You log in to your trading platform… Scanners are up, charts are quiet, no big movers, and volume’s thin.
You start asking yourself, “Is it me, or is nothing moving?”
Whether it’s the middle of a holiday week, like right now, the calm before a new earnings season, or one of those weird stretches where the news cycle is bone-dry, you’re not imagining it.
These periods are real, and they come around more often than most traders would like.
Case in point: tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, and despite a big start to the week, activity has definitely dropped off…
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Just because the action has slowed down this week doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do.
You just have to know where to look, and more importantly, what not to waste time on. When the overall market is choppy and indecisive, your job isn’t to trade more but to narrow your focus and watch the few names that are actually showing life.
RGTI: A Quiet Contender in Quantum
If you’ve been around the low-priced stock world lately, you may have noticed RGTI (NASDAQ: Rigetti Computing) starting to pop back onto scanners.
And no, this isn’t just a random move. It’s got legs, and it’s tied to a bigger story.
The setup:
RGTI is part of the quantum computing theme, a futuristic sector that tends to trade in waves.
Quantum isn’t always in the spotlight, but when it catches momentum, these names can move fast due to their low float and speculative appeal.
Last week, RGTI had a nice bounce after an extended downtrend. The move coincided with some renewed attention toward the broader tech and AI sector, along with chatter about advancements in quantum computing capabilities.
RGTI moved on real volume… Not a fakeout, not a one-candle wonder. That’s what you want to see in a choppy market.
If the stock continues to base and break out through previous resistance, it could offer a strong risk-reward opportunity, especially if the sector heats up again.
RGTI 5-Day, 5-Minute Candles Chart; SteadyTrade
Bitcoin: Still Strong, Still Relevant
When in doubt, zoom out. And when you zoom out on Bitcoin (BTCUSD), you can see that we’re still in a strong, long-term uptrend.
Now, that doesn’t mean there won’t be pullbacks, especially as the broader market cools off. But Bitcoin has been one of the few assets maintaining strength while everything else drifts sideways.
Why This Matters in a Slow Market:
When the stock market is taking a breather, Bitcoin can often act like its own ecosystem. It doesn’t always follow the same rules, and that’s useful. It gives traders a secondary watchlist when traditional equities are quiet.
Even if you’re not trading BTC directly, this price action bleeds into sympathy names like MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT), and Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN).
BTCUSD 5-Day, 5-Minute Candles Chart; SteadyTrade
Weed Stocks: MSOS and the Green Sector Watch
Weed stocks are forever the rollercoaster ride of retail speculation.
But even in a choppy market, you can’t ignore AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (NYSE: MSOS), especially when news drops.
Earlier this week, we saw a midday news spike tied to regulatory chatter. That was enough to send MSOS vertical, a rare and powerful move for an ETF.
While the spike didn’t result in a massive continuation, the fact that MSOS reacted so strongly to a single headline tells us the sector is still hypersensitive to news, and traders are lurking.
This kind of behavior is what you want in slow markets, which are sectors that can move off catalysts and names with built-in volatility.
You don’t need to love the fundamentals of the cannabis sector to trade it. You just need to understand its rhythm. It’s a trader’s sector because it’s news-driven, emotional, and fast.
MSOS 5-Day, 5-Minute Candles Chart; SteadyTrade
My Final Thoughts…
When the market is slow, it’s easy to get frustrated…
You start clicking around, you chase mediocre setups, and you waste mental capital trying to force trades that simply aren’t there.
But smart traders don’t look for more. They look for better. And right now, “better” might mean watching a handful of tickers that are showing actual movement, real volume, and sector-specific momentum.
That’s why RGTI, Bitcoin, and weed stocks deserve a place on your watchlist. They’re not guaranteed runners… Nothing ever is. But they’re showing signs of life in a market that, for the moment, feels like it’s half asleep.
So stay sharp and stay selective.
And remember, choppy markets reward the traders who wait, not the ones who chase.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! See you back here on Friday!
Tim Bohen
Lead Trainer, StocksToTrade