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
Has the Market Gotten Stuck After a 6-Month Run?
by David Russell | Oct 20, 2025
Stocks are moving sideways as investors wait for news on tariffs, the economy and earnings.
Is a Reversal Coming? Rate of Change Can Help Spot Turns in the Stock Market
by David Russell | Sep 20, 2022
Not all price moves are created equal. Today we'll explore a common tool for judging the strength of a rally or decline: the rate of change indicator. Rate of change shows the percentage change over a certain number of trailing bars. (TradeStation's platforms use a...
Stocks Remain Under Pressure Before a Major Federal Reserve Meeting
by David Russell | Sep 19, 2022
Stocks remain under pressure as investors brace for another interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 slid 4.8 percent between Friday, September 9, and Friday, September 16. It was the fourth negative week in the last five, and the biggest drop since...
Technical Analysis: Tight Consolidation in Another Clean Energy Stock
by David Russell | Sep 14, 2022
Clean-energy stocks have been one of the strongest parts of the market lately, and today’s chart focuses on a new battery-tech name: Stem. The first pattern is the quick uptrend in late summer, fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act and strong quarterly results on...
Inflation Jumps Before the Fed: Are There Any Signs of Improvement?
by David Russell | Sep 14, 2022
Inflation jumped again in August, but there could be signs of price increases slowing. The Consumer Price Index rose 8.3 percent last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was 0.2 percentage point higher than expected. The surprise made investors...
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...
Chart of the Day: Is It Time to Go Back to the Well in Occidental?
by David Russell | Sep 12, 2022
Occidental Petroleum is the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 this year, but was the biggest decliner last week. Is the dip an opportunity for the bulls? The first pattern on today's chart is the surge to a new 52-week high in late August. It is one of only 12 S&P...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Troubled Trio? Why These Megacaps Are Faltering in 2024
by David Russell | Mar 5, 2024
The stock market is off to a roaring start in 2024, but three former leaders might be left behind. Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOGL) have dropped in recent weeks as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 rallied to new highs. They're now below chart levels that...
Big Tech Beats, Big Tech Misses: Earnings This Week
by David Russell | May 2, 2019
Three of the biggest companies in the U.S. have reported earnings in the last week. Their results were good, so-so, and bad. Take the good news first: Apple (AAPL) is starting to move beyond its reliance on smart phones and shifting into longer-lasting businesses....
Apple Rules the Roost as IPhone Maker Surges: April at TradeStation
by William Owens | May 1, 2019
Apple (AAPL) was the most popular symbol at TradeStation in April as the technology giant kept rising for a fourth straight month. There weren't many changes to the list of most active stocks and ETFs last month. Attention continued to focus on large technology...
Know Your Options: What Earnings Mean for Volatility
by David Russell | Apr 30, 2019
One of the most predictable trends in the market is that implied volatility rises before big events. But do you know what this means and how to trade it? Here are the basics. Options price in the likelihood of a stock moving, either higher or lower. They get more...
Stocks Keep Climbing as Market Enters a Huge Week for Events
by David Russell | Apr 29, 2019
Stocks keep climbing amid bullish news as we enter a super-busy week of events. The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent between Friday, April 19, and Friday, April 26. The index also closed at a new all-time high of 2940, with technology and the Nasdaq-100 still leading the...





