The whole day in one line: is the market broadly up or down, and how nervous is it (that's the VIX)? The green/red bar shows how many of our names are up vs down. Why it matters: it sets your risk tone before you do anything — calm and green means your setups have room; red and jumpy means trade smaller or sit on your hands.
Plan around it
Every market-moving event and watchlist earnings date for the month, on the day it lands. Today's square is outlined. Why it matters: these are the days that gap stocks. Past ones show what already happened — earnings carry a quick ✓ beat / = met / ✗ miss — and upcoming ones are your heads-up not to get caught holding a spread through one.
The radar
These are trade ideas on our radar for the week — not trade calls. We always encourage paper trading to find your rhythm, and never trade what you can't afford to lose.
What it is: the HM5 scanners ran all 142 names — these cleared trend, order-flow and volume. How to read a row: left is the name and what the scanner sees; right is one way to play it — the spread, the strikes, days-to-expiration (DTE) and a rough premium. This is what's on our radar, not a command to trade — confirm on the chart first. If a name reports earnings inside the trade window, we flag it and sit out. Weekly = swing/spread shortlist; Daily = the faster list. The Entry tab doesn't pick new trades — it times your entry on the Weekly/Daily picks: green means a 1H or 4H Confluence just fired in that name's direction, so it's your green light to enter. Yellow means it's almost there — keep watching. A name drops off the list when its setup is gone, so that trade has moved on — don't chase it.
Structure first
All 142 names ranked by volatility — HVR, where each name's volatility sits in its own 52-week range (the free read on IV Rank). Credit side = rich premium, favor selling spreads (bull put / bear call). Debit side = cheap premium, favor buying spreads (bull call / bear put). Why it matters: the side picks your structure before you even look at direction.
The backdrop
The market's vital signs — the big indexes (S&P, Nasdaq, Dow), the "fear gauge" (VIX), interest rates, the dollar, oil and gold. Why it matters: this is the weather you're trading in. A spiking VIX or jumping rates is a storm warning — don't trade the same size you would on a calm day.
Where money flows
Which parts of the market are leading and lagging today — tech, energy, financials, and so on. Why it matters: you want to trade with the green, not against it. A stock you like sitting in a deep-red sector is swimming upstream.
Biggest moves
The biggest gainers and losers on the HM5 watchlist today. Why it matters: big moves are where opportunity and risk show up first — and where the desk's exhaustion setups tend to appear.
At the edges
Names hitting their highest or lowest price in a full year. Why it matters: extremes are where trends run out of gas and reverse — exactly the spots the HM5 Spread System hunts for.
24-hour tape
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana over the last 24 hours. Why it matters: crypto trades around the clock and often moves first, so it's a quick gut-check on whether traders are feeling bold or scared.
One-glance read
Every name we track — the most actively-traded large-cap stocks and ETFs (the leaders of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100) — colored green for up, red for down, and sorted strongest to weakest. Why it matters: it's a one-glance picture of where the money is flowing today. A read, never a signal on its own.
The context
The latest market headlines, newest first. Why it matters: it's the context for why things are moving. Read it to stay informed — but don't trade off a headline alone.