Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

The Case for a Bear Call Spread in SPY

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Markets don’t rise in neat, predictable arcs. They stumble forward, lurch sideways, and sometimes drop like a stone. When implied volatility spikes, traders who can remain calm and methodical find opportunity amid the turbulence. One such opportunity? A bear call spread SPY.

A bear call spread is a simple, structured approach: Sell a call option at a strike price above the current market price and hedge the risk by buying a higher-strike call. The objective? Collect premium while keeping losses defined. Even if the underlying asset drifts upward, the trade offers a buffer before losses begin. And if prices slip lower, profits come faster.

With SPY trading at $566.88, the setup for another bear call spread looks enticing.

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A Case For A Decent Rally Here

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Editor's Note: I offer this post from our friend SHJ in the interest of being fair and balanced. I, of course, would hate to see any rally, decent or otherwise!

Every so often something rare happens on equity indices, and I get to run the numbers to see what to expect when that happens, which is something I always enjoy doing. Last week there were touches and punches below the weekly 3sd lower band on the US equity indices, so I’ve been looking back to see what has happened in the past when this happened.

On the bigger picture the topping patterns on the US equity indices that I was looking at in my post on Wednesday 19th Feb have all broken down and none have yet made target, though SPX and QQQ are getting close. I’m expecting to the US indices go lower, but there is a decent case for a rally during the next couple of weeks before we reach Trump’s key date on April 2nd when he has said that his full threatened tariffs on the rest of the US trading partners are going on.

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