Market Posture answers one question each morning: is the tape risk-on or risk-off? This page covers how it decides, what each tier includes, and how to get help.
How the reading works
What does the verdict actually measure?
A plain majority of four independent votes, each a measured relationship rather than an opinion:
- Credit — risk-on when high-yield credit (HYG) closes above its 50-day average. Credit tends to crack first when risk appetite turns.
- Leadership — risk-on when cyclical sectors outperform defensive ones. Which half of the market is being bought.
- Volatility — risk-off when the VIX is both rising and above its 20-day average. Either alone is not enough.
- Breadth — risk-on when small caps outperform the S&P. Broad participation rather than mega-cap only.
A tie reads MIXED. A vote without enough data abstains rather than guessing, and the App says so instead of quietly counting it.
Why does it say "prior close" instead of showing me now?
The standard reading is anchored to the last completed trading session on purpose. During market hours today's bar is only partly formed, and using it would report an intraday move as a closing move and flag nearly every sector as thin on incomplete volume. Pro's premarket reading is the way to see the current session.
What is the premarket reading?
A Pro feature. It re-runs all four votes on current-session data measured against the prior close, so on a gap morning the verdict reflects the overnight move rather than yesterday's tape — and the App marks which specific votes flipped. Any quote older than twenty minutes is discarded rather than shown, and every row carries its own age, so a row whose live quote was dropped is labelled prior-close rather than live.
Why does one row say "live" and the row under it say "prior close"?
Because that is the truth of it. Live quotes arrive per ticker, and some are stale or missing on any given morning. Rather than badging the whole screen "live" and hoping, the App labels each row with its own freshness. A mixed screen is the normal premarket case, not a bug.
It says market data is unavailable. Is the market quiet?
No — that message means we could not get a reading at all. The App deliberately refuses to fall back to a neutral-looking MIXED that you might read as a calm tape. Pull down to retry; if it persists, check your connection and then get in touch.
Free and Pro
What do I get without paying?
The complete prior-close verdict with all four votes and their reasoning, plus the top and bottom three sectors. That is a full, standalone read — not a demo. The Free tier shows a small non-personalized banner ad.
What does Pro add?
- The live premarket reading, with the votes that flipped marked.
- Regime history — current streak, when it last turned, which votes moved, and how long each has held its reading.
- Push alerts when the regime turns or when premarket disagrees with the close.
- The full sector, theme and cross-asset boards, plus volatility internals (VVIX and SKEW).
- No ads, and a watermark-free share card.
$7.99 per month or $69.99 per year, with a 7-day free trial. No account or sign-in is required — subscriptions run entirely through Apple.
I subscribed but the App still shows the free tier.
Tap Settings → Restore purchases. If it still does not unlock, confirm the subscription is active under Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions on your device, then contact us.
How do I cancel?
Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → Market Posture on your device, or at apps.apple.com/account/subscriptions. Cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends to avoid renewal. Refunds are handled by Apple via Report a Problem.
Alerts
My alert did not arrive.
Alerts are delivered by a background refresh that iOS schedules at its own discretion — the App cannot force a wake-up. They usually arrive promptly, but this is not a guaranteed real-time alert and the App says so on the alerts screen. Check that notifications are allowed under iOS Settings → Notifications → Market Posture, and that quiet hours are not suppressing them.
Why did I only get told about some sectors?
Move-on-volume alerts fire only for tickers you have explicitly selected under Settings → Alerts. With none selected they never fire — firing for all seventeen would be noise rather than a signal.
Privacy
Market Posture has no account, no sign-in, and no analytics or tracking SDKs of our own. See the Privacy Policy for the full picture, and Your Privacy Choices for every control available to you.
Still stuck?
Reach us through our contact page, on X, in our Discord, or on LinkedIn. Telling us your iOS version and whether you are on Free or Pro speeds things up.