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Key Points About Selling Credit Spreads
by David Russell | Nov 10, 2025
A previous post covered debit spreads, when you pay a debit looking for a stock or ETF to move in a certain direction. Credit spreads are just the opposite, with traders collecting premium up front in hope that the stock won’t move a certain way. What a Credit Spread...
Stocks Rebounded Last Week as Investors Put Rate Fears Behind Them
by David Russell | Oct 9, 2023
Stocks clawed higher last week as investors stopped worrying about high interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent between Friday, September 29, and Friday, October 6. At one point the index was down 1.7 percent, but it rallied sharply on Friday after...
Chart of the Day: Will Crude Oil Run Again?
by David Russell | Oct 6, 2023
Crude-oil futures are having their worst week since March, but some traders might think about buying the pullback. The first pattern on today’s chart is the price area around 83.50. It represented the peak in December and April. It’s also near the spot where ... For...
S&P 500 Struggles Before Payrolls Report: Market Trends This Week
by David Russell | Oct 5, 2023
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 remains below old support around 4330 Holding above 4200, 200-day MA, with potential for continuation...
Higher Rates Just Gave Stocks Their Worst Month of The Year
by David Russell | Oct 2, 2023
Stocks pulled back hard in September as interest rates and oil prices soared. The S&P 500 dropped 4.9 percent last month, its biggest decline since December 2022. About 85 percent of the index's members lost value. Similar to August, energy was the only positive...
Stocks Grope for Support as Yields Jump: Market Trends This Week
by David Russell | Sep 28, 2023
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 forms hammer at lowest level since June 1 Potential support at early-June range, bottom of...
Chart of the Day: Small Caps Are Leading to the Downside
by David Russell | Sep 27, 2023
Indexes of big companies like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 neared record highs in July, but not the small cap Russell 2000. Today we’ll use a weekly chart to consider how it’s leading to the downside. The first pattern is the ... For more, please click here to view...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Stocks Keep Climbing as Chips Falter and ‘Everything Else’ Advances
by David Russell | Oct 21, 2024
Chipmakers have led the market all year, but they could be losing their edge as investors position for new conditions into yearend. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) dominated price action in the first half and remained the top performer through the end of...
The Nasdaq Just Had the Worst Week In a Decade, By this Measure
by David Russell | Jul 20, 2020
Stocks rose again last week, flirting with post-pandemic highs, even as major technology names declined. The S&P 500 rose 1.25 percent between Friday, July 10, and Friday, July 17. It was the index's third straight weekly gain, with more than four-fifths of its...
Netflix’s Covid Surge Fades and Banks Struggle: Earnings This Week
by David Russell | Jul 17, 2020
Earnings season has begun on a weak note as banks struggle and Netflix said its blistering growth will slow. The four biggest U.S. lenders -- JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) -- have issued quarterly results. JPM, C and...
Here’s How to Be Ready the Next Time Momentum Stocks Pull Back
by David Russell | Jul 15, 2020
Stocks had a dramatic and fast pullback this week. Here's an example of ways to find pullbacks when something like this happens. The screenshot below shows members of the Nasdaq-100 that pulled back to test their 20-day moving averages on Tuesday. This can be a simple...
Tesla, Netflix and These Other Tech Stocks Broke Out Yesterday
by David Russell | Jul 2, 2020
Tesla, Netflix and Amazon.com are leading a breakout in the technology sector as investors prepare for the Fourth of July weekend. The e-commerce giant, electric-car maker and streaming-video provider closed at new highs yesterday. But they weren't alone. Many smaller...




