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Financials Take Leadership as Megacaps Sputter
by David Russell | Jul 29, 2024
Financial stocks have become the year's top performing sector as rotation away from megacaps intensifies. The group, which includes banks, insurers and securities firms, is now up 15 percent in 2024. It just pulled ahead of communications, which includes Nasdaq giants...
Stocks Rise for 7th Month, Led by Tech Stocks like Paycom and Etsy
by David Russell | Aug 31, 2021
Stocks are in the middle of their longest winning streak in 3-1/2 years, bolstered by strong earnings and an abundance of buyers on the sidelines. The S&P 500 rose 2.9 percent in August, its seventh straight positive month. The last time the index rose that long...
This Industry Is Holding Its Ground, Despite a Lot of Bad News This Week
by David Russell | Aug 20, 2021
Homebuilder stocks are holding their ground, despite enduring a lot of bad news this week. First, Home Depot (HD) crashed after reporting unexpectedly weak same-store sales. The National Association of Homebuilders next announced that business conditions had fallen to...
Make Sense of Stock Market Fundamentals Using the TradeStation Platform: Free Educational Video
by David Russell | Aug 20, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeQzUx-meVs Market sentiment has changed several times in the past year as investors rotate between technology stocks that benefit from social distancing, beaten-down reopening stocks, financials, retailers and more. Investors can...
Chart of the Day: Ethereum Is Holding $3,000
by David Russell | Aug 19, 2021
Sometimes there's a lot to be said about nice round numbers. This might be one of those times with Ethereum holding $3,000. The level has gained importance this month. ETHUSD bounced around $3,000 on August 9, 12 and the last three days. It's also managed to close...
‘Boring’ May Be The New Bullish: Healthcare, Insurers,and Food Stocks Break Out as the Nasdaq Stalls
by David Russell | Aug 18, 2021
The S&P 500 continues to hit new highs, but a strange mix of stocks is leading the advance. Pharmaceuticals, medical devices, insurers and food companies were some of the top performers yesterday. While many of these sectors may not interest retail investors, they...
Chart of the Day: Citi Is Finding Support at This Key Line
by David Russell | Aug 18, 2021
Financial stocks have bounced in the last two weeks, and Citi is one of the biggest members of the group. A few patterns stand out on the banking giant’s chart. First is its breakout above the 50-day moving average, followed by a pullback to hold that line. Next is...
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Olaplex and On: Recent IPOs Pull Back After Their Debut Quarterly Reports
by David Russell | Nov 23, 2021
The IPO market is setting new records as 2021 nears and end. Today we'll review some recent deals, including three companies that issued results for the first time. On Holding (ONON) is one of the biggest movers in recent weeks. The Zurich-based sneaker company went...
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Cannabis Craze Drives Activity: September at TradeStation
by David Russell | Sep 28, 2018
The cannabis craze swept markets in September, with TradeStation clients riding the wave. Canadian marijuana firm Tilray (TLRY) was the third-busiest stock on our platforms this month, catapulting from No. 24 in August. Related companies Canopy Growth (CGC) and Cronos...
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A Tough Slog For Banks, With a Happy Ending
by David Russell | Sep 27, 2018
There was a day when higher interest rates lifted financials. But not anymore. Selling in the sector has been intense, with 64 of the 67 members of the SPDR Financial ETF (XLF) down so far this week. Banks, insurers and asset managers have all taken a beating. (Don't...
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IPOs Keep Coming in September
by David Russell | Sep 24, 2018
Initial public offerings (IPOs) are running at their quickest pace in years. Have you been watching? Volume at the end of August was already close to the total for all of 2017, according to data from ClickIPO. In fact, if you include Spotify's (SPOT)'s unusual direct...
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Options 101: Hedging With Ratio Spreads
by David Russell | Sep 24, 2018
This post is part of an educational series on equity derivatives. Want to learn more? Sign up for our Options Stars 2018 symposium in Chicago next month. Sometimes I love trading options so much I forget they were invented to be used in tandem with stocks. This post...