There Are 4 Trillion Reasons to Fade This Market

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] I recorded tonight’s video just minutes before the cash close, and if you’re glancing at the S&P 500 – up 34 handles – thinking, “Hey, everything looks great out there!” you’d better pump the brakes. Because there are massive divergences unfolding right now beneath this market. Nvidia kissed that $4 trillion market cap, but don’t let one tech titan fool you into thinking the whole market’s healthy. The rally we’re watching is actually being carried by just a handful of names while the rest of the sectors… financials, staples, even healthcare… are lagging or flat-out fading. Retail call-buying is driving the early action – you can see that in the morning volume spikes – then completely vanishing by midday. This isn’t broad strength, more like a skyscraper built on crappy foundations. So let’s dive in and break down exactly why

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How to Get Ready for the Junk Rally

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] I have to say I’m relieved stocks didn’t rip higher yesterday – it gives the bulls a bit more runway. But the real question at this point is: What kind of bulls are left to drive this next leg? We’re going to dig into that in a moment. Right now, my main focus is locking in gains and managing risk. I’m still open to new long setups, but I’m approaching them with more agility than before. This stage of the rally is no time for lazy positioning. What’s striking is that even fresh tariff chatter couldn’t shake the market. That’s a clear sign of how structurally bullish the current setup is. In this kind of tape, dips remain buyable. But this is really important to keep in mind: leadership is shifting. Materials have already taken the lead, and now energy’s

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We’re at the Crossroads – Here’s Where to Go Next

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] Every once in a while the markets reach a point – nosebleed levels – where the bulls feel like they have all the momentum… and the bears feel as though there’s nothing to lose. This is what we’ll call a “crossroads.” In this instance, though, there isn’t a pointer to clue you in on the direction and distance to your destination. You know, profitability. Surely there’s only one way there. The question is whether you’ll take the bullish goat track or the bearish 10-lane superhighway. (After all, the exodus in a selloff is usually much more extreme.) We’re at the crossroads again this week, courtesy of catalysts like the July 9 tariff deadline, an averted government shutdown, and, of course, the Big Beautiful Bill. The July 9 tariff date really took away a potentially big move in the market for

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Holy Crap – SPX Breached Expected Move Twice

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] Holy crap…  Look, even the most cockeyed optimist would have to be looking at this market right now and going like, “I can’t believe the S&P is trading 6321.” But here’s what’s really got me fired up – we just had our second consecutive week of breaching expected moves. That’s not normal, okay? That’s manic. The Math That’s Blowing My Mind Alright, so let me break this down for you. Last week we had about a $116 expected move on the SPX. We smashed through it. This week? $72 expected move, and we’re trading 30-plus handles outside of it. You know what that tells me? The market got dramatically wrong. Twice. Look, when you start getting consecutive breaches of expected move, okay? Things are getting manic out there. You can smell it, you can taste it. Here’s What Most People

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Why Energy is Paying MORE Than Bonds Right Now (+ my targets)

  [video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player]   Hey there, Blake here.  I do have favorite numbers. If you’ve been in the main room with me, you know I talk about this ad nauseum… 68, 78, 68, 78, 68, 78 for crude. [images style=”0″ image=”https%3A%2F%2Ftheotrade.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F07%2FScreenshot-2025-07-02-165728.png” width=”621″ align=”center” top_margin=”0″ full_width=”Y”] And guess what just happened? Crude’s prices have bounced right back into that 68 range. Here’s what nobody’s talking about: Energy doesn’t need oil to run all the way back to 78 for these companies to print money. Anything above 56 is usually profitable. Anything above 68 is HIGHLY profitable. We’re sitting at 68 right now. But here’s the kicker that’s got me fired up… These energy stocks are now paying MORE than bonds. XLE: 3.3% dividend yield Chevron: 4.6% ExxonMobil: 3.5% Compare that to the 10-year treasury at 3.83%. You’re getting the risk-free premium PLUS upside

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Why I’m Not Worried About This Tech Selloff (But You Should Be Doing THIS)

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] Hey there, Gianni Di Poce here.  Another day of profitable trading.  Today I booked a sweet 44% gain on Robinhood when it hit our $95 target. Not bad for the first day of Q3, right? But here’s the thing… While everyone’s freaking out about the NASDAQ struggling and semiconductors wobbling, I’m seeing something completely different. The Dow is leading today. The S&P is making a nice comeback. And yeah, we’re still in a bull market. But time’s running out. Look, I’ve been calling this the Great Tech Reset for a reason. Technology is literally one day off its all-time high, and I’m not about to change my entire thesis because of one down day. That’s not how we do things over here. But if you’ve missed this rally so far? Do NOT chase it at this point. I need you

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July 9th Deadline Could Trigger Massive Bank Selloff

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] Hey there, Brandon here.  Another all-time high in the S&P… on the last trading day of the quarter. Window dressing? Maybe.  But I’m seeing something else entirely. While everyone’s celebrating fresh highs, someone just dropped $400,000 on a single bearish bet against Bank of America. 50,000 put contracts. Expiring July 11th. Here’s what makes this trade fascinating: It expires BEFORE Bank of America reports earnings on July 16th. This isn’t an earnings play. This is something else. And it’s not isolated.  Last week I tracked massive bearish positions in Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley – all targeting prior lows, all expiring July 11th. Why July 11th? What happens before then that has smart money betting against the entire banking sector? Two words: Reciprocal tariffs. July 9th marks a critical deadline.  The tariff delay expires, and we could see significant policy

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Why Smart Traders Should Sweat These All-Time Highs

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] Alright, traders – strap in. We are officially out of the volatility box and the complacency trade is on. The VIX is even less relevant than usual; it’s sleeping it off somewhere as we grind and churn our way to new all-time highs. We just cut off trade talks with freakin’ Canada, and the market doesn’t give a damn. TACO trade? It’s basically a footnote. Trouble is, there’s no here here. The market is a four-stock deal with Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN) and not much else. Last week, the SPX expected move clocked in at 115.82. This week we’re getting a compressed 3½-day cycle and there’s less wiggle room. Under these conditions, it wouldn’t take much at all for things to kick off. In this video, we’re breaking down how to actually trade into these highs.

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A Quiet Rotation Signals Big Potential

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] Today we’re digging into a subtle but powerful rotation that’s unfolding right under the market’s nose.  While tech has driven much of the equity strength this year, the spotlight has now shifted, and industrials, transports, and even miners are quietly stepping up. We’re seeing solid price patterns and breakouts across the board: ascending triangles in sector ETFs like IYT and XLI, bullish flags in 3M (MMM) and Honeywell (HON), and explosive momentum in Freeport (FCX) and Newmont (NEM).  It’s classic end-of-quarter window dressing, sure—but there’s real strength behind these moves.  To be clear, the volume’s light, and we’re flirting with overbought territory, but that just sets the stage for fast, tradable pops. If copper and gold confirm the move, this could be more than just a short-term trade.  Let’s chart the setups that could lead into next week’s fireworks…

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What to Do About This Slow Summer Suckage

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] So, the S&Ps are flat as a pancake. We’re scraping all-time highs, we’re hugging the edge of the expected move for dear life, but this is like watching paint dry. But beneath the surface suckage there’s real opportunity. When you’re in a market that’s priced for perfection, finding the best setups can be tough, but that’s why we’re all here, right? This is exactly the kind of day that separates the pros from the passive. I’m going to show you how to trade through the slow, soul-crushing summer grind and still find high-probability setups. I’m talking Nvidia (NVDA), JPMorgan (JPM), Uber (UBER) – names that are moving big even when the index is doing next to nothing. We’re diving deep into expected move, volume drops, skew shifts and high-probability profits. Let’s get to it…

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Don Kaufman Don Kaufman

TheoTrade co-founder, former CBOE market maker and thinkorswim Chief Derivatives Instructor.

Read Don's full bio


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