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Markets
Starting with Futures: S&P 500 E-minis

Starting with Futures: S&P 500 E-minis

Do you love to trade stocks, but are confused by futures? Keep reading. Many clients are initially puzzled, or even scared, by these derivative instruments. The lingo is different. Their hours are weird. The rules seem bizarre, along with their settlements and...

Is the Global Picture Brightening?

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...

Last Week Shows Records Were Made to Be Broken

Last Week Shows Records Were Made to Be Broken

As the saying goes: Records were made to be broken. Just take the market last week. The S&P 500's decade-long bull run surpassed the lifespan of its previous upward journey in the 1990s. Another record fell on Tuesday, when the Russell 2000 Index hit a new...

New Companies Back on the Rise

New Companies Back on the Rise

Back in the spring, there was a wave of bullishness in initial public offerings. After a few pullbacks, some of those companies are pushing higher again. Take a name like ZScaler (ZS), which provides cloud-computing security services. It chopped around after crushing...

Goldilocks Drives S&P 500 to New Highs

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...

Calls Spike as Small Cap Goes Mobile: Options Recap

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...

Retail Revival Underway: Earnings This Week

Retail Revival Underway: Earnings This Week

Remember when everyone thought traditional retailers were going extinct? This week's earnings reports may have destroyed that narrative. "This is the healthiest environment I have ever seen," Target (TGT) CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC as his stock shot into record...

Swarming the Markets with Hivemind’s Suite of Algorithms

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

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...