Market Insights
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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.
Bullish and Bearish: Key Points About Vertical Option Spreads
by David Russell | May 8, 2024
Vertical spreads are one of the most common strategies in the options market because they can generate leverage with limited risk. This article will consider key points about bullish and bearish spreads. Vertical spreads involve two "legs" on the same underlier to...
Chart of the Day: Oracle May Have Found Support
by David Russell | May 7, 2024
Oracle jumped to new highs almost two months ago. Now, after a pullback, the software giant may have found support. The first pattern on today’s chart is the gap higher on March 12 after earnings surprised to the upside. ORCL retraced the move and is starting to...
Stocks Could Be Stabilizing. How Do I Find Potential Opportunities?
by David Russell | May 7, 2024
The stock market is bouncing after a dip. Are any companies stabilizing as sentiment recovers? Today's article will consider a method for discovering potential opportunities. It uses TradeStation's EasyLanguage scripting tool to create a custom indicator, which can...
Stocks Claw Back from Losses as News Shifts and Yields Fall
by David Russell | May 6, 2024
Last week's news wasn't great, but it was good enough to stop the bears. The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent between Friday, April 26, and Friday, May 3. At one point the index was down as much as 2 percent, only to snap back in the last two sessions. Yields also fell...
Potential Bear Flag as News Worsens: Market Trends This Week
by David Russell | May 2, 2024
Downloads are available here. TradeStation’s ideas on TradingView are available here. Register for Market Trends here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 S&P 500 stalls under 50-day MA, April 12 (weekly) close Potential bearish flag forming January 31...
Stocks Retreat: Dovish Hopes Fade Before Key Fed Meeting
by David Russell | May 1, 2024
Stocks have pulled back as investors brace for more hawkish news from the Federal Reserve today. The S&P 500 declined 4.2 percent in April, breaking a five-month winning streak that began in November. Selling was widespread across the index, with more than...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Chips Push Higher Before Big Tech Earnings
by David Russell | Jan 22, 2025
Fourth-quarter earnings season has begun. Financials were the first major sector to report and the agenda will soon turn to large technology companies like Microsoft and Apple. This article will cover some key dates and recent news on these major growth stocks. It...
The ‘Communications’ Sector Is Coming Into Its Own, Thanks to Alphabet, Disney, Twitter
by David Russell | Mar 10, 2021
It’s been 2-1/2 years since the Communications Sector was launched. And now the benefits are becoming apparent. TradeStation data shows that the S&P 500 Communication Sector ETF (XLC) came within 0.05 percent of a new 52-week high yesterday, the closest of all the...
This Social Media Stock Has Pulled Back Following a Breakout
by David Russell | Mar 10, 2021
Recent weeks have seen breakouts in smaller social-media stocks like Twitter and Snap , which have both pulled back. Today we’re looking at TWTR . Jack Dorsey’s microblogging service didn’t only beat earnings and revenue estimates on February 9. It also showed...
Tesla Causes QQQ’s Worst Showing in a Generation: This Chart Shows the Dramatic Shift Taking Place
by David Russell | Mar 8, 2021
The rotation away from large Nasdaq stocks like Tesla has intensified, resulting in the market's biggest divergence since the dotcom bubble broke a generation ago. Here's a weekly chart of the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ). The lower study shows its relative strength versus...
Technology and the Nasdaq Turn Negative for the Year as Reopening Triggers Broad Rotation in the Stock Market
by David Russell | Mar 4, 2021
The Nasdaq-100 just sank into negative territory for the year as investors dump the same technology stocks that boomed during the pandemic. The index is now 1.6 percent below its closing price on December 31. That dragged on two important exchange-traded funds (ETFs)...





