August 2, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 ended Friday’s action pretty flat, but good enough for a slight increase for the week. We are not too far off 52-week highs, many of the biggest companies have already released earnings (with mixed results thus far).

In respect to risk, market participants will be watching the Shanghai Composite closely, last month the index dropped 15%. A further sell-off could have a spillover effect on our markets, as well as the commodities markets.

The VIX sold off a little even with the market going in the red, closing the week at 12.12.

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July 30, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 closed relatively flat today; however, it was good enough to extend the winning streak to three days.

At the moment, China headlines and earnings releases are what most traders are focused on. With that said, we saw Facebook (FB) sell off yesterday after their earnings release. This evening we got earnings from LinkedIn Corporation (LNKD) -6% and FireEye Inc (FEYE) -5%.

Social media stocks have struggled this earnings, we’ve seen weakness in Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, and now LinkedIn.

The VIX sold off slightly, closing at 12.14, down nearly 3%.

The energy market has been pretty stable this week; however, crude oil futures are trading below $50 per barrel. Tomorrow we’ll be receiving earnings from Chevron and Exxon Mobil.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL). We also saw bearish option activity in Taser International Inc (TASR).

Here’s what’s else on tap for tomorrow:

Key Earnings:
31 July 2015- CBOE, CVX, KCG, NWL, PSX, RLGY, STX, TYC, WY, XOM

July 28, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 bounced back today, closing 25 points higher at $2,093. The other night, there was a massive sell-off in the Chinese Stock Market, which had an after effect here in the U.S. With that said, the focus at the moment is on earnings and China.

The VIX sold off pretty hard, closing at 13.44, down nearly 14%.

The energy market got a bounce as well, the United States Oil Fund, USO, closed 1.3% higher.

In the after-hours, we got earnings results from Twitter, Gilead Sciences, and Yelp. At the time of this writing: YELP: -16%, TWTR: +10%, GILD: +5%

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July 26, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 ended Friday’s action at weekly lows. The weakness can be attributed to lackluster earnings reports out of Apple, Microsoft, and American Express.

With that said, the schedule is packed again this week, with earnings from Facebook, Bidu, Exxon, Merck, and Twitter to name a few.

Friday’s sell off caused a spike in the VIX, closing the week at 13.74.

Commodities have also been weak lately, gold futures are hovering above 52-week lows and crude oil futures are trading below $50 per barrel. This of course has impacted energy and gold mining companies negatively.

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July 23, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 sold off today, but more importantly, the Dow Jones Industrials turned negative for the year. With the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and American Express all disappointing, it shouldn’t come to much surprise.

With that said, the VIX had a small spike, rising over 4%, closing at 12.64.

The commodities sector has been getting a lot of attention recently, most specifically, gold and crude oil. Gold futures are near multi-year lows, trading below 1100 an ounce. Also, crude oil futures are nearly at 3-month lows.

In the after-hours, we got earnings results from Amazon and Starbucks. Wall Street reacted positively to both companies, with Amazon up 17% and Starbucks up 4%.

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July 21, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 continued to trade slightly lower today in a rather quiet session. However, things heated up in the after-hours with plenty of big name companies reporting earnings.

With that said, the VIX closed lower, settling below 12.50.

In the after-hours, we got earnings results from Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, and CMG. At the time of this writing, all four of them are trading down. Because of that, both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 are trading lower. One high flyer that is actually trading higher is GoPro; the company guided higher.

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July 19, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 ended Friday’s action not too far off yearly highs. The Greek drama appears to be under control, and the sell off in the Chinese market has cooled off.

With that said, the focus is now on earnings. On Thursday evening, Google announced their earnings, with an unexpected positive response from Wall Street. The stock gained more than 16%, helping the NASDAQ hit an all-time high.

Heading into next week, we have a ton of earnings. Companies reporting include Apple, Starbucks, IBM, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and a whole bunch more.

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July 14, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 continued trading higher today, getting closer to the yearly highs. The S&P 500 is nearly 70 points higher over the last six days.

With that said, the VIX has collapsed during that period. The VIX is now under 13.50, closing the day at 13.37.

It appears the fears in China and Greece are subsiding. The focus is now turned to earnings.

In respect to energy, The Crude Oil futures bounced, and are now trading above $53 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Express Inc (EXPR) . We also saw bearish option activity on Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (IVR).

In addition to earnings, Janet Yellen will be delivering her fourth semi-annual monetary policy testimony before Congress. Although it’s not expected to be market moving, it is still worth keeping an eye out on.

Not only that, but the Delivering Alpha hedge fund conference is tomorrow. Some of the brightest minds in the industry will be on display, sharing their thoughts on the markets.

Here’s what’s else on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
15 July 2015- PPI 8:30 AM ET, Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET
16 July 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Survey 10:00 AM ET
17 July 2015- CPI 8:30 AM ET, Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
15 July 2015- BAC, BLK, ASML, USB, INTC, KMI, NFLX
16 July 2015- C, DPZ, EBAY, GS, KEY, MTG, PM, PPG, SCHW, SON, TSM, UNH, AMD, GOOGL, MAT, REGN, SLB
17 July 2015- GE, HON, KSU

July 12, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 ended Friday’s action strong on hopes that the Chinese market would rebound and that the Greek/Euro drama will be resolved.

However, the negotiations as of late, have not gone well. With that said, expect further volatility in the market.

In addition, earnings season kicks off its second week with some banking names along with Google and Netflix.

The combination of Europe, China, and earnings should make it interesting for generally a period in which traders are thinking more about vacation than the markets.

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July 9, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 had another volatile trading session, opening the day strong but barely hanging on to gains by the end. All in all, The SPY had a range of 204.77 to 207.35, closing near its low of the day.

With that said, the VIX had a range of 17.20 to 20.15, closing the day near highs at 19.97.

The focus again is on Europe and Asia. The Asian market bounced overnight, however, the Chinese ADRs faded from their highs as we got near the close.

In respect to energy, The Crude Oil futures bounced, snapping a five day losing streak.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Kate Spade and Company (KATE) . We also saw bearish option activity in F5 Networks (FFIV).

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
9 JULY 2015- Jobless Claims