About and methodology

The Trade Signal publishes three short briefs every US market day: a pre-market brief at about 8:30 AM ET, a midday brief at about 12:30 PM ET and a closing brief at about 4:30 PM ET. On NYSE early-close days the midday brief moves to 11:00 AM ET and the closing brief to 1:30 PM ET. Weekends and NYSE holidays have no briefs.

What each brief covers

• Pre-market: overnight moves in index futures, the VIX, gold, oil, Bitcoin, the dollar, major currency pairs and Treasury yields; pre-market gappers and unusual volume; today's economic calendar; prior-day levels and pivots for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100 and the largest US stocks.
• Midday: the session so far, opening-range breaks, top gainers, decliners and most active stocks, sector performance and the events still to come.
• Close: closing moves, the day's range, market breadth, sectors, after-hours movers, large-cap earnings and the economic calendar for the next session, with levels to watch next.

Where the numbers come from

Briefs are compiled from public market data feeds: exchange-traded futures and index quotes, currency and crypto exchange prices, a US stock market scanner and a public economic calendar. Pivots, ranges and breaks are calculated from that data by code. Every figure in a brief is inserted directly from the data, and a checker blocks any figure that does not come from the feed. If text cannot be produced for a section, a data-only version of the brief is published instead.

Market data can be delayed, incomplete or wrong. Always check prices with your broker before trading.

Not financial advice

The Trade Signal is for information and education only. Nothing on this site is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.