Market Insights
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Stocks Pause as Earnings Pass and Inflation Rises
Stocks just paused as a blistering earnings season nears its conclusion. The S&P 500 slid 0.4 percent between Friday, February 2, and Friday, February 9. It was only the second decline in the last 16 weeks, according to TradeStation data. Technology led to the...
The Structure of Options Trades
While options can be traded by themselves, investors often use them in conjunction with other securities. So before going further, let's consider the four basic ways that options trades are structured. You Can Trade Options by Themselves As we learned in a previous...
Stocks Break Losing Streak as Trump and China Keep Talking
Stocks just broke a four-week losing streak as trade tensions with China eased. The S&P 500 rose 2.8 percent between Friday, August 23, and Friday, August 30. Gains were extremely broad, with more than 90 percent of the index's member stocks advancing. Every major...
Apple Slips From Top Spot as Volatility Spikes: August at TradeStation
Volatility spiked in August, shifting attention away from individual stocks and toward the indexes. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was the busiest symbol on TradeStation since the end of July, ending a four-month reign at the top by Apple (AAPL). Other index-linked...
Consumer Keeps Looking Stronger as Other Parts of the Economy Soften
The U.S. consumer keeps roaring ahead, even as investors worry about President Trump's trade war against China. Consumer spending rose 4.7 percent between April and June, according to the Commerce Department's gross domestic product (GDP). That was not only a big...
Buying and Selling Options
Most clients understand buying and selling stocks. Options are similar, and can be traded in the same brokerage accounts. However, you should know some basic differences. Bid / Ask Spreads Matter A bid/ask spread is the difference between where you can sell a security...
Stocks Fell Again Last Week as Trade War Kept Getting Worse
Stocks remain under pressure as the trade war against China worsens. The S&P 500 was positive for most of last week, but then came a quick succession of events on Friday morning. First, Beijing imposed tariffs on an additional $75 billion of U.S. products....
Technology & Communication
Check Out This Bullish Options Activity in Giant Semiconductor and Mining Stocks
The two largest companies in their industries had bullish options activity today: Intel and Vale. Intel (INTC), the world's biggest semiconductor maker, saw heavy call buying shortly after the opening bell. Traders initially purchased the 25-June 62 calls for $0.10 to...