Although technically an exchange holiday, several electronic futures markets will be open for an abbreviated morning session on Friday, April 2, giving futures traders at optionsXpress the opportunity to react to important developments like the Labor Department’s March employment data announcement. Check out the modified holiday schedule at the CME for details.

Traveling for the holiday weekend? Don’t miss a thing with futures trading on the go from OX Mobile.

“The trend is your friend.”

It’s one of those tried-and-true trading clichés that most futures traders know is often tried but not always true. Even the friendliest of trends can abruptly change mood and direction, after all.

Will you know what to look for? Join industry veteran David Hightower on Tuesday, April 6 for Recognizing Changing Trends in Futures to learn how you can better spot the potential signals of both emerging and dying trends in the futures markets.

Reserve your spot today for this FREE session.

Traders looking for a little Delta in their options chains can now find that information and more in our Delta & Implied Volatility chains and mini chains.

The Quote Detail screen has long been a one-stop data source for traders, which is why we continue to go out of our way to pack as much relevant information onto it as possible, including our most recent additions:

ETF dividend information

52-week high and low prices for stocks

We’re always on the lookout for ways to make our powerful trading tools even better, and many times those ideas come directly from our customers.

Case in point – traders love using our Screener to find criteria-based opportunities in the markets, but many were looking for an easier way to search for very specific options characteristics. So we’ve updated this popular tool with even more convenient preset screens than ever before, including:

- LEAPS for High Volume Stocks with High Open Interest
- Options with High Volume and High Open Interest
- Out-of-the-Money Puts with High Implied Volatility
- High Volume Options on S&P 500 Stocks
- Non-ETF and Non-Index Options with High Open Interest and High Volatility

We can’t get enough of the Lone Star State. Just a little more than month after we came down to visit with the good folks in Dallas, optionsXpress is heading back to Texas this week with another pair of great FREE educational opportunities.

On Thursday, April 22, Senior Vice President of Education Joe Cusick will show investors in Austin how to get the most out of their online trading with a three-hour tour of the tools and trade screens of the optionsXpress site. Then it’s off to the Galleria in Houston on Saturday, April 24 for a full-day workshop covering Joe’s “Five-Step Method for Trading More Intelligently to Meet Your Financial Goals.”

Come out to meet and mingle with Joe and a community of like-minded investors, and learn how to trade with more confidence using the power of optionsXpress. Click on the links below to reserve your spot for one of these great sessions!

Thursday, April 22 – Austin Site Nite

Saturday, April 24 – Houston Workshop

We’re big fans of making changes and developing new features based on the feedback of our customers. So when it came time to do another round of upgrades on our proprietary Streaming Charts, we simply took the advice of the traders who use them.

The result? Several new features and functions in our latest release, as well as the return of a number of popular features previously available on FleXCharts:

Returning

Configurable indices quote bar (move your indices back to the top if you prefer)
X-axis time stamp
Option chain on right-click menu (as seen in image below)
“Reset to Defaults” link for settings screens
Off/on toggle for Smart Symbol Lookup (for users with slower connections)
Speed Trade button

New

Random Walk has been added to the list of available studies.
A new buffer option comprising percentage of visible area is now available across products.
Background color for left panel modules can now be customized.

Streaming charts are only provided to non-professional customers who accept the exchange streaming quote agreement. Customer must qualify as a non-professional subscriber in accordance with NASDAQ, NYSE and OPRA regulations.

Research is just one of the important topics that optionsXpress Senior Vice President of Education Joe Cusick will cover this weekend when he visits the Research Triangle area of North Carolina for a FREE full-day workshop on the “Five-Step Method for Trading More Intelligently to Meet Your Financial Goals.”

Come out to meet and mingle with Joe and a community of like-minded investors, and learn how to trade with more confidence using the power of optionsXpress.

Saturday, May 1 – Raleigh Workshop