By Lawrence G. McMillan In 1973, inflation, interest rates, and impeachment dominated headlines during a brutal bear market. Today, a different set of "I's" is making news, yet stocks continue to push higher. In the large bear market of 1973-1974, it was common for the media to say that the market was worried about the three I’s: inflation, interest rates, and impeachment. Today, we have a huge bull market going on, and it apparently is not all that concerned with the current set of three I’s: inflation, interest rates, and Iran. And if the mid-term elections swing left, you could add the fourth i (impeachment) back into the mix as well. Obviously, the concerns over inflation and interest rates back in 1973 (during the OPEC Oil Embargo) were much larger than today’s concerns over the same

By Lawrence G. McMillan 0DTE (Zero Days to Expiration) options have rapidly become one of the fastest-growing areas of the options market. Trading volume in products such as $SPX, SPY, and QQQ has exploded in recent years, bringing increased attention — and controversy — to these ultra-short-term contracts. In Part 1 of this new 2-part webinar series, Lawrence G. McMillan examines the facts, rumors, and controversies surrounding 0DTE trading. Topics include how these options behave compared to longer-term options, whether they are impacting market volatility, and how traders can use measures such as $VIX1D and True Range to better evaluate pricing and strategy selection. The webinar also discusses: Gamma and delta behavior in 0DTE options Institutional vs. retail participation Buying vs. s

$GOTU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on May 26, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cKRtvT1W51Y$GOTU$ 

$TVIX$ $UVIX$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Three different internal indicators have generated sell signals over the past week or so, but the most important indicator -- the chart of $SPX remains bullish. When these conditions exist, it is usually the chart of $SPX that wins out. $SPX had a modest pullback this past week, but it didn't even fall as far as the rising 20-day moving average. $SPX found support near 7330 (the topmost of the red horizontal support lines shown in Figure 1). Rather quietly, $SPX has bounced off of that general level three times this month. Equity-only put-call ratios also curled upward this week, thus confirming new sell signals, both in terms of the computer analyses as we

$GOTU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on May 18, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_9P28B-oHBA$GOTU$ 

$TVIX$ $UVIX$  By Lawrence G. McMillan $SPX continues to surge, having made new all-time highs on four or the last five trading days. There is minor support at 7338 (the past week's low), and at 7275 (the bottom of the most recent gap on the $SPX chart). Stronger support might be found in the 7050-7175 area, and then there should be solid support at 7000. Equity-only put-call ratios continue to fall, since there has been heavy call buying accompanying this rally. They have reached overbought states -- especially the weighted ratio (Figure 3), which is now down to levels last seen in November 2021. The standard ratio (Figure 2) is low as well, but not as low as that. Both breadth oscillators are

$GOTU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on May 11, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/embed/J9UP-yDYVEU$GOTU$ 

$TVIX$ $UVIX$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Whether you think it's MOMO (momentum) or FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), or whatever, it doesn't really matter. This market is a perfect example of why "overbought does not mean sell." Eventually, sell signals will appear, but so far, we have had no confirmed sell signals. This week saw another gap up on the chart, but very little in the way of a pullback that one could count on as a support level. There is weak or minor support at 7175, 7100, and 7050. Then the main support is 7000. If $SPX were to fall back below that, all of the action this month would have been retraced. That would not sit well, but we're not likely to see a pullback like that anytime soon

$GOTU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on May 4, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IS7gJNWFAMY$GOTU$ 

$TVIX$ $UVIX$  By Lawrence G. McMillan The major indices are all enjoying a booming bull move to new all- time highs $SPX, $NDX, and $RUT (while the Dow is closing in on its highs as well). This display of strength has occurred in the face of potential geopolitical worries, which indicates that "the market" isn't too concerned with those. $SPX has strong support at 7000 -- the previous all-time highs -- as well as minor support at 7125 and 7050. The equity-only put-call ratios remain solidly bullish in their outlook for stocks. They continue to drop steadily and sharply. As long as they are declining, that is positive for the market. Breadth has been teetering on the verge of a sell signal,

By Lawrence G. McMillan Some traders prefer to see columns of numbers, and others—myself included—prefer to look at graphs or charts. A “profit graph” is a graph of the potential profits and losses from a position. With options, it is possible to describe most of the major strategies by the shape of their profit graphs. A simple example should be sufficient to demonstrate the concept. Example: Suppose that XYZ common stock is trading at 50, and the XYZ July 50 call is selling for 3, or $300. The profit table shown here details the potential profits and losses at various XYZ prices at July expiration. The same information is shown in the profit graph. The image below, which shows that this position has a limited loss on the downside and can make theoretically unlimited profits on the upside

$GOTU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on April 27, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XF5RotmuSkk$GOTU$ 

By Lawrence G. McMillan There are two major approaches to analyzing markets—technical and fundamental. Most investors are familiar with fundamental analysis. That is the process by which analysts attempt to forecast the future profits of a company by analyzing their market penetration, pricing structure, and other things having to do with the actual operation of the company’s business. Technical analysis, on the other hand, has nothing at all to do with the tangible operations of the company. Rather it is an analysis of the price of the company’s stock. Technicians (practitioners of technical analysis) feel that past price patterns leave valuable clues as to the future direction of prices. Technical analysis can be applied to any price pattern—stock, bonds, futures, and so on. There is mer

By Lawrence G. McMillan There are two major approaches to analyzing markets—technical and fundamental. Most investors are familiar with fundamental analysis. That is the process by which analysts attempt to forecast the future profits of a company by analyzing their market penetration, pricing structure, and other things having to do with the actual operation of the company’s business. Technical analysis, on the other hand, has nothing at all to do with the tangible operations of the company. Rather it is an analysis of the price of the company’s stock. Technicians (practitioners of technical analysis) feel that past price patterns leave valuable clues as to the future direction of prices. Technical analysis can be applied to any price pattern—stock, bonds, futures, and so on. There is mer

$TVIX$ $UVIX$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Several of the major indices ($SPX, $NDX, and $RUT) have made and held new all-time high ground recently. Pullbacks have been small, and it appears that there is still an appetite for buying, despite what might be worries from the Middle East. There is support for $SPX at 7000 (the previous highs). It would not be ideal for the bullish case to see $SPX pull back below 7000, for that would raise the possibility that the upside breakout was false. But, if it did, there should be support near 6750 and then stronger support near 6600. Equity-only put-call ratios continue to decline at a rapid pace. There have been several days recently where call buying was hea

$GOTU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on April 20, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kvHxFKmQyiA$GOTU$ 

$CVB.AU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan The major indices are on a roll, with S&P 500 ($SPX; SPY), NASDAQ-100 ($NDX; QQQ) and now Russell 2000 ($RUT; IWM) all making new all-time highs simultaneously. Back in January and February, $SPX made a new all-time high by a few points on several occasions, but it was never able to put together a strong breakout rally as follow-through. Eventually, that was onerous, and the market fell. But now it appears to be adding to the breakout gains, which is a very positive sign. Technically, there should now be support at 7000 (the old highs). It would be disappointing to see $SPX trade back below 7000 now, but if it did, there should be support at 6800, and then at the bottom of the gap near 6600. There is no

By Lawrence G. McMillan One doesn’t often consider butterfly spreads or condors, say, as short-term speculative strategies. However, they can be, if you set them up that way. The main problem with butterflies, in particular, is that they don’t reach their profit potential until very near expiration (unless the strikes are extremely far apart). Typically a butterfly spread is constructed in this manner: Example:Buy 1 XYZ May 50 call @ 6 Sell 2 XYZ May 60 calls @ 2 Buy 1 XYZ May 70 call @ 1 Net debit : 3 points, or $300 The spread has limited loss and limited profit. The maximum loss is equal to the initial debit of $300 paid for the spread. The maximum loss would be incurred if XYZ were below 50 or above 70 at expiration. The maximum profit occurs at the middle strike at expiration, and in

$GOTU$  By Lawrence G. McMillan Join Larry McMillan as he discusses the current state of the stock market on April 13, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/embed/swkoOcxjtJE$GOTU$ 

$TVIX$ $UVIX$  By Lawrence G. McMillan After bottoming near 6300 on March 30th, $SPX has rallied strongly. The first stage was an oversold rally that carried up to resistance just above 6600. Then a temporary cease-fire was announced in the Iran war, and the market exploded with a large upside gap. That move overcame a number of resistance levels, and is now testing resistance just above 6800. There are various pockets of resistance all the way up to the all-time highs at 7000. Support is harder to quantify, because that gap extends all the way down to 6615, which should be support. Let's start with the equity-only put-call ratios. The weighted ratio (Figure 3) is clearly on a buy signal, and th