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Oil, Airlines and Housing: Charts to Watch

Oil, Airlines and Housing: Charts to Watch

Stocks have bounced sharply this week, but oil continues to slide. Crude oil futures (@CL) closed at their lowest level in more than four months yesterday. The move follows a post on Market Insights last month that highlighted growing inventories and weak price action...

Perfect Storm Handing Nasdaq its Worst Month Since 2008

Perfect Storm Handing Nasdaq its Worst Month Since 2008

A perfect storm of negatives is handing the Nasdaq-100 its worst month since the financial crisis. The technology-heavy index lost 11 percent of its value between the end of September and yesterday's close. Depending on where this October ends, it'll compare with...

Can Indexes Hold After Buyers Defend Key Levels?

Can Indexes Hold After Buyers Defend Key Levels?

Stocks fell yesterday, but it almost felt like a bullish day when you consider how much worse it could have been. The S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 2-3 percent about halfway through the morning. They probed some key levels for...

Some Key Funds May Be on the Precipice

Some Key Funds May Be on the Precipice

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...

Stocks Cling to Gains After Volatility Shock

Stocks Cling to Gains After Volatility Shock

Stocks are trying to hold their ground after a brutal volatility shock earlier this month. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 percent between Friday, October 12, and Friday, October 19 -- its first gain in three weeks. The index is still down more than 5 percent since...

A Key Trend Line May Be at Risk

A Key Trend Line May Be at Risk

Just how much damage has been done to the charts so far this month? The answer may be "quite a lot." As readers of Market Insights know, a trend line has run beneath the S&P 500 all year. It provided a nice entry in late June, but now it may have turned from...

Chart Alerts Offer Endless Possibilities

Chart Alerts Offer Endless Possibilities

You're a mover and a shaker. There's no time to stare at the screen all day, waiting for a stock to pop. With TradeStation alerts, you won't be left out in the cold when price movement gets hot! Today we'll set chart alerts in the desktop platform. They can send a...

Energy Waffles as Iran Sanctions Draw Near

Energy Waffles as Iran Sanctions Draw Near

The S&P 500 bounced after last week's sharp drop, but oil hasn't been so lucky. Crude oil futures (@CL) closed yesterday at their lowest level in a month. The weakness comes as news events turn potentially bearish for the commodity. Government statistics on crude...

Basics of Hedging, Part 3: Buying Vs. Selling Options

Basics of Hedging, Part 3: Buying Vs. Selling Options

We recently outlined protective puts and covered calls as common hedging techniques. This brings us to the important question of selling options versus buying options. To understand the these two basic kinds of transactions, traders need to recognize the difference...