MAAL Trading Academy · Market EducationMAAL Trading Academy
Understand what the market is actually doing.
Understand the market before you try to participate in it. Indexes, breadth, volatility, leadership, sectors, ETFs and trading context — written by the academy, taught from zero, and free to read.
62 lessons · 4 subject areas · free to read
Start here
Four lessons to read first.
The ones that do not assume the others. Read them in this order, then go wherever the market takes you.
Lesson 1 · OverviewLesson 1Major IndexesThe handful of numbers people mean when they say 'the market' — and what each one leaves out.
Lesson 2 · Indexes & ETFsLesson 2S&P 500 / SPYFive hundred large U.S. companies, weighted by size. The benchmark everything is compared to.
Lesson 3 · Indexes & ETFsLesson 3What Each RepresentsSame market, four very different lenses — and the companies each index leaves out.
Lesson 4 · OverviewLesson 4VolatilityHow much prices move, how it is measured, and why it changes the way you should size and trade.0111 lessons
Sector Intelligence
The eleven sectors of the U.S. market: what each one contains, what moves it, and how to see which are leading and lagging.
Open Sectors ›
Sector IntelligenceSectorsTechnologySoftware, semiconductors, hardware — the sector that has set the market's tone for a decade.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsFinancialsBanks, insurers, exchanges and asset managers; the sector that feels interest rates first.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsEnergyOil, gas, refining and services; priced by a commodity the companies do not control.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsIndustrialsRailroads, machinery, aerospace, logistics — the economy's moving parts.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsHealthcarePharma, devices, insurers and hospitals; defensive with a biotech edge.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsConsumerDiscretionary and staples: what people want versus what people need.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsCommunication ServicesPlatforms, media, telecom — advertising and attention as businesses.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsUtilitiesRegulated electricity and gas; slow, indebted, and a barometer of rates and fear.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsReal EstateREITs: property as a listed income stream, sensitive to rates and occupancy.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsMaterialsChemicals, metals, mining, packaging — early in the supply chain.
Sector IntelligenceSectorsSector Leadership / Lagging SectorsReading rotation across the eleven sectors to understand the market's tone.0221 lessons
Trading Context
The conditions around a trade: how the session opened, whether it is trending or ranging, where the levels are, and whether a stock is moving with the market or against it.
Open Context ›
Trading ContextContextOpening ConditionsThe first thirty minutes carry information about the rest of the day. Here is how to read them.
Trading ContextContextTrend Day vs Range DayTwo kinds of session that punish the same strategy. Telling them apart early is the skill.
Trading ContextContextKey Market LevelsPrior highs and lows, the open, VWAP, round numbers — why prices react where they do.
Trading ContextContextRelative Strength / WeaknessA stock that holds while the market falls is telling you something. So is one that can't rally when it rises.
Trading ContextContextCorrelation with QQQ / SPYMost stocks move with the index most of the time. Knowing when yours doesn't is the edge.
Trading ContextContextMoving With or Against the MarketPutting relative strength, correlation and leadership together before you press Buy.0322 lessons
Market Overview
What the whole market is doing, and how to tell: indexes, participation, volatility, leadership, tone, and what is driving the session.
Open Overview ›Market OverviewOverviewMajor IndexesThe handful of numbers people mean when they say 'the market' — and what each one leaves out.
Market OverviewOverviewMarket BreadthHow many stocks are actually participating. An index can rise while most of its members fall.Market OverviewOverviewVolatilityHow much prices move, how it is measured, and why it changes the way you should size and trade.
Market OverviewOverviewLeadership / WeaknessWhich groups are pulling the market up or dragging it down, and why rotation matters.
Market OverviewOverviewRisk-On vs Risk-Off ToneThe market's appetite for risk, read through what is being bought and what is being sold.
Market OverviewOverviewWhat Is Driving the SessionEarnings, data, rates, news, positioning — how to find the reason behind today's move without guessing.048 lessons
Major Indexes & ETFs
SPY, QQQ, DIA, IWM and the sector ETFs: what each represents, what moves it, and when traders watch it.
Open Indexes & ETFs ›Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsS&P 500 / SPYFive hundred large U.S. companies, weighted by size. The benchmark everything is compared to.
Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsNasdaq-100 / QQQOne hundred of the largest non-financial Nasdaq companies — the growth and technology barometer.
Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsDow / DIAThirty household names, weighted by price, not size — and why that matters.
Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsRussell 2000 / IWMTwo thousand smaller companies; the market's read on domestic risk appetite.
Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsSector ETFsThe eleven SPDR sector funds and how traders use them to read rotation.Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsWhat Each RepresentsSame market, four very different lenses — and the companies each index leaves out.
Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsWhat Moves Each OneRates, earnings, the dollar, growth expectations — which index reacts to which.
Major Indexes & ETFsIndexes & ETFsWhen Traders Watch ThemThe open, the close, the Fed, earnings season: the moments index behaviour matters most.
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