Market Insights
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Stocks Are Turbulent, But Go Nowhere
by David Russell | Nov 17, 2025
Stocks were barely changed last week despite a big jump and sharp decline.
Double Top Before the Debt Ceiling? Market Trends This Week
by David Russell | May 4, 2023
Downloads are available here. Register for Market Trends here. Sizing Up the S&P 500 Attention now turns to debt ceilingPotential double-top versus February highFalse breakout on weekly chart versus last weekTight range has potential for increased volatilityFewer...
Stocks Keep Fighting Higher as Inflation Slows and Earnings Beat Expectations
by David Russell | May 1, 2023
Stocks kept fighting higher last month as inflation slowed and earnings beat estimates. The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent in April, its third gain in the first four months of the year. The index has returned to challenge its February high, and is still above falling...
Chart of the Day: Will Alcoa Continue Lower?
by David Russell | Apr 24, 2023
Alcoa rallied early last year after the Ukraine war threatened aluminum supplies. It’s struggled since and now some traders may expect further pushes to the downside. The first pattern on today’s chart is the series of lower highs since August (marked with red...
Breakout or Breakdown? Stock Movement Grinds to a Halt as Investors Wait and See
by David Russell | Apr 24, 2023
Stocks have stopped moving as investors wait for more news on corporate earnings and interest rates. The S&P 500 slid 0.1 percent between Friday, April 14, and Friday, April 21. If that percentage change sounds small, consider that the index fluctuated less than...
Inflation Fades, Earnings Beat and Stocks Push Higher
by David Russell | Apr 17, 2023
Stocks keep pushing higher as inflation fades and earnings beat expectations. The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent between Friday, April 7, and Friday, April 14. It was the fourth gain in the last five weeks. Several data points suggested further slowing of inflation, the...
Technical Analysis: Merck Could Be Breaking Out
by David Russell | Apr 14, 2023
Merck surged in late 2022 and consolidated during the first quarter. Now the drug maker could be breaking out. The first pattern on today’s chart is the rally between mid-October and early January, which included a breakout to new record highs. MRK then pulled back...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Options Alert: Long-Term Position Stays Bullish on Chip Giant
by David Russell | Sep 25, 2024
Will Broadcom be the next company to achieve a $1 trillion valuation? One big options trader may think so. Check out this unusual activity yesterday in AVGO, which is up more than 50 percent so far this year: 7,000 December 200 calls were purchased for $5.40. 7,000...
Should This Industry Replace Transports in Dow Theory?
by David Russell | Jan 8, 2020
Something weird is happening in the market: Transportation stocks are dead in the water as almost everything else rallies. This pattern runs contrary to "Dow Theory," one of the most cherished concepts in the history of investing. Created by journalist Charles Dow in...
5G, Chinese Stocks and the Bull Market Goes Mainstream? Some Things to Watch in 2020
by David Russell | Jan 6, 2020
A new decade just started. While history might not always follow neat chapters, the stock market does have phases. Let's consider some potential trends that could develop over the course of 2020. Bull Market 'Goes Mainstream?' The first big narrative could be that the...
Amazon.com, NIO and Other Movers You Might Have Missed in Late 2019
by David Russell | Jan 3, 2020
Today's the last session in the holiday season. It's a good time to review some interesting stories that might have escaped your attention in late 2019. Amazon.com (AMZN) and NIO (NIO) both surged on surprisingly positive news after Christmas. Others, like networking...
Semiconductors and Apple Just Led the S&P 500 to its Best Year Since 2013
by David Russell | Jan 2, 2020
Last year was dominated by technology trades as investors returned to their favorite corner of the stock market. Let's review some of the biggest movers. First of all, semiconductors ripped higher as orders rebounded. The industry may also remain in focus this year as...





