[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”]<img src=”https://theotrade.com/wp-content/themes/optimizePressTheme/lib/images/video_placeholder.png” alt=”PGlmcmFtZSB3aWR0aD0iNjQwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjM2MCIgc3JjPSJodHRwczovL3d3dy55b3V0dWJlLW5vY29va2llLmNvbS9lbWJlZC9KSmVxRDNEcjN6ST9zaT1Nc0xPblBaZFpoMFAyTGFsIiB0aXRsZT0iWW91VHViZSB2aWRlbyBwbGF5ZXIiIGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyPSIwIiBhbGxvdz0iYWNjZWxlcm9tZXRlcjsgYXV0b3BsYXk7IGNsaXBib2FyZC13cml0ZTsgZW5jcnlwdGVkLW1lZGlhOyBneXJvc2NvcGU7IHBpY3R1cmUtaW4tcGljdHVyZTsgd2ViLXNoYXJlIiByZWZlcnJlcnBvbGljeT0ic3RyaWN0LW9yaWdpbi13aGVuLWNyb3NzLW9yaWdpbiIgYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuPSIiPjwvaWZyYW1lPg==” width=”1″ height=”1″ />[/video_player] The big indexes are split up and down at the moment, and I’m sensing some concern over this out there. Tonight we’ll get to the bottom of the “worry or opportunity?” question. There’s plenty of weight to the “opportunity” argument. We’ve seen the NASDAQ reclaim and reassert its leadership over the last few weeks. If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll know I view this as a really good sign. The Dow, on the other hand, is in the middle of its second week of correction. I’m watching closely for a bottom – and a setup – to occur in the coming days. There’s a brewing setup for a low in bonds, as well. So there are reasons for optimism; the Fed’s rate cut is coming tomorrow, and liquidity conditions are improving which

[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] Sure, I get it: You’re searching for the best, soundest stocks to buy in the market. You seek that secret sauce that will make you profitable heading into 2025. What you may not know is that it’s not necessarily about fundamental or technical analysis. It’s all about a handful of mega-cap stocks, and here’s why. The uncertainty in the market is palpable right now; you could cut it with a knife. The VIX is low and has lifted the market as volatility has been sold. Today, as the S&P 500 gained 0.43%, the VIX rose. But the SKEW index is in “nosebleed” territory, pegged at 169 as of Friday. This suggests crash risk is extreme right now. All we know right now about 2025 is… we don’t know. The volatility markets are putting us on notice. So, when volatility and

[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] It’s not looking great for the bulls – not that I’m complaining. Divergence continues to grow – weekly gains for the NASDAQ, losses for the Dow30 and S&P 500. The advance/decline line of what’s going up versus what’s going down continues to decline. The usual suspects in the Magnificent Seven were dead today – flat or down. Tesla was the only stock hanging on. Broadcom was the stock of the session, almost singlehandedly delivering gains for the tech index. The newest member of the Trillion Dollar Club’s market cap surged by $250 billion today. That’s how stocks moved this week; virtually every day the session was “saved” by one or two Magnificent Seven – make that Magnificent Eight – stocks. So we’ve got a handful of tech stocks swooping in to save the markets every day. That’s been the story

[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] We’ve been spending time on fundamental analysis, which is really the absolute best way to get a handle on a company’s medium- and long-term prospects. Is it worth your money? That’s a question this kind of analysis can help you answer. Last week, we looked at free cash flow. In tonight’s video, we’re going to look at another critical factor: operating margin. Knowing this can help you determine how “safe” and healthy a business’ operations – and profitability – are. But of course, we’re traders, right? Well, with a good grasp of fundamentals we can pivot to good ol’ technical analysis to size up the quality of the trade setups on our charts. Tonight, we’re going to do that with some consumer staple and utility stocks I’ve got in mind. Let’s get started…

[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] S&P 500 – up. NASDAQ – really up. Dow30… down. When the big indexes or usually correlated assets stop moving together, that’s divergence, and it usually means something’s happening. Tech was absolutely screaming today, still pushing higher on Google’s “Willow” quantum computing narrative and overall optimism. And when you look at some of my usual suspects like financials, it really does seem like there’s nothing left to buy. In fact, the advance/decline line today is only 50/50. That means this rally isn’t really coming from across-the-board strength, which again points to, you guessed it, divergence. We’re going to look at some of the specific stocks in play right now and see how we can turn all this to our advantage…

[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] We’ve seen a big shift in sentiment over the past few sessions, with players moving from enthusiastically bullish to increasingly concerned with downside risks in the market. There’s no denying we’re extended way up here near the highs, and, at this point, I’d welcome a couple of weeks of sideways price action, the better to build up a robust new technical base for this bull market’s next leg higher. Crypto is taking a break, too, and precious metals just confirmed their long-term bull trend. And, as I’ll show you in a moment, there’s a lot to be excited about over the near- and long term. The future of technology (and the tech sector) is taking shape before our eyes. Take Google’s recent release of its “Willow” chip – it gets us closer to a useful large-scale quantum computer, and all

[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] The S&P 500 had its worst day in three weeks as it drifted lower by more than 0.5%. That number isn’t necessarily anything to write home about, but I’m seeing some things happening behind the scenes that, potentially, are ominous. Last week I gave you a signal from the volatility markets that we could be in for a 5% to 10% correction on the S&P 500. Sure enough, on Friday I monitored a surge in VIX Jan 22 2025 $20 calls. In other words, there’s a big bet on volatility out there. At the same time, volatility skew (the difference in volatility between at-, in-, and out-of-the money options) is near record highs. The three-month VIX is rising significantly relative to the 30-day VIX. That means risk levels are rising significantly. Today, I saw more significant call buying – more

[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] This is a weird market – and not funny “weird.” It’s like a really impressively tall house of cards… with a super-shaky foundation. Traders are clearly bullish about AI (what else is new?), the possibility of rate cuts, and earnings. But we’ve been hitting these all-time highs on the back of some of the most anemic volume I can remember. Well, that’s mostly due to a relative handful of stocks. On the other hand, options volume is far above normal and SKEW is hitting all-time highs – more on that in a second. But the light volume tells me there’s very little conviction out there – no one wants to be the one to dive all the way in. At the same time, the FOMO fever out there is very real. Weird, right? Oh, and the VVIX is starting to

[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] In this morning’s Live Chat session, we talked about free cash flow. (You can check that session out below). I know, “free cash flow” doesn’t sound like a thrill a minute, and it certainly doesn’t generate headlines, even in the financial media, the way that mergers and acquisitions, innovative products, or boardroom scandals might. But I’m here to tell you, it’s one of the first things I look at before I even consider shelling out my hard-earned money on an investment. FCF is the secret sauce – the best companies have truckloads of it, and it’s one of the essential keys to rich dividend payouts. Tonight we’re going to look at how it fits into stocks in the consumer discretionary and energy spaces right now – two sectors I’m looking at intensely…

[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] When you’re trading, it pays (literally) to develop a list of “usual suspects” you can use to get a read on the market in a matter of seconds. Financials, energy, tech – those are a few of my usual suspects. What I see isn’t all that great… The other day it looked like Christmas came early, now it looks like it’s been cancelled – with a few exceptions Financials and energy are choking out. The advance/decline line of stocks going up vs. stocks going down is now decisively negative. But, man, take a look at tech – it’s the only game in town right now. Trouble is, I think that’s masking some underlying shifts that are going to hit the unprepared like a ton of bricks. Here’s what I see…