U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite sharply lower. Oil fell for the fourth session in a row but the dollar made a recent high and close for the third straight day.

A sharp fall in oil prices boosted the U.S. dollar, while the British Pound made a new contract low and close for the fourth trading session in row.

Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 advanced for a third straight day, oil and natural-gas futures were on the rise, while the dollar index joined the parade with a higher close over the Euro, Yen and Pound.

The defense industry may be a less obvious selection to a diverse portfolio, as compared to gold. But regardless of your opinion on U.S. policy, as a trader or investor, the Power Shares Aerospace and Defense Index is worth a closer look.

Higher for the cash and Dow futures along with the S&P's while slightly lower for the Nasdaq. All of the indices continue to look higher.

Crude-oil prices closed higher, ending a three-session losing streak. Higher also for platinum, copper, gold and silver with platinum sharply higher this time.

Many traders fall short on a complete technical analysis while trading the index futures. To better understand how and why the Dow E-mini moves, here is an analysis of the top 5 weighted components of the DJIA.

As supplies decline, crude futures are currently at a high, after three down days in a row. Here are some option strategies for playing the oil futures.

Platinum, copper, gold and silver closed lower for the second trading day, with the latter 3 sharply low. While wheat closed higher over corn and bean oil.

The October feeder cattle settled slightly higher against falling corn (feed) prices. And new recent lows and closes for copper, god and silver with platinum in a bear pennant.

Copper, aluminum and zinc are retreating from the surging bull market, but there are signs that this may quickly change. Here are a few option strategies that best reflect what might happen with these base metals in the near future.

Crude oil prices fell to a three-month low, corn had its 5th lower session in a row with a close of 17 cents below, while gold, which traded above $1,000 an ounce in March, closed below $900.

Significant fluctuations in crude oil prices, which hit an intraday low of $118.58/barrel, has investors reviewing their overall portfolio strategies. Here a few option strategies to improve your trade on the oil commodity.

For the second trading session in a row, the greenback closed higher while lower for the Dow and NASDAQ. The S&P is also following in a downtrend. Higher closes for energies: crude, rbob and natural gas.

The volatile market has made swing trading the DJIA index very difficult. But, the E-mini Dow Jones future contract has been of interest lately, since the high volatility makes it a profitable trade.

The dollar extended gains Friday over the Euro Fx, Swiss Franc, and British Pound. Meanwhile, the Dow Index futures reached new lows and sharply lower for the Nasdaq, but forming potential bottoms as the day session continues