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Stocks Have Had a Healthy Pullback. Will Buyers Step In?
by David Russell | Apr 15, 2024
Stocks have had their biggest pullback since the current rally began. Will buyers step in? The S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent between Friday, April 5, and Friday, April 12. It was the biggest weekly drop since October. The index also touched its 50-day moving average...
Stocks Keep Fighting Higher as Inflation Slows and Earnings Beat Expectations
by David Russell | May 1, 2023
Stocks kept fighting higher last month as inflation slowed and earnings beat estimates. The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent in April, its third gain in the first four months of the year. The index has returned to challenge its February high, and is still above falling...
Breakout or Breakdown? Stock Movement Grinds to a Halt as Investors Wait and See
by David Russell | Apr 24, 2023
Stocks have stopped moving as investors wait for more news on corporate earnings and interest rates. The S&P 500 slid 0.1 percent between Friday, April 14, and Friday, April 21. If that percentage change sounds small, consider that the index fluctuated less than...
Inflation Fades, Earnings Beat and Stocks Push Higher
by David Russell | Apr 17, 2023
Stocks keep pushing higher as inflation fades and earnings beat expectations. The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent between Friday, April 7, and Friday, April 14. It was the fourth gain in the last five weeks. Several data points suggested further slowing of inflation, the...
Technical Analysis: Merck Could Be Breaking Out
by David Russell | Apr 14, 2023
Merck surged in late 2022 and consolidated during the first quarter. Now the drug maker could be breaking out. The first pattern on today’s chart is the rally between mid-October and early January, which included a breakout to new record highs. MRK then pulled back...
Technology Rallied in March as Interest Rates Eased and Outlooks Improved
by David Russell | Apr 3, 2023
Technology stocks are rallying again as interest rates fall and fundamentals improve. The S&P 500 rose 3.5 percent in March, while the Nasdaq-100 surged 9.5 percent. That 6 point lead by the Nasdaq was its widest margin of outperformance since early 2009,...
Chart of the Day: Apple Pulls Back After a ‘Golden Cross’
by David Russell | Mar 29, 2023
Apple clawed to a six-month high last week. Is it done or will prices continue higher? The first pattern on today’s chart is the price level around $156. AAPL peaked there on March 6 and bounced there yesterday. Some chart watchers could think ... For more,...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Technology Rebounds as New Companies Rally In the Sector
by David Russell | Sep 5, 2023
Technology stocks are rebounding from a weak August as investors target a widening swath of companies like Intel and Western Digital. The S&P 500 rose 2.5 percent between Friday, August 25, and Friday, September 1. But technology stocks rallied 4.4 percent, their...
Amazon.com vs Meta: Earnings Highlight Confusing Changes as Covid Winds Down
by David Russell | Feb 4, 2022
Amazon.com is flying and Meta Networks crashed: This earnings season is highlighting new divisions between haves and have-nots as America moves away from the coronavirus pandemic. On one side are companies successfully executing their plans: Amazon.com (AMZN),...
The Nasdaq-100 Rebounds After a Brutal January: What Does the Chart Say?
by David Russell | Feb 3, 2022
The Nasdaq-100 has rebounded following a sharp drop. It's a good time to consider where things stand with the tech-heavy index. First, Wednesday's close represented almost exactly a 50 percent retracement of the decline from December 28 through January 24. Second,...
Options Alert: Giant Neutral Strategy Targets Intel Following Sharp Drop
by David Russell | Feb 1, 2022
Intel's been dropping for nine months, but one big options trader is looking for the semiconductor giant to stabilize. This large transaction involving short calls and short puts occurred yesterday as INTC tried to hold its lowest level in over a year: 30,000 March 50...
Taper Tantrum? High Multiple Growth Stocks Take a Hit Before the Big Fed Meeting
by David Russell | Dec 15, 2021
High-multiple growth names crumbled again yesterday as investors brace for tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. Using TradeStation's extensive library of fundamental and technical data, we compared S&P 500 members that fell at least 1 percent on...