Momentum Stalls at Stretched Valuations — Sell Calls, Stay Selective
Hold the Hedged Adds. Momentum is weak and fear is running hot, so the market is rewarding patience over aggression right now.
November 3, 2026 at 6:00 PM EST
Justification
Momentum is weak and fear is running hot, so the market is rewarding patience over aggression right now. The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, sits at 20.8 — above its one-year average of 18.1 — making option premium expensive, which favors selling calls over buying them. Stock valuations remain elevated: the forward price-to-earnings ratio, or P/E, is 18.3, and the trailing P/E ranks higher than 74 out of every 100 months since 2006.
Since the Last Issue
- Fear & Greed Index fell from 20 to 19 since the prior issue, deepening into Extreme Fear territory
- S&P 500 moved from 7578.6 to 7568.9 since the prior issue, a decline of 9.7 points
📡 Today's Opportunity Radar: TAN · URA · XBI. Full ideas in the Opportunity Radar section below.
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