Tag: trade
Three Rules For Trading During A Bear Market
Novice traders treat bull and bear markets the same. “I just trade like a bull market in reverse!” It’s 100% not that simple. Bull markets tend to move steadily up… bear markets are incredibly volatile. That’s not to say you can’t make money during this crazy market. You simply need some rules of thumb to […]
This Trade Can Make Money Whether A Stock Goes Up Or Down
One of my favorite trading strategies—and one that big-time money managers and volatility traders use—is trading an iron condor. An iron condor is selling a downside put spread and an upside call spread at the same time. In this scenario, you cap your risk because you have a spread with a defined loss. At the […]
3 Energy Stocks Gushing Higher
The energy sector is on fire and just broke out The Energy Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) offers a diversified way to play Friday’s strong rally in energy stocks. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) is blasting through resistance with some heat. Halliburton (HAL) has one of the cleanest setups among oil services stocks. The time to buy energy stocks is now. The […]
Look For This Stock To Move Higher In The Short-Term
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) seems to be gearing up for a surge as per its latest charts. International Business Machines Corporation provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. Its Cloud & Cognitive Software segment offers software for vertical and domain-specific solutions in various application areas; customer information control system and storage, and analytics and integration […]
Why Successful Traders Make More By Trading Less
During my 25 years of trading and mentoring others, I have been dragged through the coals a few times. And by that, I mean I have: blown up a few trading accounts; had some massive gains only to watch them turn into worthless penny stocks, and; I even had one trade based around the volatility […]
Eight Easy Tips That Can Turn Your Trades From Losers to Winners
There are many profitable option trading strategies, but none of them will work unless you are willing to stick to a set of guiding principles. Several rules I employ are helpful in maximizing profits, limiting losses and, most importantly, taking the emotion out of trading. Below, I will go over my basic trading philosophy, why […]
How To Generate Cash Flow From Holding Volatile Small Caps
Market volatility has been at its highest since February. Small cap stocks have been particularly volatile lately. Keep in mind, small caps tend to get sold early when there is a flight to quality. The popular small cap stock ETF, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) dropped from a 52-week high near $245 all the way […]
The Top 10 Stocks To Watch This Week For Possible Breakouts
Picking a winning trade on a consistent basis is not simply a stroke of luck. It’s the result of calculated screening, planning, and deliberation. With this in mind, we have started a new weekly series on our top 10 stocks to watch this week — stocks that look poised for a possible breakout in the […]
3 Options Trades To Play Both Sides Of The Market
Low-risk entries await in today’s trio of options trades to consider The S&P 500 just topped off its best October performance in six years. So much for the seasonal headwinds haunting stocks this year. Instead, a powerful bid beneath the surface continues to propel equities to record highs. Just this week, the small-cap-laden Russell 2000 Index finally […]
The Top 10 Stocks To Watch This Week For Possible Breakouts
Picking a winning trade on a consistent basis is not simply a stroke of luck. It’s the result of calculated screening, planning, and deliberation. With this in mind, we have started a new weekly series on our top 10 stocks to watch this week — stocks that look poised for a possible breakout in the […]
Market Volatility: Trade Cautiously But Without Fear
Being a market prognosticator often means spewing thoughts and opinions to create content well beyond the reality of underlying activity. I should know, after working with Jim Cramer — the sound bite-creating master — making table-pounding proclamations and outrageous predictions, all the while, under the surface, acting as a rational, risk-averse portfolio manager. I give […]
Stocks Are Plunging – Is Gold The Right Hedge?
When the stock market does its best impression of a swan dive, it tends to come from an unexpected catalyst. It’s generally not something about interest rates or corporate earnings or jobless numbers. Those factors matter over time, but they don’t usually cause sudden, severe moves in the market. No, very large selloffs often come […]
Will Stocks Continue To Rally Despite The Coronavirus Scare?
The stock market can be a crazy place. The unpredictability of the financial markets is what makes them so exciting and challenging for traders (and investors). While the long-term direction of stocks has always been up, there are definitely significant periods of volatility over shorter time frames. For instance, this year we’ve already had a […]
3 Options Trades For The Hottest Stocks On The Street
Compelling setups beckon for BA, NFLX and AMD Earnings season is drawing to a close, and I’m finding it much easier to discover trade ideas for individual stocks. Today we’ll look at three of the best post-earnings setups and build-out options trades to capitalize on. Nothing ignites volatility quite like an earnings announcement, and these […]
Here’s What A One-Year Covered Call In Microsoft Looks Like
In the era of ultra-low interest rates, yield enhancement strategies have become prolific. Actually, let’s take a step back. It used to be that you could generate a reasonable yield from fixed interest investments, like government or corporate bonds. However, with interest rates approaching zero, those types of investments just don’t provide robust yields. So […]
How To Read Options Activity For Clues To A Move
Using option activity as an indicator of impending price moves is difficult, subjective, and unreliable. That being said, it can help confirm other indicators and increase the probability of a profitable trade. Indeed, there have been many situations in which activity in the options pits accurately predicts or presages an impending price move. There are […]
Is The Low Volatility Market At An End?
2019 can be roughly divided into two market regimes. There were periods of high volatility and market choppiness, notably in June, August, and early October. Then, there were the stretches of low and falling volatility – January through May and mid-October through the end of the year. It certainly seemed like January of 2020 was […]
3 Oil Stocks That Are Worth Looking Into Now
Yesterday’s plunge in oil stocks creates opportunity Saber rattling in the Middle East created a roller coaster ride in asset prices this week. Oil prices initially ripped and then rapidly reversed yesterday, ending with a nasty 4% drop. Energy stocks fell across the board in the wake of the whiplash. While the volatility can be […]
The 6 Rookie Mistakes Options Traders Should Avoid
I thought this would be a good time to review some of the common mistakes traders make when using options. As shoppers have become increasingly savvy in finding online bargains and discounts, we see similar behavior spilling into other aspects of their lives. This includes investment advice and stocks they seek. But sometimes it’s better to […]
What’s In Store For Chipmakers In 2020?
2019 is at an end, and it was undoubtedly a great year for stocks. The S&P 500 was up over 28% for the year. However, semiconductor companies had an even better year. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was up nearly 62% over the same period. Granted, SMH did plunge sharply at the end of 2018, so it had […]
