Steve Sosnick
Steve Sosnick is the Chief Strategist at Interactive Brokers (IBKR), which provides online trade execution and clearing services to institutional, professional and individual investors for a wide variety of electronically traded products including stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds, and funds worldwide. Learn more here .
Articles by Steve Sosnick
- Active Insights
Markets Are Sending a Message Investors Shouldn’t Ignore
We’re now seeing what happens when consensus gets shaken and momentum breaks. Some of the most reliable themes were shattered in recent days.
- Active Insights
Markets Barely Reacted to Iran Strait News and That Could Be a Warning
If true, this would indeed be terrific news. Why then aren’t stocks and oil responding even more favorably?
- Active Insights
Volatility Stays Low as Investors Lean Into Optimism and FOMO Hedging
Nonetheless, traders remain generally unperturbed. To them, the setup, not the outcome, seems to matter more.
- Active Insights
Investors Are Pricing Optimism, Not Outcomes, in Gulf War Developments
Those moves, however, fail to fully reverse when nothing concrete is reported. It’s a ratchet effect that has been beneficial to stockholders.
- Market Intelligence
Bond Market Selloff Is Testing Wall Street’s Confidence in AI Stocks
Market expectations for the stock that has been the key pillar for the AI-related investment that has powered the three-and-a-half-yearlong bull market
- Research
Markets Turn Red as Inflation, Oil Prices, and Bond Yields Collide
There are valid reasons for today’s mood – taxation, inflation, and some key thresholds being crossed.
- Research
AI Spending Boom Faces Doubts as OpenAI Misses Expectations
Today, however, you will find that I relied on AI more than usual for my analysis – something that will be obvious as you read on.
- Research
Powell Stays, Fed Splits Deepen, Big Tech AI Bets Clash Across Markets
Of those four hyperscalers, all of whom are spending billions to build out their AI capabilities
- Research
A Record-Breaking Chip Rally Meets Sky-High Expectations
TXN not only met the necessary condition for a post-earnings rally with an EPS beat, but also the sufficient condition of higher guidance.
- Research
Relief Rally or Final Push? History Is Starting To Rhyme
Arguably, the move in stocks would have been even greater if they weren’t already up about 10% in anticipation of today’s news.
- Active Insights
Peace Talk Headlines, Oil Shocks, and a Market That Refuses To Care
Once again, stocks are basically expressing their view that the war in the Persian Gulf is all but over.
- Active Insights
Euphoria or Opportunity? Stocks Push Higher Despite Rising Risks
Sometimes it pays not to ask too many questions. That is certainly the case when it comes to the recent stock market performance.
- Research
Risk Is Rising Everywhere Except Stocks
Once again, equity traders are more concerned about good vibes and positive momentum than geopolitics.
- Opinion
Investors Bet on Policy Reversals as Tensions Rise
Stock traders, and to a lesser extent, oil traders, seem to be putting less emphasis on the comments coming out of either side.
- Market Intelligence
Central Banks Turn Hawkish Again as Market Assumptions Unravel
Indeed, while the market has essentially priced out rate cuts in the US, traders are expecting serial hikes from other major central banks.
- Active Insights
3% Market Jump Sparks Optimism as Energy Signals Lag Behind
Markets zoomed yesterday on a series of reports that implied a potential quick end to the hostilities in the Persian Gulf.
- Active Insights
Futures Surge, Then Stall—a Pattern Traders Can’t Ignore
This, unfortunately, reaffirms the psychological change that was reflected in Friday’s selloff.
- Research
Market Pullbacks Keep Fading as Investors Position for a Sudden Rally
Less than an hour after the open, the S&P 500 SPX has clawed back more than half its early losses despite a lack of substantive news.
- Research
Investors Look Past Fed Meeting as Inflation Signals Turn Uneven
PPI report in the morning and an FOMC meeting in the afternoon should have investors anticipating a pair of potentially market-moving events.
- Research
Geopolitics Just Hit Oil—Here’s Why Stocks Didn’t Fall Further
Quite frankly, US domestic production is less susceptible to geopolitical risk than oil headed for Europe.
- Research
Oil Spikes, War Rhetoric Escalates, Yet Markets Refuse To Panic
President’s comments, on the other hand, challenged investors’ perceptions about a speedy end to hostilities
- Active Insights
Private Credit Fears Grow as Markets Shrug off Strait of Hormuz Shock
Closure of the Strait of Hormuz was always among risk managers’ biggest fears, yet the consequences at least so far have been far less dire
- Market Intelligence
A Black Swan Yawns — And Markets Shrug
Black swan arrived over the weekend, yet the consequences have so far been minimal. Investor psychology is a major factor behind the relative calm.
- Market Intelligence
Markets Remain Strong, but AI Disruption and Correlation Shifts Flash Caution
I would define the current state of the markets as generally solid but with some developing fault lines under the relatively placid surface.
- Active Insights
From AI Optimism To AI Anxiety: Investors Rotate as Growth Stocks Crack
In the past few weeks, and specifically the past few days, it feels as though the market landscape is full of AI landmines.
- Market Intelligence
Software Sector Faces Sharp Selloff Amid Changing AI Expectations
Although this morning’s declines in major indices are roughly commensurate with those of recent days, the underlying metrics are not.
- Active Insights
Strong Quarters Aren’t Enough in This Market
Today we see AMD trading more than -16% lower, and PLTR, yesterday’s darling, is down about -12% after a +7% post-earnings bump.
- Active Insights
Markets Look Quiet—but Beneath the Surface, Something Is Shifting
The appearance of calm indices even as some of their components are gyrating is an important consideration for investors.
- Active Insights
Fed Holds Steady as Tech Cracks and Volatility Surges
Meanwhile, amidst today’s tech-led declines and reversals in key assets, the recent S&P 500 (SPX) milestone seems like a head fake.
- Active Insights
Meta, Microsoft, Tesla Earnings and the Race to a 7,000 S&P Milestone
That is understandable ahead of a series of potentially market-moving corporate earnings after the close, coming on the heels of an FOMC meeting.
- Market Intelligence
Tech Is Back in Charge—TSM’s $56B Signal Explains Today’s Market Mood
Today, thanks to well-received earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor TSM, we see what happens when tech resumes its leadership.
- Active Insights
Why the Market Looks Weak Even as Most Stocks Are Rising
Plenty of signs that risk-taking is not taking a total breather today – it’s just moved beyond the usual cadre of market leaders.
- Research
Earnings Beats Aren’t Enough Anymore: Why Guidance Is Driving Markets
While EPS beats are a necessary condition for a post-earnings rally, they are no longer sufficient. Guidance matters more.
- Market Intelligence
Wall Street Shrugs at the Jobs Report—but the Options Market Tells a Deeper Story
They’re back. Tomorrow morning, we get the release of the December employment report on their normal schedule.
- Active Insights
Markets Start Strong, End Soft: A Close Look at Early 2026 Trading Trends
As we’ve seen all-too-often, the rally fizzled after a lack of follow-through buying. Hopefully this is a temporary phenomenon.
- Market Intelligence
Is This Enough Volatility for You? Silver’s Movie-Style Spike and Sudden Reversal
With the expiration of the December contract occurring today, we had a startling intraday reversal. Is this enough volatility for you?