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How To Trade War Stocks

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 3/9/2026 7 min read

Every seasoned trader is saying the same thing right now:

“The best setups feed on this volatility.”

We’ve already seen:

  • A small tech stock spiked 95% after announcing a purchase order from a military force in the Middle East.
  • Another small stock spiked 165% with news that an Israeli defense contractor needed its technology for drone defense.
  • And a third stock spiked 682% after announcing a purchase order for U.S. Navy Tomahawk cruise missile components.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

It doesn’t take into account the entire oil sector that’s completely upended by the violence in the Middle East.

See the headline below:

Source

Opportunities are everywhere in this market.

But it can overwhelm anyone who doesn’t read the news or check the market regularly.

I get the same questions every time from my students:

“What do I trade? Am I too late? Can these stocks go higher? When do I get out?”

If you missed the earlier moves, pay attention.

The next setup is already forming.

The Violence Continues

The war in Iran isn’t slowing down (and the ripple effect is directly impacting markets).

  • Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei the new supreme leader. He’s the son of the former leader, killed by strikes on February 28, and Trump already expressed his disapproval.
  • WTI crude oil prices spiked above $110 per barrel on March 8.
  • U.S. gasoline prices are up 17% since the beginning of the war.

The photos and videos coming out of the Middle East show terrifying scenes of destruction:

Every day brings new headlines.

And every headline moves the market.

That’s the environment we’re trading in right now. Yes, it’s scary. And I wish the violence would end today… But there’s only so much I can do.

Instead of feeling sorry for myself and the rest of humanity, I’m being proactive.

I donate all my trading profits to charity. And these global catalysts create some of the best trade opportunities we’ve seen in years.

Wartime Momentum in the Market

Tim Sykes reviews his top penny stocks list for February 28, 2022
© Millionaire Media, LLC

There are three recent examples that traders should keep on their watchlist as tensions continue in the Middle East.

On all of these setups, there’s one strategy that keeps my account in the green…

Ignore this one detail, and you’ll be putting yourself at risk of missing the momentum (or taking unnecessary losses).

Pay attention.

Silynxcom Ltd. (NYSE American: SYNX) — Tactical Military Headsets

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On Friday, March 6, SYNX announced a purchase order exceeding $620,000 from a military force in the Middle East for tactical communication headset systems.

Silynxcom is an Israeli company. Its headsets are built for active combat, and a longtime military customer just placed a major order.

The stock spiked 95% on Friday following the news.

It’s trading lower this week, but the price could reverse at any moment. Past spikers can spike again.

SYNX chart multiday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
SYNX chart multiday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

Peraso Inc. (NASDAQ: PRSO) — Drone IFF Technology

On March 6, PRSO announced that its 60 GHz millimeter-wave semiconductor technology was selected by InTACT, an Israeli defense contractor, for use in a new drone Identification Friend or Foe system.

In plain English: as battlefields fill up with drones, armies need technology that instantly tells them whether a drone is friendly or hostile.

Peraso’s chips are now at the center of that solution in an active war zone.

PRSO spiked 165% on the news.

I bought 3,000 shares at $1.74 that Friday afternoon. The stock was holding a big spike, and the drone narrative fit perfectly with the ongoing conflict. I expected another spike into Monday.

I was right.

That same day near the close, I sold 2,000 shares at $2.01 (my first target). Then, I sold the remaining 1,000 at $1.90 on Monday morning.

Final result: solid gains on both exits.*

The Friday sell near $2 was the right call. Monday’s open was weaker than I hoped, but I still got out with gains.

The chart shows consolidation after touching $2.50 during premarket on March 9. That’s a hint that the price could push higher.

PRSO chart multiday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
PRSO chart multiday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

More Breaking News

Mobix Labs (NASDAQ: MOBX) — Tomahawk Missile Components

On March 3, Mobix Labs announced the receipt of a significant purchase order for components used in the U.S. Navy’s Tomahawk cruise missile program.

The company sells a high-reliability component that keeps onboard electronics stable under extreme conditions while inside an active U.S. strike weapon.

MOBX spiked 682%.

And prices bounced off $0.60 per share on March 4 and 5… keep an eye on the $1.60 breakout level from the premarket highs on March 4.

MOBX chart multiday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
MOBX chart multiday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

Get an alert the next time a stock announces breaking news.

How To Trade This Volatility

Three different stocks…

Three different catalysts…

Three monster spikes.

But there’s one detail that separates the traders who made money from the traders who blew it:

The ones who walked away green took their gains into strength.

Take my PRSO trade for example. I sold 2,000 shares at $2.01 on Friday afternoon just to lock in profits. That was 20 minutes after I entered the trade.

By Monday morning, the stock was fading off a premarket high of $2.50.

If I had held everything into Monday, hoping for more, I would’ve left most of my gains on the table.

These war-catalyst spikes are massive. But the small-cap moves don’t go up forever.

Our job is to trade the most common price action from the spike, get out, and wait for the next setup to form.

Don’t let a 100%+ spike turn into a breakeven trade (or a loss) because you got greedy.

Follow my patterns and take gains into strength.

Cheers

 

*Past performance does not indicate future results



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Author card Timothy Sykes picture

Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity.
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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”