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Stocks Break Support as Bears Spread from Big Tech to the Broader Market
Stocks just had their worst week since early in the pandemic as big indexes knifed through key support zones. The S&P 500 plunged 5.7 percent in the holiday-shortened week between Friday, January 14, and Friday, January 21. It was the biggest drop since mid-March...
Sifting Through the Wreckage Amid a Market Pullback: TradeStation Platform Tutorial
The stock market just had its deepest pullback in over a year, which may create opportunities for dip buyers. This post explores some ways to quickly sift through the wreckage with TradeStation's award-winning platform. We'll consider three basic methods using the...
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...
The S&P 500 Has Gone a Long Time Without Doing This. Will It Bring a Historic Buying Opportunity?
Most investors know the stock market has enjoyed a powerful rally since mid-2020. But they may not realize it's nearing some historic milestones. The S&P 500 has been above its 200-day moving average for 392 sessions, according to TradeStation data. That's the...
Stocks Teeter Again as Investors Nervously Eye Rising Bond Yields
Stocks tumbled again last week as investors brace for a potentially major increase in bond yields. The S&P 500 slid 0.3 percent between Friday, January 7, and Friday, January 14. It was the index's second straight weekly decline after failing to hold new highs...
Tired of Tech Stocks? These Five Value Names Have Broken Out as the Nasdaq Sputters
The Nasdaq-100 is sputtering as investors shed growth stocks, but a handful of value names are breaking out. The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) is down about 7 percent so far in January, while the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) is little changed. The 7...
Options Alert: Massive Call Volume Detected in Global Mining Giant
Metal stocks have jumped lately, and one options trader is apparently looking for upside in a key global producer. Check out this unusual activity in Vale (VALE), the Rio de Janeiro-based mining giant: 26,000 January 14 calls traded for $1.52.26,000 January 17 calls...
The Dollar Is Dropping Sharply, Lifting Global Stocks and Commodity Plays
All of a sudden, weak-dollar trades are working. At least 26 foreign-country exchange-traded funds are outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 so far this year, according to TradeStation data. Producers of commodities like oil and metals, which tend to track the...
Stocks Break Support as Bears Spread from Big Tech to the Broader Market
Stocks just had their worst week since early in the pandemic as big indexes knifed through key support zones. The S&P 500 plunged 5.7 percent in the holiday-shortened week between Friday, January 14, and Friday, January 21. It was the biggest drop since mid-March...
Sifting Through the Wreckage Amid a Market Pullback: TradeStation Platform Tutorial
The stock market just had its deepest pullback in over a year, which may create opportunities for dip buyers. This post explores some ways to quickly sift through the wreckage with TradeStation's award-winning platform. We'll consider three basic methods using the...
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...
The S&P 500 Has Gone a Long Time Without Doing This. Will It Bring a Historic Buying Opportunity?
Most investors know the stock market has enjoyed a powerful rally since mid-2020. But they may not realize it's nearing some historic milestones. The S&P 500 has been above its 200-day moving average for 392 sessions, according to TradeStation data. That's the...
Stocks Teeter Again as Investors Nervously Eye Rising Bond Yields
Stocks tumbled again last week as investors brace for a potentially major increase in bond yields. The S&P 500 slid 0.3 percent between Friday, January 7, and Friday, January 14. It was the index's second straight weekly decline after failing to hold new highs...
Tired of Tech Stocks? These Five Value Names Have Broken Out as the Nasdaq Sputters
The Nasdaq-100 is sputtering as investors shed growth stocks, but a handful of value names are breaking out. The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) is down about 7 percent so far in January, while the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) is little changed. The 7...
Options Alert: Massive Call Volume Detected in Global Mining Giant
Metal stocks have jumped lately, and one options trader is apparently looking for upside in a key global producer. Check out this unusual activity in Vale (VALE), the Rio de Janeiro-based mining giant: 26,000 January 14 calls traded for $1.52.26,000 January 17 calls...
The Dollar Is Dropping Sharply, Lifting Global Stocks and Commodity Plays
All of a sudden, weak-dollar trades are working. At least 26 foreign-country exchange-traded funds are outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 so far this year, according to TradeStation data. Producers of commodities like oil and metals, which tend to track the...
The Value Trade Seems to Be Coming Back After a Brief Pause
That huge shift in investor sentiment, growth to value, seems to be resuming as a new month begins. This chart compares the iShares Value ETF (IWD) with the iShares Value Growth ETF (IWF). Notice how they’ve moved in opposite directions since the beginning of last...
Halliburton Squeezes Toward a Breakout as Oil Rallies: Chart Study
Energy is coming to life again as the economy reopens. Let’s take a look at oil-field service provider Halliburton , which has a few interesting chart patterns. First is the downward-sloping trendline running along the highs of March and April. HAL closed above that...
Suddenly Everybody’s Talking About Inflation. Here Are the Key Facts
Wall Street is starting to worry about inflation as the economy reopens from last year's pandemic amid a shortage of commodities and surging demand. Famous investor Warren Buffett and the Institute for Supply Management were the latest to spot the trend. Buffett, CEO...
Apple Crushes Estimates But Investors Are More Interested in Two Other Nasdaq Giants
Apple had an amazing quarter, but investors seem more interested in the advertising growth at Alphabet and Facebook. All three of the Nasdaq giants reported better-than-expected earnings this week, but their stocks moved in different directions. AAPL tried to rally...
Is Tesla Stalling Below a Key Level? Chart Watchers May See Bearish Patterns
Tesla hasn't hit a new 52-week high since January 25. It bounced feebly this month, and now the price action is looking more problematic. First, notice how the April 14 high closely matched the January 29 low. Old support could be new resistance. Second, TSLA has made...
The Fed Meets This Week as Business Roars Back from the Coronavirus Pandemic
The economy is roaring back to life, just in time for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low. No major change in policy is expected from the central bank on Wednesday. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly said inflation needs to go solidly above 2 percent...
Chart Study: Do You Know This Chipmaker Getting Close to Record Highs?
Micron Technology (MU) has stalled after a big rally. Is it time to buy the dip? The first pattern on the memory-chip maker's chart is the oversold condition on stochastics. Given its current uptrend, strong fundamentals and positive macro backdrop (GDP +6%), that...
Nio Could Be Attempting a Breakout Before Earnings Next Week: Chart Study
Nio was one of the top stocks in 2020, making even Tesla look like a savings bond. It’s pulled back hard and is now stabilizing with earnings around the corner. The biggest pattern is the 200-day moving average. Interestingly, TSLA bounced at this exact same line...
Netflix Reports Earnings Tonight: Will It Finally Break Out?
Netflix stock has gone nowhere since the summer. But that could change when it reports earnings tonight. The streaming-video giant was one of the first companies to recover when coronavirus forced millions into lockdown last year. It was also one of the first stocks...