Market Insights
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The Iron Condor Strategy: A Guide to Options Trading Neutral Markets
The iron condor is a commonly used strategy among experienced traders who wish to navigate neutral markets and tightly manage risk.
Quadruple Witching Dates for 2023: How Can They Impact Stock and Futures Trading?
What Is Quad Witching? Quadruple witching is an event in financial markets when four different sets of futures and options expire on the same day. Futures and options are derivatives, linked to underlying stock prices. When derivatives expire, traders must close...
This Year Could Be Starting to Look Like the Mirror Image of 2022
Stocks just rose for the second straight week, potentially raising an important question: Will 2023 be a mirror image of last year? The S&P 500 advanced 2.7 percent between Friday, January 6, and Friday, January 13. It's gained the first two weeks of 2023. Last...
Futures 101: The Difference Between Trading Stocks and Futures
Not well-versed in the futures market? Scared about a new kind of advanced product? Here are some basic points to get started. Futures are different from traditional stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) because they track an index. You don't own anything. You...
Technical Analysis: Have Chipmakers Already Bottomed?
Most people know that technology stocks ended 2022 on a weak note. But they may not realize one group started to outperform: chipmakers. The first pattern on today’s chart of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is the falling trendline along the highs of last year....
Fear Could Be Evaporating After Another Cool Inflation Report
Inflation was lower than feared for the third straight month, and investors loved it. December's consumer price index (CPI) shrank 0.1 percent, compared with estimates for an unchanged reading. It followed cooler-than-expected readings for November and October,...
A Soft Landing? Why Stocks May Be Attempting a Turn as 2023 Begins
Stocks began the New Year with gains as investors see the potential for inflation to ease without a recession. The S&P 500 broke a four-week losing streak, rising 1.5 percent in the holiday-shortened period between Friday, December 30. Every major sector advanced,...
Technology & Communication
Bears Rejected: Nasdaq Reclaims Leadership on AI, Earnings Growth
Strong earnings and optimism about rate cuts seem to be overpowering bearish news in the stock market. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 percent between Friday, May 17, and Friday, May 24. The index recovered from a sharp drop on Thursday and stayed above its...
Stocks Just Had a Roller Coaster Week of Fear, Hope and Volatility
Stocks ended last week barely changed, but it was a wild ride of hope, fear and volatility. The S&P 500 crashed early on economic worries, and one point was down 3.6 percent. It quickly bounced as investors remembered some potential positives and ended just 0.3...
Streaming Wars Dominate Activity: September at TradeStation
The streaming wars came to TradeStation last month, with two of the biggest stocks in the industry dominating activity on our platform. Roku (ROKU) was the second-busiest symbol among our clients in September. The provider of media players lost one-third of its value...
What Recession? Chip Stocks Had Another Strong Quarter
Two strange things happened last quarter: Chip makers went up and health-care stocks went down. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose almost 7 percent between June 28 and September 30. Meanwhile the SPDR Health Care ETF (XLV) slid about 3 percent. This is...
Stocks Down as Range Tightens Before a Huge News Month
Stocks fell again last week but remain trapped in a range as investors wait for some huge news events next month. The S&P 500 slid 1 percent between Friday, September 20, and Friday, September 27. Still, the index held some key levels and remained within striking...