Market Insights

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Stocks
Vix under Siege as S&P 500 Fills January Gap

Vix under Siege as S&P 500 Fills January Gap

The S&P 500 hit its highest level since late-January as the index fills a "bearish gap." Remember, gaps are patterns on candle-stick charts that show a security jumping up or down from one price zone to another without any transactions between the two. That leaves...

Winning Streak Continues as Volatility Evaporates

Winning Streak Continues as Volatility Evaporates

Stocks kept climbing last week as volatility dried up and investors rotated into new sectors. The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent between Friday, July 27, and Friday, August 3. It was the fifth straight weekly gain, good for the index's longest winning streak since...

Even in a Good Market, Some Stocks Are Falling off a Cliff

Even in a Good Market, Some Stocks Are Falling off a Cliff

Even when the market's near record highs, some names are breaking lower. This post will highlight a few of those areas where sentiment remains especially weak. The first area that's jumped out of my RadarScreen® yesterday were the asset managers and mutual-fund...

Riding a megabank on the cheap: Options recap

Riding a megabank on the cheap: Options recap

One big investor is riding a megabank on the cheap, thanks to the leveraging power of options. Bank of America (BAC) has been on the move since late 2016. A large call roll yesterday seemed to show that a money manager is using options as a surrogate for owning...

Big Tech De-fangs the SPY: July at TradeStation

Big Tech De-fangs the SPY: July at TradeStation

FANG ruled the roost in this month as volatility swept the Nasdaq. The two busiest stocks for TradeStation clients in July were members of the high-tech quartet: Facebook (FB) and Netflix (NFLX). Both crashed from record highs after mediocre quarterly reports raised...

Tech Falls as Earnings and Economic Data Disappoint

Tech Falls as Earnings and Economic Data Disappoint

Technology stocks took a hit last week, but the broader market still managed a fourth straight gain. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent between Friday, July 20, and Friday, July 27. That contrasted with the Nasdaq-100's decline of 0.7 percent. Sub-par earnings and...

S&P 500 Erases February Selloff

S&P 500 Erases February Selloff

Stocks may have just broken a key level from early in the year, shortly before they suffered a gut-wrenching drop. Here's what it felt like at the time: The S&P 500 hit a record high on January 26. It then stalled and chopped in a right range before spiraling...

Traders, Key an Eye on Small Caps

Traders, Key an Eye on Small Caps

It's a busy week for earnings and economic news. But, don't forget about one the year's strongest areas in the market. We're talking about small-cap stocks, tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM). Its 9 percent gain so far this year makes it the second-best...

Another Strong Day in Housing

Another Strong Day in Housing

Last week we highlighted a rare green shoot in housing. Today it might have sprouted a little higher. Homebuilders, believe it or not, are the best-performing industry among dozens available on TradeStation's ever-useful RadarScreen comparison tool. Click here for a...