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Stocks Pause at Key Area Before the Fed: 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 tries to hold support above September highs Still at weekly resistance line Candlestick patterns: Bearish...
Chart of the Day: More Downside in Energy ETF?
Energy was the only the only major sector to fall last month. Is there more downside risk? The first pattern on today's chart of the SPDR Select Sector Energy Fund is the November 6 close of $85.70. XLE ... For more, please click here to view the...
Megacaps Lag as Stocks Keep Rising. Has the Great Rotation Begun?
Money is streaming into abandoned corners of the stock market as yearend approaches. Are investors finally shifting away from megacap growth names like Apple and Microsoft? The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent between Friday, November 24, and Friday, December 1. It was...
Stocks Jumped in November as Sentiment Quickly Turned Bullish
Stocks ripped higher in November as extreme pessimism morphed into confidence about interest rates and inflation. The S&P 500 surged 8.9 percent between October 31 and November 30, its biggest monthly gain since July 2022. The index is back near peaks from the...
Nvidia Is Sitting Quietly After Another Strong Report
Nvidia is the only member of the S&P 500 that's tripled this year. Now it's stuck near record highs as traders enter the home stretch into 2024. This chart highlights some a few patterns on the semiconductor giant. First, notice how prices have shown signs of...
Chart of the Day: Gold is Pushing $2,000
Gold has consolidated for more than two years, and now it may be inching toward a breakout. The first pattern on today’s weekly chart is the rally in October between roughly $1,812 and $2,000. That move broke a falling trendline from the summer when bond yields were...
Confidence or Complacency? Fear Index Returns to Pre-Covid Levels
Stocks continued their winning streak last week as the market sees a potential return to normal following years of turmoil. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent in the Thanksgiving-shortened period between Friday, November 17, and Friday, November 24. It was the fourth...
The Nasdaq Pushes Weekly Highs. Are Rate Cuts in the Cards?
Stocks are nearing key highs on optimism the Federal Reserve is finished raising interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 2.2 percent between Friday, November 10, and Friday, November 17. It was the third consecutive positive week, landing the index back near peaks from...
Chart of the Day: Lululemon Could Be Running
Lululemon spent more than half of 2023 in a range, but now it could be starting to run. The first pattern on today’s chart is the bullish gap after LULU was added to the S&P 500 last month. The stock pulled back in late October, made a higher low and proceeded to...
Stocks Pause at Key Area Before the Fed: 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 tries to hold support above September highs Still at weekly resistance line Candlestick patterns: Bearish...
Chart of the Day: More Downside in Energy ETF?
Energy was the only the only major sector to fall last month. Is there more downside risk? The first pattern on today's chart of the SPDR Select Sector Energy Fund is the November 6 close of $85.70. XLE ... For more, please click here to view the...
Megacaps Lag as Stocks Keep Rising. Has the Great Rotation Begun?
Money is streaming into abandoned corners of the stock market as yearend approaches. Are investors finally shifting away from megacap growth names like Apple and Microsoft? The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent between Friday, November 24, and Friday, December 1. It was...
Stocks Jumped in November as Sentiment Quickly Turned Bullish
Stocks ripped higher in November as extreme pessimism morphed into confidence about interest rates and inflation. The S&P 500 surged 8.9 percent between October 31 and November 30, its biggest monthly gain since July 2022. The index is back near peaks from the...
Nvidia Is Sitting Quietly After Another Strong Report
Nvidia is the only member of the S&P 500 that's tripled this year. Now it's stuck near record highs as traders enter the home stretch into 2024. This chart highlights some a few patterns on the semiconductor giant. First, notice how prices have shown signs of...
Chart of the Day: Gold is Pushing $2,000
Gold has consolidated for more than two years, and now it may be inching toward a breakout. The first pattern on today’s weekly chart is the rally in October between roughly $1,812 and $2,000. That move broke a falling trendline from the summer when bond yields were...
Confidence or Complacency? Fear Index Returns to Pre-Covid Levels
Stocks continued their winning streak last week as the market sees a potential return to normal following years of turmoil. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent in the Thanksgiving-shortened period between Friday, November 17, and Friday, November 24. It was the fourth...
The Nasdaq Pushes Weekly Highs. Are Rate Cuts in the Cards?
Stocks are nearing key highs on optimism the Federal Reserve is finished raising interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 2.2 percent between Friday, November 10, and Friday, November 17. It was the third consecutive positive week, landing the index back near peaks from...
Chart of the Day: Lululemon Could Be Running
Lululemon spent more than half of 2023 in a range, but now it could be starting to run. The first pattern on today’s chart is the bullish gap after LULU was added to the S&P 500 last month. The stock pulled back in late October, made a higher low and proceeded to...
Chart of the Day: Is Caesars Following Travel Stocks Higher?
Travel stocks have climbed recently, and now Caesars Entertainment could be showing signs of strength. The first pattern on today’s chart is the falling trendline along the highs of February, March and mid-June. The casino operator pushed above it at the end of the...
Tesla Gets a Rival on Wall Street as Traders Await Big Inflation Report
Tesla, one of the most active stocks in the market, suddenly has a rival among traders. Rivian Automotive (RIVN) announced better-than-expected deliveries last week. That gave Wall Street confidence the maker of electric pickups and SUVs is finally overcoming...
A New Bull Market? Stocks Hit a New 52-Week High as Recession Fears Ease
Stocks rebounded sharply to end June as cooling inflation and strong economic data spurred hopes of a new bull market. The S&P 500 rose 2.3 percent between Friday, June 23, and Friday, June 30. It was the sixth positive week in the last seven. The index also had...
Chart of the Day: Will Small Caps Follow the S&P Higher?
The Russell 2000 small cap index has lagged all year, but it may be showing some signs of coming to life. The first pattern on today’s chart is the rally in early June, a potential sign of the bulls taking charge. RUT proceeded to retrace half the move before...
Stocks Pause as Summer Begins and Central Banks Talk Tough on Inflation
Stocks began the summer with a pause as central bankers around the world vowed to crush inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent in the holiday-shortened week between Friday, June 16, and Friday, June 23. It was the first drop after five positive weeks in a row....
Is the Fed Almost Done? Stocks Break Out On Hopes of a Soft Landing
Stocks jumped to a 13-month high as investors hoped the Federal Reserve is almost done hiking interest rates. The S&P 500 rallied above its peak from last August, gaining 2.6 percent between Friday, June 9, and Friday, June 16. The technology-heavy Nasdaq-100...
Suddenly Lots of Stocks Are Hitting New Highs
More stocks are showing signs of a breakout as the Federal Reserve meets and the S&P 500 jumps above last summer's peak. Forty-three members of the S&P 500 made new 52-week highs on Tuesday, according to TradeStation data. It was the highest total since April...
Technical Analysis: Don’t Forget About Alphabet
Alphabet has been on the sidelines since a big rally in May. Is it time for traders to think about more upside? The first pattern on today’s chart is last August’s peak around $122.43. GOOGL chopped on either side of the level for three weeks but has mostly stayed...
Stocks Approach August Highs Amid Talk of a New Bull Market
Talk of a new bull market is buzzing on Wall Street with the Federal Reserve expected to stop raising interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent between Friday, June 2, and Friday, June 9. It was the fourth straight positive week, the index's longest winning...
Here Are 3 Key Hedging Strategies If You’re Worried About a Pullback in the Stock Market
Stocks have been sliding since Labor Day. This post will consider some potential hedging techniques if you're worried about a deeper pullback. The strategies use options, which give investors the right to buy and sell shares at given prices. Because they're...
Options Alert: Call Buyers Target Breakout in Up-and-Coming Cloud Stock
Datadog, an 11-year old cloud-computing firm, broke out to new highs last month. Today, options traders looked for the rally to continue. More than 20,000 call options changed hands at the 140 strike, plus another 5,000 at the 142 strike. Four contracts accounted for...
Options Alert: Call Buyers Are Piling Into This Recent Tech IPO
Roblox was a prominent IPO in the spring. Now, after a rally and pullback, the bulls seem to be returning. Options traders purchased about 12,000 short-term 13-August 85 calls this morning. Premiums started at $0.40 and quickly shot above $2 as the orders piled in....
Options Traders Take Profits, Look for More Gains as Athletic Retailer Jumps
Under Armour jumped on strong results this week, and options traders are looking for the move to continue. At least two bullish transactions were detected in the apparel stock today. Both will profit from further gains this month. First, a block of 2,106 6-August 23...
Call Buyers Target Square as Jack Dorsey Talks Crypto with Elon Musk
Yesterday was big for cryptocurrencies as Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey spoke publicly about Bitcoin. The event also triggered a wave of bullish options activity in Dorsey's payments company, Square. Most of the volume focused on the short-term 23-July 255 calls. Buyers...
Bullish, Neutral, Even Bearish: 3 Ways Options Traders Can Use Covered Calls
Covered calls are one of the most common strategies for options traders. While many investors have heard of them, they may not realize that covered calls are highly versatile. This article will cover how the method can be bullish, neutral and even bearish. First, a...
Options Alert: Call Buyers Are Targeting a Fast Move in Home Depot
Someone's looking for DIY giant Home Depot to make a fast move this week. Heavy call volume was detected in the short-term weekly contracts expiring this Friday: About 15,000 2-July 320 calls were purchased, initially for $1 to $1.19. Premiums quickly rose to $1.30...
Options Alert: Bulls Target Roku as Original Content Draws Comparisons with Netflix
Options activity is heating up in Roku as the streaming-video upstart launches original content. Call volume has steadily increased since ROKU signed Kevin Hart for a second season of his action/comedy program. (Last year it was called "Die Hart." The next one will be...
Check Out This Bullish Options Activity in Giant Semiconductor and Mining Stocks
The two largest companies in their industries had bullish options activity today: Intel and Vale. Intel (INTC), the world's biggest semiconductor maker, saw heavy call buying shortly after the opening bell. Traders initially purchased the 25-June 62 calls for $0.10 to...
Mr. Powell and the Punch Bowl
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will answer a lot of questions in the Senate this week. But they all come down to one issue: Will he take away the punch bowl, or fill it up? If you don't know the lingo, we're talking about interest rates. The old saying is that...
Metals on the Move as Dollar Takes a Hit
Metals came back from the long weekend with a bang as money poured into gold and copper. Globex's gold futures (@GC) traded almost 333,000 contracts yesterday, the busiest session since October 11. Prices also advanced 1.7 percent, their biggest gain of the...
WTI Crude Oil: Futures Contract of the Week
When people think about "commodities," few items spring to mind faster than crude oil. Let's consider a major way to trade it: Nymex WTI crude oil futures. These contracts track the oil most commonly produced in the U.S. and fluctuate with global energy markets....
S&P 500 E-Minis: The Biggest Show in Town
You've probably heard of about "stock market futures," but do you really know what they are? Today let's start by looking at the most popular item in the market: CME's S&P 500 E-minis. These contracts track the most widely followed stock benchmark in the world....
Guess What Chart Just Had a ‘Golden Cross’
A potentially bullish signal has appeared in gold as the market anticipates dovish policy from the Federal Reserve. The 50-day moving average on gold futures (@GC) rose through the 200-day moving average this week. That pattern, ironically known as a "golden cross,"...
Dollar Slides with Doves Ruling the Roost at the Fed
Hawks at the Federal Reserve keep morphing into doves, hammering the greenback. Several comments from the central bank yesterday expressed a cautious view of interest rates. It started with Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, who warned that economic fears have...
Is This Precious Metal Too Cheap?
Political uncertainty and economic jitters have lifted precious metals recently. But which has more upside potential? Silver futures (@SI) are trading near their cheapest ratio to gold futures (@GC) in over 16 years. History may suggest their valuation gap will narrow...
Market Jitters Are Lifting Gold Miners
Gold miners are the only winners in this market as mounting worries drive investors to the ultimate safety play. The Dow Jones US Gold Miner Index ($DJUSPM) has gained 5 percent in the last month. That makes the best performer -- and only real gainer -- of more than...
A Dreaded Currency Is on the Rise
The Japanese yen, everyone's dreaded safe-haven, is on the rise. Futures on the currency (@JY) rose 0.85 percent, their biggest daily gain since May. There's also signs of a potential upward reversal after a breakout through the 50-day moving average. (Today's move...
Here Are the Ways Coronavirus Is Quietly Remaking the Stock Market
Coronavirus isn't just unleashing historic volatility in the stock market. The outbreak may also reshape the face of investing for years into the future. Many old-economy stocks are dwindling in value as a new flock of technology firms rise. In most cases, the trends...
S&P 500 Records Worst One Day Decline Since 1987
Monday, March 16, 2020, marked the third-worst day in the history of the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500, which measures five hundred of the largest U.S companies, is one of the most followed equity indexes and has been around since 1926. Only during the Great...
Another Emotional Week, But Tech Giants Like Apple Try to Hold
Stocks crashed again last week, but it could have been a lot worse. At one point, the S&P 500 was down more than 16 percent because of coronavirus. If the index had remained there, it would have been the second-biggest drop since at least 1950. But then a...
Will Coronavirus’ Impact on Economy Appear in This Number Tomorrow?
For weeks, the market has worried coronavirus would hammer the economy. Tomorrow may bring the first real confirmation of that fear. The U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to report weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. Of all the regular data points,...
What’s an ABC Correction? Check out the S&P 500 This Week
Stocks have had an impressive run since breaking out in late October. Gains have been smooth and volatility has been low -- despite negatives like geopolitical risk and coronavirus. What if you missed the boat four months ago and needed an entry? The last two weeks...
Risk Appetite Sweeps Market as Powell Freezes Interest Rates
Optimism is spreading in the stock market as the Federal Reserve freezes interest rates. Companies that benefit from stronger global growth rose yesterday after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged. Those include semiconductors, emerging markets, materials...
Stocks Fell Yesterday. How Serious Is It?
Stocks just had their sharpest drop in a couple of months. What should we make of it? The first thing that jumps out on the chart is that the S&P 500 remained in breakout territory versus its old trading range. The index is still 1 percent above old resistance...
Stocks Hold Post-Breakout Support Level as China Anxieties Fade
Stocks held their ground last week as investors shrugged off concerns about a trade war with China. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent between Friday, November 15, and Friday, November 22. It the first negative week since the beginning of October. However the index...
Stocks Keep Climbing as One-Time Bears Chase the Breakout
Stocks continued their breakout to new highs as money streams back into the market. The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent between Friday, November 8, and Friday, November 15. The index is up for sixth straight weeks, its longest winning streak in two years. The Nasdaq-100...