Tapeboard Blog — daily market pulse & trade breakdowns
Daily US market recaps, weekly and monthly reviews, and notes on building a professional-grade terminal for retail traders. Written from the tape, not the press release. The Tapeboard morning edition collects the day's movers, halts and filings, one issue per trading day.
What is a Strike Price? Definition, Formula, and Example
A strike price is the fixed price at which an option holder can buy (call) or sell (put) the underlying asset, and it determines whether the option has intrinsic value at expiration.
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What is After-Hours Trading? Definition, Formula, and Example
After-hours trading is the buying and selling of U.S. stocks after the 4:00 p.m. ET close, usually running until 8:00 p.m. ET, on electronic venues with thinner liquidity and wider spreads than the regular session.
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What is an Evening Star Pattern? Definition, Formula, and Example
An evening star is a three-candle bearish reversal pattern formed by a large bullish candle, a small-bodied candle that gaps or stalls above it, and a large bearish candle that closes deep into the first candle's body.
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What is Extrinsic Value? Definition, Formula, and Example
Extrinsic value is the portion of an option's premium above its intrinsic value, representing the price of time remaining until expiration and of implied volatility.
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What is Rule 144? Definition, Formula, and Example
Rule 144 is the SEC safe harbor that lets holders of restricted and control securities resell them publicly once they meet holding-period, volume, manner-of-sale, public-information, and Form 144 notice conditions.
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What is the Calmar Ratio? Definition, Formula, and Example
The Calmar ratio divides a strategy's compound annual return by its maximum drawdown, usually over a trailing 36 months, which measures how much return the strategy earned per unit of worst-case loss.
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What is the Forward P/E Ratio? Definition, Formula, and Example
The forward P/E ratio is a valuation multiple equal to a stock's current share price divided by the consensus estimate of its earnings per share over the next twelve months or next fiscal year.
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What is the Price-to-Book Ratio? Definition, Formula, and Example
The price-to-book ratio (P/B) divides a company's share price by its book value per share, which shows how many dollars the market pays for each dollar of net assets on the balance sheet.
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What is the Price-to-Sales Ratio? Definition, Formula, and Example
The price-to-sales ratio (P/S) is a valuation multiple equal to a company's market capitalization divided by its trailing twelve months of revenue, showing how many dollars investors pay for each dollar of sales.
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What is Three White Soldiers? Definition, Formula, and Example
Three white soldiers is a bullish candlestick pattern of three consecutive long-bodied green candles, each opening within the prior candle's body and closing at a new high near its own top, signaling a reversal from a downtrend.
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Stock Market Today: October 16, 2026 — Tech Slides, Energy Surges
On October 16, 2026, the S&P 500 fell 1.09% to 7,659.44 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.15% to 26,140.03 as Technology (XLK) lost 3.02% while Energy (XLE) gained 2.52% and small-cap oil producer Crescent Energy jumped 10.07%.
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Trading Halts Today: October 16, 2026 — 59 Stocks Halted (LULD & T1)
Tapeboard tracked 59 trading halts on October 16, 2026: 55 LULD/volatility pauses and 4 T1 news-pending halts, led by SMX, which triggered 12 circuit breakers during the session.
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Stock Market This Week (October 12–16, 2026): Tech Rout Hands Leadership to Defensives
In the stock market this week (October 12–16, 2026), the S&P 500 fell 1.95% to 7,659.44 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.48% as Technology (XLK) lost 7.70%, while the Dow rose 0.67% on a rotation into Consumer Staples (+5.02%), Energy (+4.86%) and Health Care (+3.45%).
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Stock Market Today: October 15, 2026 — Russell 2000 and Dow Lead as Nasdaq Stalls
On October 15, 2026, the Dow rose 1.08% to 52,177.69 and the Russell 2000 gained 1.38% to 2,767.27, while the Nasdaq Composite managed only 0.08% as technology slipped and ManpowerGroup fell 15.82%.
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Trading Halts Today: October 15, 2026 — 48 Stocks Halted (LULD & T1)
Tapeboard logged 48 trading halts on October 15, 2026 — 46 LULD/volatility pauses, 1 T1 news-pending halt and 1 other regulatory halt — with KNDI's T1 news-pending halt the most notable.
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Stock Market Today: October 14, 2026 — Bending Spoons Jumps 41% as Tech Slides
On October 14, 2026, the S&P 500 fell 1.11% to 7,718.94 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.88% to 26,692.87 as technology sold off, while Bending Spoons (BSP) surged 41.2% to lead all gainers.
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Trading Halts Today: October 14, 2026 — 70 Stocks Halted (LULD & T1)
Tapeboard tracked 70 trading halts on October 14, 2026: 66 LULD/volatility pauses, 2 T1 news-pending halts (BTOC and TJGC, still pending), and 2 other regulatory halts.
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What is a Bear Call Spread? Definition, Formula, and Example
A bear call spread is a bearish options strategy that sells a call at a lower strike and buys a call at a higher strike with the same expiration, collecting a net credit with defined risk.
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What is a Bull Put Spread? Definition, Formula, and Example
A bull put spread is a bullish options strategy that sells a put at a higher strike and buys a put at a lower strike with the same expiration, collecting a net credit with defined risk.
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What is a Gap and Go? Definition, Criteria, and Example
A gap and go is a momentum pattern where a stock gaps up at the open on a catalyst and continues higher immediately, without filling the gap, as buyers overwhelm early sellers.
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What is a Short Straddle? Definition, Formula, and Example
A short straddle is a neutral options strategy that sells a call and a put at the same strike and expiration, collecting premium that profits if the underlying stays near the strike.
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What is IV Percentile? Definition, Formula, and Example
IV percentile measures the percentage of days over the past year that implied volatility closed below its current level, ranking today's IV against its own 52-week history.
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Stock Market Today: October 13, 2026 — Energy Rips While Indexes Slip
On October 13, 2026, the S&P 500 slipped 0.02% to 7,805.45 and the Nasdaq fell 0.15% to 27,204.38, while energy stocks led the tape with XLE up 3.26% and Regencell Bioscience (RGC) surging 14.87% to $8.19.
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Trading Halts Today: October 13, 2026 — 62 Stocks Halted (LULD & T1)
On October 13, 2026, Tapeboard tracked 62 trading halts — 59 LULD/volatility pauses, one T1 news-pending halt (SKIN), and two other regulatory halts (BMBL T3, AZTR H11).
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Stock Market Today: October 12, 2026 — Dow Gains as Tech Slips, FIGS Jumps 12%
On October 12, 2026, the Dow rose 0.38% to 51,850.55 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.06% to 7,807.24 and the Nasdaq fell 0.44% to 27,245.90, as FIGS surged 12.42% to lead gainers and Cerebras dropped 10.69% to lead losers.