Market Insights
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Stocks
Options
Futures
The Basics of Options
by David Russell | Sep 21, 2025
Options are an important tool for many retail investors. They can either replace trading shares, or make it easier to position oneself in stocks. Let’s consider the first things options traders need to know. An Option’s Price Is Usually Called ‘Premium’ There are some...
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...
Stocks Keep Sliding as Inflation Squeezes Profits and Consumers
by David Russell | Mar 14, 2022
Stocks fell again last week as investors see more risk from the war in Ukraine and rising inflation. The S&P 500 slid 2.9 percent between Friday, March 4, and Friday, March 11. It was the fourth decline in the last five weeks, miring the index at levels from...
Charting Tutorial: Comparing Multiple Stocks on TradeStation’s Platform
by David Russell | Mar 11, 2022
TradeStation is known for its powerful charting tools. Today we'll explain how to analyze two or more stocks in a single chart. Start by opening a new chart on TradeStation's desktop platform. Click on the Apps bar at the top of the workspace and select the Chart...
Global Energy Squeeze Revives Interest In Solar Stocks Following a Year of Consolidation
by David Russell | Mar 10, 2022
Solar energy stocks were one of the top performing groups in the pandemic year 2020. Now after a long pause, the global energy shock is reviving the group. SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) is up 36 percent in the last month, making it the top performing member of the...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Options Alert: Call Volume Grows as Salesforce.com Nears Highs
by David Russell | May 9, 2023
Major technology stocks like Apple and Microsoft jumped on quarterly results. Will peer Saleforce.com make a similar move? Marc Benioff's provider of cloud-based marketing software is up 49 percent this year after a sharp selloff in 2022. It has paused over the last...
Some Key Funds May Be on the Precipice
by David Russell | Oct 22, 2018
Volatility's on the rise this month, and three popular ETFs are trying to hang on. The Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH), S&P SPDR Financial ETF (XLF) and S&P SPDR Energy ETF (XLE) had all slammed down to apparent support levels earlier in the year. At...
Clients Rush Back to ETFs as Volatility Pops
by David Russell | Oct 22, 2018
Clients are rushing back to exchange-traded funds this month as volatility mounts. Five of the 10 most heavily traded symbols with TradeStation in October are ETFs. That marks a sharp swing from September, when calm market conditions pushed attention toward...
Cloud IPO Available to TradeStation Clients
by David Russell | Oct 18, 2018
A cloud-computing IPO could be coming your way, if you act fast. Software company SolarWinds (SWI) is going public this week, and we've just learned it will be available on our partner ClickIPO. As many clients know, ClickIPO provides direct access to initial public...
Long-Term Bulls Are Active Today: Options Recap
by David Russell | Oct 15, 2018
Cell phones and natural gas. Those are some big trades in the options market today. Let's start with Sprint (S), which saw the purchase of 20,000 May 7 calls for $0.50 and the sale of 40,000 May 8 calls for $0.21. It's a little complicated, so here's a breakdown of...




