The Market Has Changed… Have You?

On Saturday, Feb. 28 at roughly 9 a.m., explosions lit up Tehran.

Wall Street didn’t wait for the morning shows. It didn’t wait for analysis. It didn’t even wait for traders to wake up.

Within milliseconds, trading algorithms had already processed the headlines, recalculated risk, and started selling.

By the time most of us saw “U.S.-Israel strikes Iran” on our phones, equity futures were sharply lower, oil was spiking, and volatility was jumping.

No panic on a trading floor. No shouting brokers.

Just machines.

This is how markets work now. Wars don’t slowly ripple through investor psychology anymore. They hit the wires – and algorithms pull the trigger. 

More than 70% of U.S. equity trades are now executed by algorithms (and in certain high-frequency windows, that figure approaches 90%).

At the same time, retail participation has surged, with brokerage cash flows jumping more than 50% last year.

Fast machines. Record individual participation.

That combination creates a market that feels jumpier than ever.

I hear it from readers all the time: “I’m doing everything right… and it still feels like I’m one bad afternoon away from losing months of progress.”

That anxiety is real – and rising.

Just look at the extremes:

• Netflix Inc. (NFLX) down 75% in six months… 
• Bill Ackman reportedly losing $400 million on that trade in three months… 
• And a profitless “meme” stock like Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN) rallying 900% while stronger peers finished the year down.

No wonder investors feel on edge.

So, what’s the answer?

Not prediction or panic.

A process.

Treat volatility as information, and then focus on the one signal that tends to survive chaos: breakouts.

The opportunity isn’t in reacting to headlines. It’s in recognizing when a stock quietly shifts from consolidation into momentum, before the crowd shows up.

That’s what we’ll walk through next…

Why Stock Market Volatility Is Increasing

Volatility doesn’t care about your retirement timeline.

It doesn’t care how “strong” the fundamentals look on paper.

When missiles strike while we sleep, the algorithms start firing before most investors have poured their first cup of coffee.

And just like that, months of steady gains can evaporate in an afternoon.

If your strategy depends on markets moving calmly and gradually, you have a problem.

Yet momentum traders are having their best stretch in years. Study after study shows momentum strategies tend to outperform over time.

The reason is simple.

You’re not predicting the future.

You’re reading the present.

But spotting genuine momentum before it becomes obvious requires more than instinct. It requires a system.

Stage Analysis: The Smartest Framework for Volatile Markets

In 1988, trading pioneer Stan Weinstein outlined a framework in his book, Secrets for Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets, that changes how you see stock charts.

His thesis: Every asset moves through four stages.

• Stage 1: Sideways consolidation, largely ignored.
• Stage 2: Breakout and sustained advance.
• Stage 3: Distribution, as smart money exits.
• Stage 4: Decline. 

The money is made in Stage 2.

Consider a few examples…

Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) entered Stage 2 in May 2023 around $9. By late 2025, it traded above $200.

Carvana Co. (CVNA) broke into Stage 2 at nearly $7 in May 2023. It climbed more than 6,500%.

The investors who caught those moves didn’t need insider information. They recognized the Stage 2 setups before the rest of the market showed up.

That’s the power of stage analysis.