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Friday Recap: Uncertainty, High Valuations and What It Means for Traders

Happy Friday! What a week — the market finished up overall, but today was basically “unched” (unchanged).

Here’s what stood out:

👉 Low volume — The last couple of sessions saw very light trading. A lot of that is uncertainty tied to the government shutdown, which kept us from getting key employment data. All we got was ADP numbers, which cover only about 10% of payrolls. Not enough to move markets with confidence.

👉 Technical divergence — On the chart, we’ve got higher highs in price but lower highs in RSI. That usually signals a pullback. Sometimes those only last a couple of days, but it’s worth noting.

👉 Valuations stretched — Looking at trailing 12-month PE ratios over 20 years, we’re at extremely elevated levels. Only three times in history have valuations been this high: the dot-com bubble, the 2008–2009 financial crisis and the COVID shock.

That doesn’t mean stop trading or investing. It does mean framing your strategy with caution, keeping risk management top of mind and protecting the downside when appropriate.

Trade smart, and enjoy the weekend.

#MarketInsights #OptionsEducation #RiskManagement #TradingMindset

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