The United States reported a crude oil stock change of -3.455 million barrels in January, falling below the forecasted -2 million barrels. This development is part of ongoing economic events influencing the global markets.<\/p>\n
Software and SaaS stocks have recently underperformed, prompting questions about the stability of AI-related investments. However, AI remains a relevant market area, albeit priced more cautiously now.<\/p>\n
Dogecoin is currently near its support level of $0.1000 amid a general market sell-off. The decline is driven by risk-off sentiment, low retail participation, and weak technical indicators in the crypto sector.<\/p>\n
Ripple is stabilising around $1.60, demonstrating mixed market signals with low retail involvement. The token experienced a volatile phase, briefly dipping to $1.53 before rebounding, as ETF inflows continue to rise despite the overall cautious market sentiment.<\/p>\n
The unexpected drop in crude oil inventories, with a drawdown of 3.455 million barrels versus an expected 2 million, points to tightening supply and stronger than anticipated demand. We see this as a clear signal to consider buying March call options on WTI crude futures, targeting a move towards $90 per barrel. This follows the pattern of supply surprises that drove volatility throughout the second half of 2025.<\/p>\n
The ongoing slide in software stocks is not a signal to abandon the AI theme, but a necessary repricing after a period of intense speculation. With a popular basket of non-profitable AI software names down nearly 15% year-to-date, we see an opportunity to buy put options on overvalued SaaS ETFs. This is a market that is finally separating hype from companies with tangible earnings.<\/p>\n
We are seeing retail investors exit speculative assets, with Dogecoin’s plunge toward the $0.1000 support level being a clear warning sign. On-chain data shows retail wallet activity has fallen to lows not seen since the third quarter of 2025, indicating a broad risk-off mood. This environment makes buying protective puts on the Nasdaq-100 index a prudent hedge for the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
The mixed signals, from stabilizing crypto assets like Ripple to the deep sell-off in software, create an environment of high uncertainty. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has already climbed from a low of 14 to over 19 in the past three weeks, reflecting growing market anxiety. We believe traders should consider purchasing VIX call options to profit from an expected near-term spike in volatility.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. oil stocks decline, AI investments waver, and crypto markets face pressure amid weak retail engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40962\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}