March 5, 2015 Market Recap

March 5, 2015 tvcuser Education, Investments, Trading

March 5, 2015 Market Recap

The S&P 500 closed at 2101; on a rather low volume day.

The focus today was on the biotech sector, sparked by AbbVie’s (ABBV) $21B purchase of Pharmacyclics (PCYC). This lifted the SPDR S&P Biotech (ETF), (XBI), and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (ETF), (IBB), to 52-week highs.

The VIX slightly sold off, closing at 14.04, down 1.3% on the day.

The United States Oil Fund LP (ETF), (USO), sold off nearly 2%, closing at 18.71. Overall, oil has seemed to have found a temporary floor for now.

March 3, 2015 The Week Ahead

March 3, 2015 tvcuser Education, Investments, Trading

March 3, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 closed at 2107; on a rather dull day. Yesterday the Nasdaq closed above the 5,000 level, something which has happened less than a handful of times. However, it closed below that level, at 4,974 today.

Early in the morning, all eyes were on Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he addressed Congress on his concerns over Iran.

The VIX caught a slight bid, closing at 13.86, up over 6% on the day. The 52-week low on VIX is 10.28. With that said, we could potentially see those levels again if the market continues to move this way.

On days like this, traders try to focus on stocks that are moving, generally a catalyst is involved. One such name was Orexigen Therapeutics Inc, (OREX), the stock price closed up over 32% based off a report by RBC Capital, stating that their diet pill had heart benefits. In addition to the positive note, the stock had a massive short float. Of course, this lead to a major short squeeze.

March 1, 2015 The Week Ahead

March 1, 2015 tvcuser Education, Investments, Trading

March 1, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 closed the month at 2104; making it the best performing month since October 2011 (+5%). Entering the month, doubts about the Eurozone and Greece, and plummeting oil prices weighed heavily on traders’ minds. Not to mention, when the Fed would start hinting at hiking interest rates.

As of now, those concerns have been brushed under the rug. One only needs to see the monthly performance of the VIX to be convinced of that. The VIX opened the month at 20.89 and closed at 13.34 on Friday. Talk about a volatility collapse… a + 35% decline.

With tax refunds coming in, will investors step in and buy this market at near all-time highs? Well, for the most part, active traders don’t spend too much time on such trivial debates. After all, we will find out soon enough; instead they focus on what is in front of them and how to take advantage of those opportunities.

February 26, 2015 Market Recap

February 26, 2015 tvcuser Education, Investments, Trading

February 26, 2015 Market Recap

The S&P 500 closed at 2110, slightly off record highs, down 3 points on the day. The fears out of Europe seem to have disappeared, and money managers seem to be chasing performance. The Nasdaq has been up 11 out of the last 12 sessions.

On tap, tomorrow we have GDP numbers being released. Any miss or blowout number could move the market big in either direction.

Naturally, the market reacted positively to both sets of news pieces.

The VIX barely moved today, closing below 14, at 13.91. The S&P 500 has gained more than 5% this month, the VIX could be headed lower if the markets continue to trade this way.

February 24, 2015 Market Recap

February 24, 2015 tvcuser Investments, Trading

February 24, 2015 Market Recap

The S&P 500 closed at 2115.48.30, a record high, up nearly 6 points on the day. The news out of Greece is that they’ve committed to fiscal, economic, and financial stability measures. This brings hope that other nations like Spain and Portugal will follow in their footsteps.

Meanwhile, here in the states, Fed President, Janet Yellen, mentioned that they were unlikely to raise rates for a couple meetings.

Naturally, the market reacted positively to both sets of news pieces.

February 22, 2015 The Week Ahead

February 22, 2015 tvcuser Investments, Trading

February 22, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 closed at 2110.30, on Friday, up nearly 14 points (on a shortened week). For the most part, the focus has been on the Euro zone and whether or not there will be a resolution on how the Greek financial crisis will be handled. Talks continue next week, at the moment, there is a temporary agreement for a 4-month loan extension. However, the terms and conditions have not been ironed yet.

Given the optimism out of Europe, it’s not surprising to see the VIX continuing to sell off, closing at 14.30, down more than 6% on Friday.

February 18, 2015 Market Wrap

February 18, 2015 tvcuser Investments, Trading

February 18, 2015 Market Wrap

It was a rather slow and boring trading in the equity markets. The S&P 500 closed at 2099.68, down less than a point. Interestingly, we had the FED minutes announced late in the afternoon, however, it lacked any type of fireworks. In the minutes, they cited risk in Greece, Ukraine, a strengthening dollar and slow wage growth as reasons not to rush into raising interest rates.

In Europe, talks between Greece and the rest of the Eurogroup remain tense. As of now, a resolution seems far away. With that said, the potential for Greece to leave the Euro is very much in the cards.

Given the slow movement today, it wasn’t surprising to see the VIX sell off, closing at 15.45, down 2.2%

February 16, 2015 The Week Ahead

February 16, 2015 tvcuser Investments, Trading

February 16, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 continued its climb higher, closing at 2096.99, up over 40 points last week. However, the futures market looks weak today, as a resolution regarding the Greek financial situation was not reached. There were hopes last week that the Euro zone finance minister meeting, held today, would get the two parties closer to an agreement. As of now, it appears that is far from happening. Meetings will continue over the next couple days.

The VIX closed at 14.69 on Friday, down over 4%. Will it continue to move south or will it move back into the high teens if uncertainty in Europe looms.

The crude oil market continues to remain volatile, last week we saw five intraday moves of +/- 2% or greater. WTI Crude oil finished the week above $52 per barrel.

February 12, 2015 Market Recap

February 12, 2015 tvcuser Investments, Trading

February 12, 2015 Market Recap

The S&P 500 continued its climb higher, closing at 2088, up nearly 20 points and a high for 2015. We were up in the pre-market on the belief that tensions between Russia and the Ukraine have eased, by coming up with a cease-fire agreement. In addition, there are hopes that Monday’s Euro zone finance minister meeting will yield some positive results between the Greek financial situation.

The VIX got smoked, closing at 15.34, down nearly 10%.

The crude oil market caught a bid today, but continues to remain volatile. The United States Oil ETF, USO, was up nearly 4%, closing at 19.18.

February 10, 2015 Market Recap

February 10, 2015 tvcuser Investments, Trading

February 10, 2015 Market Recap

The S&P 500 surged higher today, closing at 2068.57, up nearly 22 points. Some market participants feel that tomorrow’s Eurozone finance minister meeting will be positive, and attribute today’s market pop to that.

The VIX closed at 17.23, down nearly 7%.

The crude oil market continues to remain volatile. The United States Oil ETF, USO, was down over 4%, closing at 18.94. In addition to the move, we saw some heavy put buying in some energy names. One that stuck out was Halliburton, HAL, earlier this morning we saw one trader come in and buy over 6500 March 41 puts, lifting the offer at $1.28. In the afternoon, Halliburton announced that they would be cutting 6.5 to 8% of their global workforce.

There are a number of earnings that traders will be watching tomorrow, some include: