CME's WTI Crude Oil Futures (@CL), which recently approached $85.50. That was near a peak from October 2018, which at the time...
Big Fish ‘Hodling,’ Brazilian Interest, ETF In the Works? Why Bitcoin Jumped Today
Bitcoin flew back above $55,000 today on renewed hopes of the digital asset becoming a mainstream store of value. No single event triggered the move. But recent stories suggest the cryptocurrency is on its way to broader adoption. The first big news was last Friday....
No More Inflation? Lumber, Oil and Copper Prices Fall as the Fed Gets Hawkish
Inflation was a major story this spring as lumber and used cars spiked in value. Now the trend seems to be fading as the Federal Reserve prepares to tighten monetary policy. CME lumber futures dipped under $500 on Friday and are down more than 70 percent from their...
The Weak Dollar Trade Is Coming Back, Thanks to Jerome Powell and a Slowing Economy
A "weak dollar" trade may be returning, thanks to the Jerome Powell and a slowing economy. That would favor favor commodities and global stocks. The Federal Reserve kept its super-easy monetary policy -- low interest rates and asset purchases -- in place yesterday....
Interested in Cryptocurrencies? Here’s A Guide to Key Symbols Associated with the Space
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have rallied in the last week, following several months of weakness. Investors interested in the asset class have several ways to gain exposure. Retail investors looking to participate in the crypto market have these...
The Weak Dollar Trade Is Coming Back, Thanks to Jerome Powell and a Slowing Economy
A "weak dollar" trade may be returning, thanks to the Jerome Powell and a slowing economy. That would favor favor commodities and global stocks. The Federal Reserve kept its super-easy monetary policy -- low interest rates and asset purchases -- in place yesterday....
Ever Heard of Market Breadth? It May Have Pointed to Today’s Violent Selloff
Stocks just had one of their worst sessions of 2021. While it may have surprised some investors, there were potential warning signals for traders using a certain kind of technical analysis: market breadth. Market breadth is the science of using the aggregate...
Small Caps Are Struggling: Check Out This Technical Analysis
The S&P 500 keeps hitting new highs, but the Russell 2000 small cap index hasn’t been so fortunate. RUT has gone almost four months without a new record level. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Transports haven’t hit a new high in over two months....
Consumer Stocks Get a Boost from Amazon Prime Day, Plus Reopening and the Start of Summer
Amazon Prime Day set records again this month, and more companies than just Amazon.com could benefit. Sales were estimated at $11 billion, up from $10.4 billion last year. Excitement around the event lifted AMZN back above $3,500 for the first time since April. It...
This Major Index Is Breaking Out as Value Stocks Pause: Chart Study
Value stocks and reopening plays have been the main themes in 2021, but now the bulls seem to be returning to Big Tech and the Nasdaq-100. The yellow histogram on this chart compares the 21-day return of NDX against the S&P 500. (It uses our Smart Relative...
Ethereum Shakes Off Bitcoin Crash as Investors Focus on Positives in July
Cryptocurrencies fell last month as investors dumped Bitcoin. But now attention could be shifting to Ethereum as a greener alternative. The No. 2 digital asset by market capitalization has already regained the levels where it began May. It's also emphasizing a key...
Small Caps Are Outperforming Again: Technical Analysis
QQQ vs IWM? In some ways, it’s the big debate of 2021. Will traders stick with megacap growth stocks, or ride fast-moving small caps as the economy reopens? Or will they simply rotate between the two, guided by events and price action? Right now could be a time when a...
Junior Nasdaq Beating QQQ Again as Low Volatility Draws Risk Takers Away From Apple
Big-cap technology stocks like Apple are lagging again, even as investors start buying smaller companies on the Nasdaq. The chart below compares the Invesco Nasdaq Next Gen ETF (QQQJ) with the Invesco QQQ (QQQ). It shows percentage change, with hourly bars, since the...
The Nasdaq Bounced Last Week as Reopening Stocks Faded
Nasdaq stocks bounced last week as investors shifted away from reopening plays like energy. The Nasdaq-100 rose 0.1 percent between Friday, May 14, and Friday, May 21 -- the only major index to rise last week. It was the first time that the Nasdaq-100 gained while the...