By Lawrence G. McMillan

A rather large dichotomy is emerging in this market: the chart of $SPX remains bearish, while most everything else is taking on a bullish slant. This has happened before, and usually the negativity of $SPX wins out. However, each market cycle is different to some extent, so we will continue to watch these rather interesting developments.

By Lawrence G. McMillan

This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 9, No. 17 on September 14, 2000. 

Covered call writing is not a subject that we often discuss in this newsletter. There are several reasons for that, which we’ll get into in just a moment. However, there is a certain type of covered call write – one in which the call is quite expensive – that sometimes attracts traders looking for a “free ride.” To a certain extent, this strategy is something of a free ride. As you might imagine, though, there can be major problems (we’re still looking for that illusory free lunch on Wall Street, but haven’t ever been able to find it).

By Lawrence G. McMillan

One of the questions that traders – both retail and professional – have been asking all throughout the bear market that began in January 2022 is “What Is Wrong With $VIX?” Everyone remembers the $VIX explosions during the crisis events over the years, but there is little memory of $VIX seemingly ignoring a bear market decline such as the 25% that has occurred in this bear market. In reality, there have been similar declines with a non-responsive $VIX before, but it is just not something that stands out in one’s memory like the upward spikes do. In this paper, we’ll look at some of those past occurrences and see if we can discern if there is indeed anything wrong with $VIX or not.

By Lawrence G. McMillan

Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on March 27, 2023.

By Lawrence G. McMillan

As for the $SPX chart, it once again shows a lower high and lower low, since that February top. Moreover, the latest rally attempt, which began on March 13th, appears to merely be an oversold rally. It sprang from several rather severe oversold conditions, and it has now run into trouble at or just above the declining 20-day Moving Average a "classic" oversold rally.

By Lawrence G. McMillan

This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 12, No. 9 on May 8, 2003. 

The 30th anniversary of the Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE) occurred on April 26th. In some ways, it seems so short – hard to imagine that 30 years have passed since listed options began trading. In other ways, though, the market has evolved so much since then, that it seems like ancient history. Whichever viewpoint you have (or if both statements seem correct to you, at times), all can agree that the listing of options has been a magnificent success in that it has brought option trading to the masses – with 2.5 or 3 million contracts trading on most days.

By Lawrence G. McMillan

Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on March 20, 2023.

By Lawrence G. McMillan

Stocks broke down early this past week, but found support in the same area as the late-December trading range. Specifically, $SPX broke down below 3930 and traded down into the 3760-3850 support area (the trading range from the end of last December). It found support there and bounced. There is still overhead resistance all the way through the zone from 4080 to 4200

By Lawrence G. McMillan

This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 1, No. 22 on November 12, 1992. 

In the last issue, we looked at some of the rewards and pitfalls of calendar spreads using index or equity options. This week, we'll take a look at the calendar spread using futures options.

By Lawrence G. McMillan

Justin Mamis was a famous stock market technician (he died in 2019). I particularly recall that he and James Dines were the only newsletter writers that seemed to be consistently bearish on the 1973-74 bear market, while it was in progress. Mamis wrote three books and created a “cycle” chart of the stock market. Many technicians today still cite his cycle chart – printed below.