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Stocks Rose Again in July as New Sectors Spring to Life
by David Russell | Aug 1, 2024
Stocks kept rising last month, but important changes could be happening as the second half of 2024 begins. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent between Friday, June 28, and Wednesday, July 31. However the Nasdaq-100 fell 1.6 percent and lagged the broader market by its...
Bulls in the China Shop? Call Buyers Just Piled Into Alibaba
by David Russell | Jun 9, 2022
Most stocks have been under pressure lately, but there could be bulls in the China shop. E-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) surged 15 percent to $119.62 despite the S&P 500 sinking more than 1 percent. The rally landed BABA at its highest closing price since February...
Chart of the Day: Has the Tide Finally Turned for This Chinese E-Commerce Giant?
by David Russell | Jun 8, 2022
Chinese stocks like Alibaba have been under pressure for the last 1-1/2 years, but now the tide could be turning. The first pattern on today's chart is the high-volume bullish gap on March 16 after officials in Beijing took a more supportive approach toward financial...
Special Report for the Tech Correction: An Investor’s Guide to Semiconductor Stocks
by David Russell | Jun 8, 2022
Few industries are more essential to the modern economy than semiconductors. This article will review key companies in the group, which has pulled back significantly during this year's selloff in technology. From their earliest use in computers and the space program,...
Breakout or Breakdown? Investors Brace for Inflation After Scary Comments on the Economy
by David Russell | Jun 6, 2022
Negative headlines battered stocks last week. Traders will now watch to see if they can continue to bounce or fail at potentially key resistance. The S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent in the holiday-shortened week between Friday, May 27, and Friday, June 3. The dip...
Can Marathon Oil Keep Running? At Least One Options Trader Thinks It Can
by David Russell | Jun 2, 2022
Marathon Oil is one of the top-performing stocks this year, and one big options trader is looking for the run to continue. Check out this large transaction yesterday in the Houston-based exploration and production company: Some 13,874 July 26 calls were sold for...
Technical Analysis: Bonds Fly a Potential Bearish Flag Before Key Economic Data
by David Russell | Jun 1, 2022
Bonds have been in a steady downtrend all year. And now, after a period of consolidation, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF may be set to continue lower. This main pattern on this chart is the modest rebound over the last three weeks. Given the preceding four...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication
Every Tech Company in the S&P 500 Fell Last Quarter — Except July’s Mystery Stock
by David Russell | Jul 4, 2022
The technology sector just had its worst quarter in 14 years. Every member declined in the period -- except for July's mystery stock. The SPDR Technology Sector ETF (XLK) fell 20 percent between March 31 and June 30 -- its worst quarterly performance since late 2008....
Santa Comes Early for Investors as FANG Stages Late Year Comeback
by David Russell | Dec 23, 2019
Santa came early this year, giving stock investors their tenth positive week in the last 11. High-profile technology stocks led the charge. The S&P 500 rose 1.7 percent between Friday, December 13, and Friday, December 20. The index continued its breakout into new...
Stocks Keep Rising as U.S. and China Formalize Key Trade Deal
by David Russell | Dec 16, 2019
Stocks rose to new highs last week as China and the U.S. formalized a trade deal, easing tensions between the world's two largest economies. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent between Friday, December 6, and Friday, December 13. It was the 10th positive week in the last...
Risk Appetite Sweeps Market as Powell Freezes Interest Rates
by David Russell | Dec 12, 2019
Optimism is spreading in the stock market as the Federal Reserve freezes interest rates. Companies that benefit from stronger global growth rose yesterday after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged. Those include semiconductors, emerging markets, materials...
Roku and Tesla Dominate Activity: November at TradeStation
by David Russell | Nov 29, 2019
A pair of heavily traded technology stocks dominated activity at TradeStation this month amid a flurry of news. Streaming-video stock Roku (ROKU) was the busiest symbol across our accounts, eclipsing even the market-tracking SPDR S&P 500 fund (SPY) and Apple...