Market Insights
Opportunity knocks for those with trading in their DNA.
Curiosity creates opportunity. Insights create strategy. Born traders create their destiny.
Stocks
Options
Futures

Tariffs Hit Stocks as February Begins
by David Russell | Feb 3, 2025
Trade duties may impact inflation, employment and earnings at a time when stocks are already trading at historically high multiples.
Stocks Have Been Volatile, But Does the News Get Better From Here?
by David Russell | Aug 12, 2024
Historic volatility hit the stock market last week, but attention could soon turn to a series of upcoming catalysts. Some of them may be viewed positively -- especially after last week's big recovery. The S&P 500 was down as much as 4.3 percent the morning of...
Options Alert: Call Volume Spikes as Apparel Stock Attempts a Turnaround
by David Russell | Aug 8, 2024
Options activity is surging as beaten-down VF jumps and traders unwind bearish positions. The owner of brands like Vans and The North Face rallied 7 percent yesterday after earnings and revenue beat expectations. It was the company's second big surge in the last two...
How Long Will the Volatility Last? Market Trends This Week
by David Russell | Aug 8, 2024
Downloads are available here. TradeStation’s ideas on TradingView are available here. Check out our next “State of the Market,” on Monday, 8/12. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 down for 4th straight week, longest negative streak since...
Chart of the Day: The Nasdaq Could Be Oversold
by David Russell | Aug 6, 2024
The Nasdaq-100 has fallen sharply in the last three weeks, but some traders may think the tech-heavy index is oversold. The first pattern on today's chart is the sequence of simple moving averages (SMAs). The 50-day SMA is above the 100-day SMA and both are above the...
Stocks Slide: Is the Fed Behind the Curve Again?
by David Russell | Aug 5, 2024
Almost three years ago, investors thought the Federal Reserve was behind the curve on inflation. Now they have just the opposite fear. The S&P 500 slid 2.1 percent between Friday, July 26, and Friday, August 2. It was the third consecutive negative week, dragging...
Platform Lesson: How Big Was Thursday’s Sharp Move?
by David Russell | Aug 2, 2024
The S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent yesterday, but in some ways the move was much bigger than that. The chart below includes two custom indicators highlighting the size of a symbol's move. Both show that Thursday's drop was the most dramatic in over a year. (They're...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication

Software Powers Growth-Stock Comeback as 4th Quarter Begins
by David Russell | Oct 9, 2024
2024 is entering its homestretch, and large-cap growth stocks could be making a comeback. Technology, communications and consumer discretionaries are the three best-performing sectors in the last month, according to TradeStation data. That's important for at least two...

Options Alert: Call Volume Swells in Apple as IPhone 14 Hits the Market
by David Russell | Sep 13, 2022
The options activity may be turning bullish in Apple as the smart-phone giant rolls out the iPhone 14. Some 1.1 million call contracts traded in AAPL yesterday. That was the most since the earnings came out in late July, according to TradeStation data. Our analytics...

Technical Analysis: ON Semi’s Breakout and Pullback
by David Russell | Sep 9, 2022
ON Semiconductor is one of the few chip stocks to hit new highs this summer. It then pulled back along with the rest of the market, and is now bouncing. The first pattern on today's chart is the falling trendline along the peaks of January, March and June. ON broke...

Options Alert: Call Buyers Target Plug Power After Amazon.com Deal
by David Russell | Sep 8, 2022
Options traders are buying the pullback in Plug Power, two weeks after a key deal with Amazon.com. Unusual activity in the provider of hydrogen-fuel technology began less than five minutes after Wednesday's opening bell. Traders initially purchased the 9-September...

Stocks Keep Diving With the Fed Still Pushing Interest Rate Hikes
by David Russell | Sep 6, 2022
Stocks keep diving as the Federal Reserve menaces investors with aggressive interest-rate hikes. The S&P 500 fell 3.3 percent between Friday, August 26, and Friday, September 2. It was the third straight negative week, with over 90 percent of the index's members...