With $VIX still holding above 50 and picking a direction is a crapshoot here, I'm still on the hunt for delta-neutral premium selling opportunities.

The way I do it is I scan the most liquid ETFs out there and rank them by volatility. And then I look for evidence of sideways action forming, or at least some very clear risk management levels to lean against.

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

Last week we talked about some of the positives in the market...Copper holdings its low, Tech leadership, etc.

This week we're taking a look at why this rally is likely a dead cat bounce with some stats.

In this post, we're going to outline the inter-market signals we're watching for stocks next move...and why they suggest it's likely lower.

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

The market rallied almost 20% in just three days after making new lows last Monday. Stocks recently sold off in record fashion so it's no surprise to see them bounce with the same ferocity. But with the VIX still elevated above 50, we're not out of the woods yet and should expect the swift moves in each direction to continue for now.

Some say we're in a new bull market, but the charts tell us we're actually at a logical level for what appears to be no more than a bear market rally to stop and reverse.

Last week we outlined why 170 in the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) was such an important level of interest if buyers were going to take control of stocks in the near term. Now that they have, we're looking for sellers to reassert themselves at current levels, which we wrote about yesterday.

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

New Mystery Chart!

For those new to the exercise, we take a chart of interest and remove the x/y-axes and any other labels that would help identify it. The chart can be any security in any asset class on any timeframe on an absolute or relative basis. Maybe it’s a custom index or inverted, who knows!

We do all this to put aside the biases we have associated with this specific security/the market and come to a conclusion based solely on price.

You can guess what it is if you must, but the real value comes from sharing what you would do right now. Buy, Sell, or Do Nothing?

If you're one of these people who thinks the lows for stocks are in, which sectors would you expect to be leading the way higher? The big important groups that fell the hardest, and therefore should bounce the most? Probably.

Well, what if I told you that it's been the opposite.

The leaders off the lows are Utilities, Consumer Staples, Healthcare and REITs:

Options premiums remain elevated in this market. This continues to put me on the hunt for premium selling strategies in the most liquid ETFs.

One of the ETFs showing the highest volatility appears to be starting to settle into a range. And we can sell options very far away from current prices which gives us a lot of wiggle room. 

Wow what a weekend! Thank you all so much for your support.

We had 10,000 people register for Chart Summit, our Live Virtual Technical Analysis Conference. There were over 30 presentations and we raised over $50,000, just on the first day, to help fight COVID-19. You can still donate here.

We made it really easy to access the videos and organized them so you can go back and watch whenever you want. Just go to Chartsummit.com and click Watch The Videos and you're on your way!

In our market view update, we outlined how we're approaching stocks after catching last week's 20% rally in the Nifty 50.

In this post, we want to share an intermarket signal that's suggesting a defensive posture remains best when approaching stocks as an asset class.

Last week we looked for a counter-trend rally in stocks and we got it. The Nifty 50 rallied 20% from its intra-week low to its intra-week high, leaving a lot market participants asking if Indian stocks are out of the woods.

In this post, we're outlining why our defensive stance remains and how we're approaching the weeks ahead.

As markets start to (relatively) calm down, trading opportunities with clearly defined risk management levels are once again starting to reveal themselves.

One such opportunity is presenting right now in the semi-conductors space.

Are you ready for Chart Summit this Saturday??? I've never been more excited to attend a financial conference in my life. And I don't even have to leave my house!!! And it's FREE. Are you kidding me?

And don't forget, all donations go to help fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. We've partnered with Traders4ACause to put together the greatest financial conference of all-time. DONATE NOW

Check out this list of presenters!

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From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

This week's Mystery Chart exercise gives us a nice glimpse into the current sentiment amid the recent volatility, so thanks to all those who responded. The overwhelming majority of you we're either selling or doing nothing, which comes as little surprise.

Many of you wanted to sell this chart aggressively and even cited the current market environment as part of you're reasoning. But! The chart was inverted... so all those who were pounding the table to short it were actually buying the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) relative to the Russell 3000 (IWV).

I'm curious to see how, if at all, this changes your perspective on the chart. Tweet me @sstrazza with your thoughts!