August 23, 2016 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 crept higher today on below average trading volume. Not surprising, as it’s been the theme this entire month. Realized volatility in SPY over the last month has been 5-7% depending on which estimator you’re using. To put that in perspective, these are some of the lowest levels we’ve seen over the last four years.

Stocks in play today include: Clovis Oncology (CLVS) +28%, Best Buy (BBY) +20%, Tesla Motors (TSLA) +.85%, and J.M. Smucker Company (SJM) -8%.

Despite the rise in the market, the VIX actually closed the day higher, finishing the session at 12.38.

Crude oil futures bounced back a little from yesterday’s pullback, climbing more than 1% and closing near $48 per barrel. Talks are heating up on what OPEC nations will be doing in the future, thus adding additional volatility to the energy complex.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Mellanox Technologies (MLNX), which traded 9.3 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Concurrent Computer Corporation (CCUR) 52.1 times normal options volume.

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow and the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
24 Aug 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM
25 Aug 2016- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
26 Aug 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET, International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
24 Aug 2016- EXPR, GES, HPQ, PVH, WSM, WDAY
25 Aug 2016- FLS, EPAY, BURL, BRCD, DG, DLTR, GME, GLNG, JKS, MDT, SAFM, SHLD, SFUN, SDRL, SPLK, ZAYO, ULTA, TIF
26 Aug 2016- BIG

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