Market News

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) Consumers Sentiment Sinks… The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey, conducted by Janet Hsu, revealed many concerns. Government job eliminations, lingering wars, and immigration back-lashes, and ..tariffs have saddled the U.S. Consumer. The latest University of Michigan survey released mid-March was drastically lower, dropping 11% to 57.9% [last month was 64.7%] falling steadily since President Trump was elected. Recession concerns are on the rise as “soft-landing talk” has pretty … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) A Roller-Coaster ride last week… Unpredictability, Precariousness, and Changeability roiled the market all week. Finishing Friday, the indexes were static, ending the week just below flatline. A ‘valiant’ burst of buying late Friday couldn’t save a lost week. The S&P 500 fell 3.1% for the week ended March 7. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.4% and the ‘bread and butter’ Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2,4%. The smaller value stock … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) The Nasdaq Composite led the indexes lower for the month of February, off 4% as the late Friday rally was short lived. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the small cap value stock Russell 2000 struggled both losing to end the month. Tariff jockeying by President Trump continued to unsettle investors and traders. President Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky sparred in White House discussions regarding … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) Nearly all sectors and all stocks finished Friday lower wiping out the week’s gain and setting the stage for the upcoming week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 438 points or 1.7% while the S&P 500 was off 1.7%. The heavy technology Nasdaq Composite was the big loser, falling 2.8% as the Magnoficient 7, chips and artificial intelligence stocks led the cascade downward–the biggest drop this year. Contributing to … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) Friday’s market was all peaks and valleys, with the indexes finishing the week slightly higher. A flood of news; tariff threats, the end of earnings season, and stubborn inflation, all add up to a heavy burden on investors and traders. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management said, “You can really tell we’re in a bull market. All bad news seems to have been overlooked, and really … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) The first week of February was uneventful as investors monitored the ever changing tariff situation, a better than expected jobs report and a parade of good earnings reports, with all boosting the market. The coming week will focus heavily on the CPI (Consumer Price Index report), to be released Wednesday, with more data to come on “wholesale and retail sales,” to track inflation. Many economists and analysts alike don’t … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) Even though bad news seemed to overtake good news, the exchanges finished the month with gains. Stocks were positive for the first half, then slowly backed off with bad news piling up. Fears of President Trump’s institution of massive tariffs, the release of China’s DeepSeek chip innovation have rattled the market. As President Trump has backtracted on tariffs aimed at Mexico and Canada, he is moving forward on Chinese … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) All three indexes finished last week with gains. The Benchmark S&P 500 logged up 1.7% for the week–the first record finish this year, while the heavy-tech Nasdaq Composite added 1.7% also. The Dow Jones Jones Industrial Average led all indexes with a nice weekly gain of 2.2%. Investors and traders are mostly positive and optimistic about President Trump’s second crack at occupying the White House. With an economy that … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up nearly 700 points Friday, while the S&P 500 saw its 2025 gain evaporate, down 1.5%. The Nasdaq was off an alarming 1.6%. The market was closed Thursday in honor of the passing of President Jimmy Carter. The 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest point since 2023 touching a 14 month peak and finishing at 4.784%. Even the 30-year crested 5%, closing at … Read more…

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) Friday’s market perked up, maybe Santa stuck around? After five days of roller-coaster indexes, the market came alive, with all three indexes on an upward track. The S&P 500 had the best day in nearly a month, up 1.8%. The lethargic Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 340 points, up 0.8%. The tech-loaded Nasdaq Composite was up 1.8% as the shortened week closed on a positive note. Stockholders, analysts, economists … Read more…