May 26, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 was relatively flat today, as volume seems to have dried up as we near all-time highs.

Stocks in play today: Gogo (GOGO) +16.3%, Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) +7.5%, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) -16%, and Signet Jewelers (SIG) -10.5%

It was no surprise to see the VIX sell off as hard as it did. Many traders will be away tomorrow, as Monday is a holiday. With that said, it makes sense to see volatility come in, given not much is expected over the next few days. The VIX closed below 13.50.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down less than 1% today. Now, crude oil futures did hit $50 per barrel for the first time in over 6 months, but were unable to hold that level into the close.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), which was 3.1 times normal volume. We also saw a ton of bearish bets being placed in Eagle Pharmaceuticals (EGRX).

Here’s what’s left for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
27 May 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET

May 25, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 continued its climb back to all-time highs; we’re now a little less than 2% off that. Not to mention, 15% higher than our 6-month lows. One could argue that this is all being done on anemic volume, however; fighting the tape can be very costly during times like this.

Stocks in play today: Alibaba Group (BABA) -7.3%, Express (EXPR) -8.4%, Whiting Petroleum (WLL) +14.5%, and Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) +26%

It was no surprise to see the VIX sell off as hard as it did. Overall, the VIX closed below 14, finishing the day 3.6% lower.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up nearly 2% today. In addition, crude oil futures closed at this year’s highs. We’re now nearly 50% off the 3-month lows.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Craft Brew (BREW), which was 69.2 times normal volume. We also saw a ton of bearish bets being placed in Alibaba Group (BABA). Overall, the option action in Alibaba was 5.9 times above the average.

Here’s what’s left for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
26 May 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET
27 May 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
26 May 2016- ANF, DG, FRED, GME, PANW, SPLK, ULTA, VEEV, VNET

Key Events:
Morgan Stanley China Conference (runs till 5/26)
UBS Global Oil & Gas Conference (runs till 5/26)

May 24, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 was in full panic buying mode today, as the index closed 1.37% higher. The catalyst? A better question, do we really need one anymore? All jokes aside, there was no real news that pushed the Dow, S&P 500, Russell 2000, and the Nasdaq. With that said, we’re not too far off the all-time highs.

It was no surprise to see the VIX sell off as hard as it did. Overall, the VIX closed at 14.42, closing the day 8.9% lower.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up more than 1.37% today. In addition, crude oil futures closed at 6 month highs. We’re now more than 80% higher off the 6-month lows.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Xilinx (XLNX), which was 5.2 times normal volume.

Here’s what’s left for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
25 May 2016- International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status 10:30 AM ET
26 May 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET
27 May 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
25 May 2016- BMO, TIF, COST, HPQ, LGF, NTAP
26 May 2016- ANF, DG, FRED, GME, PANW, SPLK, ULTA, VEEV, VNET

Key Events:
JP Morgan Technology Media & Telecom Conference (runs till 5/25); SunTrust Financial Services Conference (runs till 5/25); UBS Global Healthcare Conference (runs till 5/25)
Morgan Stanley China Conference (runs till 5/26); UBS Global Oil & Gas Conference (runs till 5/26); Wolfe Global Transportation (runs till 5/25)

May 22, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 snapped its three week losing streak on Friday, however; the same could not be said for the Dow, which currently suffered its fourth straight down week. The FOMC minutes which were released earlier in the week point toward a potential rate hike in June. Since then, the market reaction has been very mixed.

Despite this heightened level of uncertainty, the VIX was relatively unchanged for the week, closing at 15.20.

Crude oil futures prices are at yearly-highs, inching ever closer to the $50 per barrel market. On Friday, they closed above $48.40. That’s more than 50% higher than the 3-month lows. With that said, energy is the best performing sector thus far, with financials and healthcare lagging.

Here is what is on tap for the rest of the week:

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

Key Earnings:
24 May 2016- AZO, BBY, TOL, HPE, INTU, NMBL
25 May 2016- BMO, TIF, COST, HPQ, LGF, NTAP
26 May 2016- ANF, DG, FRED, GME, PANW, SPLK, ULTA, VEEV, VNET

Key Events:
23 May 2016- JP Morgan Technology Media & Telecom Conference (runs till 5/25); SunTrust Financial Services Conference (runs till 5/25); UBS Global Healthcare Conference (runs till 5/25)
24 May 2016: Morgan Stanley China Conference (runs till 5/26); UBS Global Oil & Gas Conference (runs till 5/26); Wolfe Global Transportation (runs till 5/25)

May 17, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 sold off today, about 1% ahead of tomorrow’s FOMC minutes. Not only that, but the S&P 500 is back to negative on the year. It will be interesting to see if the “minutes” add fuel to the fire or restore the markets.

It was no surprise to see the VIX spike more than 6%, closing at 15.57.

Stocks in play today included: Mgt Capital Investments (MGT) +46%, Abbvie (ABBV) -3.8%, and Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) +13%

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up more than 1.36% today. In addition, crude oil futures closed at 6 month highs. We’re now a whopping 61% higher off the 6-month lows.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Mallinckrodt PLC, which saw 2.6 times usual options volume.

Here’s what’s left for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
18 May 2016- EIA Petroleum Status 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
19 May 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET
20 May 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
18 May 2016- DSX, LOW, PGR, QIWI, TGT, CRM, CSCO, EXP, FLO, RXN, LB, TTWO, URBN
19 May 2016- DKS, AAP, SSI, WMT, ADSK, AMAT, BRCD, GPS, ROST, MENT
20 May 2016- FL, DE, CPB, BKE, HIBB

Key Events:
Electrical Products Group Conference (runs till 5/18)
Goldman Sachs Leveraged Financial Conference (runs till 5/18)
Bank America/Merrill Transportation Conference (runs till 5/18)
Barclays Americas Select Conference (runs till 5/19)
Citigroup Internet, E-commerce & Digital Media Conference (runs till 5/18)
JPMorgan Global Consumer & Retail Conference (runs till 5/18)
JPMorgan Homebuilding & Building Products Conference (runs till 5/18)
Needham Emerging Tech Conference (runs till 5/19)

May 15, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished lower for the third straight week, and is currently riding a 3-trading day losing streak. The NASDAQ has been down 14 out of the last 18 sessions, as is more than 5% off its year-to-date highs.

Overall, it feels like the market has lost some steam. However; we haven’t seen much selling pressure come in yet. Well, at least anything that has had some legs. This can easily be observed by the VIX. Despite the market being down again, the VIX was relatively unchanged, closing at 15.04.

Crude oil futures prices bounced back, closing the week nearly 4% higher. With that said, we’re almost back to the year-to-date highs.

This coming week we’ve got a decent amount of earnings from companies related to the retail space. This sector has been taking it on the chin over the last week or so, we’ll have to see if that bearish sentiment continues. In addition, we’ve got the FOMC Minutes along with a number of industry related conferences.

Key Economic Data:
17 May 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET, Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET, Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET

18 May 2016- EIA Petroleum Status 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET

19 May 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET

20 May 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
16 May 2016- VRTU, A, AKRX, VOXX

17 May 2016- HD, PLCE, TJX

18 May 2016- DSX, LOW, PGR, QIWI, TGT, CRM, CSCO, EXP, FLO, RXN, LB, TTWO, URBN

19 May 2016- DKS, AAP, SSI, WMT, ADSK, AMAT, BRCD, GPS, ROST, MENT

20 May 2016- FL, DE, CPB, BKE, HIBB

Key Events:
16 May 2016- Electrical Products Group Conference (runs till 5/18); Goldman Sachs Leveraged Financial Conference (runs till 5/18)

17 May 2016- Bank America/Merrill Transportation Conference (runs till 5/18); Barclays Americas Select Conference (runs till 5/19), Citigroup Internet, E-commerce & Digital Media Conference (runs till 5/18); JPMorgan Global Consumer & Retail Conference (runs till 5/18); JPMorgan Homebuilding & Building Products Conference (runs till 5/18)

18 May 2016- Needham Emerging Tech Conference (runs till 5/19)

May 12, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 sold off today, however; we closed well above the lows of the day to get near unchanged levels. The Nasdaq sold off nearly 1% as many tech names were under pressure. For example, Apple (AAPL) broke the $90 level during the day, closing down more than 2%.

We also saw continued selling in retail names for the second straight day. Not to mention, another strong day in Amazon (AMZN) +0.5%, closing above $716 per share. We had earnings out of Nordstrom this evening, shares have dropped more than 16% in the after hours… again, following similar companies who have already posted earnings results.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up more than 0.88% today, shaking off earlier losses in the day.

The VIX dropped nearly 2%, closing the day at 14.69.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Endo International PLC (ENDP). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Bristow Group Inc (BRS), which saw 11.4 times usual options volume.

Here’s what’s left for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
13 May 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPR-FD 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
13 May 2016- JCP

May 11, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 sold off today, giving up nearly all of yesterday’s gains. Two sectors that got really beat up where retail and pharma. For example, we saw heavy selling in: Macy’s (M) -15%, Target (TGT) -5.4%, Michael Kors (KORS) -11.9%, and Tiffany & Co. (TIF) -6% to name a few.

On the other end, Amazon.com (AMZN) was up more than 1%, which appears to be the winner from all this. Not to mention, the Office Depot (ODP) -40% and Staples (SPLS) -18% was called off due to regulatory issues…which might have also helped Amazon out as well.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up more than 3% today after we got a surprise draw out of the DOE numbers this morning.

The VIX gained more than 7%, closing the day at 14.69.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Scorpio Bulkers (SALT). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Masco (MAS), which saw 3.9 times usual options volume.

Here’s what’s left for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
12 May 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
13 May 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPR-FD 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
12 May 2016- AER, KSS, MTW, PRGO, RL, JWN, NVDA, SHAK
13 May 2016- JCP

Key Events:
11 May 2016- Bank America Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference (runs till 5/12)
11 May 2016- Bank America Healthcare Conference (runs till 5/12)
11 May 2016- Jefferies Technology Conference (runs till 5/12)

May 8, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished lower for the second straight week, as a majority of the key earnings are now behind us. The NASDAQ has been down 11 out of the last 13 sessions, as many of the tech and biotech names have been under pressure.

Although the market was down, the VIX actually dropped below the 15 level.

Crude oil futures prices were also relatively weak, dropping about 3% and closing below $45 per barrel. Right now, crude oil is about 3% off from the 6-month highs.

Gold futures have been on an absolute tear lately, they’re just 1.2% off the 12-month highs.

With some of the earnings winding down, there are a number of conferences to look out for. Check out the schedule below.

Key Economic Data:
11 May 2016– EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
12 May 2016– Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
13 May 2016– Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPR-FD 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
9 May 2016– BID, JD, TEVA, TSN, DNB, HTZ, INVN, JAZZ, RAX, SCTY, PRA
10 May 2016– DF, SODA, WWE, DIS, EA, JIVE, NUAN, RICK
11 May 2016– M, WEN, CA, JACK, NTES
12 May 2016– AER, KSS, MTW, PRGO, RL, JWN, NVDA, SHAK
13 May 2016– JCP

Key Events:
9 May 2016– Morgan Stanley E&P and Oil Service Conference (runs till 5/11)
10 May 2016– Citigroup Energy & Utilities Conference (runs till 5/11), Oppenheimer Industrials Growth Conference (runs till 5/11), SunTrust Internet & Digital Media Conference (runs till 5/11), Wells Fargo Industrials & Construction Conference (runs till 5/11), Bank America Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference (runs till 5/12), Bank America Healthcare Conference (runs till 5/12)
11 May 2016– Jefferies Technology Conference (runs till 5/12)

May 5, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 sold off for the third consecutive day, although; we closed nearly unchanged. For the most part, earnings related companies dominated the action today.

With that said, we got positive earnings out of Alibaba (BABA) this morning (+3.3%). In the after hours we got results out of Gopro (GPRO) -11.5%, Endo International (ENDP) -28.4%, and Herbalife (HLF) +14%.

The VIX sold off a little, closing the day at 15.91, a drop of nearly 1%

Crude Oil bounced back a little, snapping a 3-day losing streak and closing the day below $45 per barrel. It gave up a lot of gains in the afternoon, but still managed to end the day positive.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Weatherford International (WFT). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in YY Inc (YY), which saw 10.8 times usual options volume.

Here’s what’s left for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
6 May 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
6 May 2016- AGN, WLTW, WY, EXC