Market Insights
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Is More Weakness Coming in the U.S. Dollar?
by David Russell | Aug 7, 2025
The greenback has shown signs of continuing lower amid weak economic data and expected changes at the Fed.
Options Alert: Call Buyer Gives Chinese Tech Stock More Time for a Potential Move
by David Russell | Mar 22, 2022
Chinese technology stocks jumped last week, and one big options trader is targeting a former high flier. Check out this unusual options activity in Shanghai-based e-commerce company Pinduoduo (PDD): A block of 15,000 April 50 calls was sold for $1.67 against open...
Tech Stocks Break the Downtrend Despite a Hawkish Fed. Are the Bears Losing Control?
by David Russell | Mar 21, 2022
Stocks just had their biggest rally in over a year as a broad cloud of bearishness began to lift, despite an increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 rose 6.2 percent between Friday, March, 11, and Friday, March 18. The Nasdaq-100 jumped 8.4 and the Dow...
Housing Market Defies Higher Rates as Strong Demand Fuels Construction Boom
by David Russell | Mar 18, 2022
Housing stocks are down sharply this year as investors worry about higher interest rates. However activity on the ground continues to accelerate. The Commerce Department reported that February housing starts rose almost 7 percent to 1.77 million. It beat forecasts by...
After Getting Cut in Half, An Options Trader Thinks this Social Media Giant May Have Bottomed
by David Russell | Mar 17, 2022
Social-media giant Meta Platforms has gotten cut in half, and now one big investor seems to think it will stabilize. Check out the unusual options activity detected in the company formerly known as Facebook (FB) yesterday: A trader sold 16,500 8-April 200 puts for...
Bullish or Bearish? The S&P 500 Faces a Death Cross as It Tries to Break a Falling Trendline
by David Russell | Mar 16, 2022
The S&P 500 has been in a steady downtrend all year. That makes it a good time to assess the state of the index before the big Fed announcement later today. Bearish and bullish forces are battling each other on this chart. First you have the sharply falling...
Inflation, War, Covid: The Federal Reserve Could Be Raising Interest Rates At a Complicated Time
by David Russell | Mar 15, 2022
The Federal Reserve begins a key meeting today as war and coronavirus create an increasingly complicated economic environment. Markets widely expect the Fed to raise its target interest rate by 25 basis points at 2 p.m. ET tomorrow. It would be not only the first...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Chart of the Day: Is Oracle Attempting a Breakout?
by David Russell | Jan 4, 2023
Oracle has performed better than most technology and software companies, and now it may be attempting a breakout. The first pattern on today’s chart is the triangle that took shape in December. Prices ended 2022 slightly above the top, and buyers jumped in yesterday....
Volatility Evaporates as Election Drives Relief Rally
by David Russell | Nov 7, 2018
Stocks are enjoying a healthy rally today as the uncertainty of mid-term elections fades. With so much going on, let's just hit on a few key takeaways. First, health care is leading the rally after Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives for the first...
Boring Stocks Rose Before the Midterms
by David Russell | Nov 7, 2018
After October's volatility, investors seemed to be playing it safe. Big and "boring" stocks are among the top performers in the last month. Most of them are consumer facing rather than dynamic innovators. We're talking Gillette razors, big-box retail and Egg...
Support and Resistance at Play on Some Key Charts
by David Russell | Nov 6, 2018
Support and resistance may be at play on some key charts. In case you don't know, support and resistance are important price levels where buyers and sellers tend to be active. Traders often use them to decide when to enter or exit positions. One technique is to buy a...
Why Stocks Move: Investor Rotation
by David Russell | Nov 6, 2018
This post, originally published on September 19, is is part of a series about the catalysts for stock movements. Sign up for TradeStation's Master Class learning sessions next week for the complete course. Anyone who's been in the market for a while will...




