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Thursday, July 17th

““Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy.”

– Kierkegaard

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Markets Today

🌏 Asia-Pacific: Mixed

🇪🇺 Europe: Up

🇺🇸 United States: Up

🛢️ Oil: Up

⚡Crypto: Mixed

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Did You Miss Alex Reid’s FREE Trade Idea!? Get it here.

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Major Market Events 

• Retail Sales Surge in June — Stronger-than-expected retail sales data signals resilient consumer spending, giving markets a bullish boost
• Trump Floats Blanket Tariff Rate — Trump proposes a sweeping tariff policy, jolting trade-sensitive sectors and stoking fresh uncertainty
• Nvidia Set for $15B China Boost — Nvidia gains on news of a $15B China deal, reinforcing AI optimism amid volatile tech sentiment

🤔 My Thoughts

He’s Trying to Catch the Bottom… But I’d Rather Do This

Chris Pulver spotted something yesterday — and went for it.

While the market was nosediving mid-session, he set up a bull put spread on SPX at 6190/6185, looking to collect a $2.75 credit on a 5-point-wide spread.

That’s a potential 20-to-1 reward-to-risk ratio if filled.

Now, whether or not he actually got the fill (he admitted it might be tough), the mindset behind that trade really stuck with me…

Because most traders? They don’t need to nail a bottom to succeed in this market.

You just need to know how to hunt for high-probability setups… where the premium actually justifies the risk.

And that’s where a scanner I’ve been refining really comes into play.

📈 My Go-To Scanner for High-Premium Opportunities

We’ve been in a super low volatility environment lately. Earlier this week, SPY’s IV percentile was around 6%. That’s crazy low.

But we’re starting to see signs that may be changing.

Volatility is ticking up. The VIX spiked from 17 to 18.5 intraday on nothing more than a headline about Trump possibly firing Powell. So I’m prepping for more opportunities — and I want to make sure I can sniff out where the juice is.

Here’s the exact scan I’m using in ThinkOrSwim:

🔍 TOS Scanner Settings

• Implied Volatility Percentile: Over 50%
• Stock Price: Between $30 and $50
  (You can widen this as needed)
• Market Cap: Over $2 billion
• Average Volume: Over 1 million shares/day
  (This helps avoid illiquid junk)

That gives me a filtered list of names where volatility is elevated relative to their own history — perfect for selling premium in a market that’s starting to stretch.

Today, this scan pulled up 142 names — some of the notables included:

• HOOD (Robinhood): We actually traded this in the Telegram channel today
• LMND (Lemonade): High IV, low price — worth watching for short puts or spreads
• WMG (Warner Music Group): Also showed up with decent liquidity

Heads up: I skip over most biotech names that show up — the IV is often high for a reason (like pending FDA news). This is a hunting tool, not a shortcut to printing cash.

Why It Matters Now

You don’t need to guess the market’s direction perfectly to win.

Whether you’re bold enough to bottom-pick like Chris… or you’re just looking for the cleanest setups where premium is overpriced, this scan gives you a fast edge — especially if the VIX keeps creeping higher from here.

And in a choppy, uncertain market like this, sometimes the best trades aren’t the flashy ones — they’re the consistent ones where the numbers line up in your favor.

Got questions about this scan or how I use it? Bring them to today’s Profit Panel and I’ll walk you through it live.

Register your spot here to join us next time we go live!

To Better Trading,

Alex Reid

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