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Articles by Brandon Chapman
Where SPY’s $13 Box Breaks
Key gamma walls at 785 and 772 mark the breakout levels as volatility prepares to expand for the S&P 500. Brandon thinks those reports could turn that tight range into an accelerator. Today was Columbus Day. The S&P 500 usually finishes higher on this holiday, with most of the week’s gains coming on the day itself. Brandon leaned into the seasonal tendency with the S&P 500 sitting in positive gamma territory. He took a long and looked for a close at the prior high. The trade didn’t work.
How Big Money Saw Brazil Coming
Brazilian equities surged after heavy options activity in XP and the Brazil ETF signaled a rally before headlines hit. XP jumped 31% today. Someone bought 50,000 calls on it last Friday. Brandon Chapman caught that print and several others before Brazil exploded. The options market flagged this rally days before the headlines hit. The Brazilian ETF climbed 12.5% today. Brandon ties the move to the Brazilian election, where Flavio Bolsonaro may be expected to finish ahead of Lula da Silva.
What Stalled The Mag 7 Rally
Positive gamma walls stalled the Mag 7 rally as dealers sold into strength to remain hedged. Friday morning looked like a day to buy. Nvidia (NVDA) was leading, with the rest of the Mag 7 right behind it. I wasn’t sold. I went down the list and pulled up the leaders one at a time. Every one of them was sitting in positive gamma. Positive gamma basically means dealers sell into strength and buy into weakness to keep themselves hedged. Each push higher runs into a seller.
Why Oil Keeps Peaking At 11:30
Crude oil's consistent midday peaks are driving intraday volatility for the S&P 500 as geopolitical headlines override traditional gamma levels. Crude oil has topped out between 11:30 AM and noon Eastern for five straight sessions. Brandon Chapman caught the pattern this week. Every time oil rolled over, the S&P 500 caught a lift. The Iran headlines kept landing in that same window. Brandon calls these headlines interference.
Forward Edge-AI Secures Notice of Allowance for Breakthrough Low-Observable Encryption Device Patent
Forward Edge-AI awarded patent for a drop-in Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) encryption device with swappable NID, boosting secure and resilient communications.
Forward Edge-AI Earns Awardable Vendor Status on DoD’s Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace
Forward Edge-AI Earns Awardable Vendor Status on DoD’s Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace Forward Edge-AI Achieves Awardable Status in Tradewinds AI-powered business transformation and cybersecurity solutions now rapidly procurable via the SBIR Aisle for urgent Federal mission needs SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES, August 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Forward Edge-AI, Inc., a leader in trusted autonomy, business transformation and quantum-resilient cybersecurity, announced today that its...
State and Local Governments Must Take Responsibility for Police Violence
Last week, the Department of Justice issued a report finding that the Minneapolis Police Department routinely used excessive force against Black and Indigenous people, and that George Floyd’s murder arose from this pattern of misconduct. They will now negotiate a consent decree with the city of Minneapolis to institute reforms. The report is damning, and it offers a view into an often-obscured problem of police violence.
Missouri Aims to Weed out Meritless Punitive Damage Claims and Reign in Consumer Protection Claims | JD Supra
Last week, the Missouri General Assembly passed and sent to Governor Mike Parson the latest bill advancing the state’s ongoing tort reform. Senate Bill No. 591 is widely considered to be a win for corporate defendants statewide and is expected to be signed by the Governor, as it was one of his legislative priorities.
Chapman: We all must fight the racism that killed Ahmaud Arbery
If you're black in America, you don't have to think long and hard about how many times you've felt this: fear, anger, sorrow and hopelessness all rolled up in one. My grandmother felt this way when two white men murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till. At 15, my grandmother knew what happened to Emmett could happen to her and her three little brothers. Sixty-five years have passed since Emmett was lynched and yet black people are still being killed. I can't help but think about Trayvon Martin.
A Note To Those That Sold In May
It seems like every year somebody brings up selling in May as a strategy and whether this is the year to do it. After looking at the historical data there appears to be seasonal trends to the market's performance, but what are you missing if that's all you're considering? Looking at average historical returns since 1999 shows that you don't miss a whole lot during the summer months.
Let's Get Fiscal: What The Options Market Is Projecting For Apple Over Earnings
After the market close on tomorrow, Apple Inc. is set to announce their Q2 earnings report. In other words, how much is Apple going to move? One of the great features of options and how they are priced is that expected movement is reflected or "implied" in the price. Information related to the strike price, the stock price and the time to expiration are already given.
Let's Get Fiscal: What The Options Market Is Projecting For Apple Over Earnings
After the market close on tomorrow, Apple Inc. is set to announce their Q2 earnings report. As of today, the average analyst earnings estimate for the quarter is $2.71 a share. It's not unusual to see a stock beat earnings and see the price decline or vice versa. For people that own the stock, the question isn't always whether the earnings announcement is positive or negative, but rather the market's reaction to the news. In other words, how much is Apple going to move?
A Big Red Flag Is Popping Up on Amazon Stock
There's no shortage of excitement about Amazon.com (AMZN?) taking over the retail world, but there seems to be little concern about the valuation of its stock at $1,000. Looking at its chart, some red flags are popping up within volume trends. Technical analysis theory assumes that volume trends often precede price trends, and if that's case, the current technical pattern may signal an increase in volatility and the potential for a bigger bearish turn in Amazon’s price.
Is It Time To Sample Costco?
The news has been deafening for retailers as Amazon, Inc. (AMZN) appears to be taking over the retail world with its planned acquisition of Whole Foods Mkt, Inc. (WFM). As a result, companies like Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) have seen their share price slide by nearly 18%. In a turn-of-events, Amazon has been pressured following its earnings last Thursday, and today, Costco shares were bid strongly. Is it now time to approach Costco’s sample table?
Why Gilead Stock Is Back in the Game
When I think of sector rotation I’m always reminded of the business book Who Moved My Cheese? As investors, we stick with what we know. And if you’ve been investing in the current cycle, it’s been hard to avoid big tech stocks, aka the FANGs. That strategy has probably been working just fine so far, but the market has a pattern of moving the cheese you found in one part of the market’s maze to other parts. And that process is called sector rotation.
Medtronic Increases Dividend, Is It Enough?
Medtronic plc (MDT) announced today that they are increasing the dividend by 7% to a quarterly dividend rate of $0.46 per common share and an annual dividend rate of $1.84. This certainly isn’t earth-shattering given that MDT is an S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat and according to their press release have now increased their dividend for 40 consecutive years. Even with the increase, does this make MDT attractive at its current price level?
Biotech Resurgence Has Bite But No FAANGs
Move over FAANGs, when comparing the performance of the 10 Select Sector SPDR ETFs, healthcare is currently leading in the last 1-week, 6-week and 12-week performance periods. That being said, the leadership within the sector appears to be changing over the past 4 trading sessions. Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 holdings within the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF and its top two performing stocks. Since late February, biotech has been underperforming the healthcare sector.
What's The VIX And How To Trade It Using ETNs
The CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) is one of the most closely watched barometers for market sentiment. However, understanding how to interpret the VIX and being able to capitalize on its movement is something that most novice traders struggle with. This post is intended to give you a brief overview of the VIX and two of the ETNs that traders use as vehicles to capitalize on the VIX movement. How the VIX is calculated? There have been several changes to the VIX since it was introduced in 1993.
Is the Completed Double Top on Apple the First Bearish Domino to Fall?
The FAAMGs (or whatever the current meme for big cap tech stocks supplying momentum to the broader market) appear to have lost their bullishness the past two trading sessions. For Apple, Inc. (AAPL?), that meant completing a relatively short and shallow double top price pattern. As bearish dominoes become poised to fall, what are the next key price levels, or dominoes, to watch out for?
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