August 11, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 11, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading ALLY, China, Conferences, Data, Earnings, Economic, education, FCAU, S&P 500, trading, USO, VIX

August 11, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 was down more than 1% today. Mainly a reaction to last night’s announcement out of China. They decided to devalue their currency, which put a ton of pressure on companies that export to China. For example, shares of Apple were down nearly 5%.

We saw weakness in Gopro -9%, Apple -5%, Sunedision -13%, to name a few.

With that said, it was no surprise to see the VIX jump over 12%, closing the day at 13.71. Now, a 13.71 VIX reading is not exactly screaming panic, with that said; we would need to see further selling pressure in order to see it move higher.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU). We also saw bearish option activity in Ally Financial (ALLY).

The energy complex was extremely weak, the United States Oil Fund (USO), was down more than 3%. For the most part, we’ve generally seen airlines perform well on this weakness.

August 9, 2015 The Week Ahead

August 9, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading Conferences, Data, Dow Jones, Earnings, Economic, education, S&P 500, Shanghai, trading, VIX

August 9, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 ended Friday’s action down for the fourth time in the last five trading sessions. Even worse, the Dow Jones Industrials has suffered its seventh straight losing session.

In respect to risk, market participants will be watching the Shanghai Composite, along with earnings.
Thus far, earnings have not been good enough to push the market to new highs.

Despite the uncertainty, the VIX barely climbed, closing the week at 13.39. With that said, many market technicians believe that the market is having a hard time holding major support levels. However, we are in the dull days of summer, which could explain the low volatility readings.

August 6, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 6, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading BRCM, CVX, DSX, Earnings, Economic, education, OXY, S&P 500, trading, VIX, XOM

August 6, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 closed lower today, now making four out of the last five trading sessions. We’ve seen several companies in various sectors, specifically, media, technology, and healthcare report bad earnings.

We saw weakness in Walt Disney Company, Comcast, Time Warner, Starz, and Twenty-First Century Fox. In addition, the Ishares Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB) was down over 4%.

With that said, it was no surprise to see the VIX jump over 10%, closing the day at 13.77. Now, a 13.77 VIX is not exactly screaming panic, we would need a further sell-off for that to occur.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Diana Shipping Inc (DSX). We also saw bearish option activity in Broadcom Corp (BRCM).

The energy complex held up, considering the weakness we saw in other areas in the market. We saw some strength in XOM, CVX, and OXY to name a few.

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
7 August 2015- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
7 August 2015- CVC

August 4, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 4, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading Apple, China, CRUS, Data, Earnings, Economic, education, Netflix, RAD, trading, VIX

August 4, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 closed lower for the third straight trading session. However, as mentioned yesterday, we’re not too far off the yearly highs.

A lot of the sell-off can be attributed to the sharp decline in Apple shares, dropping more than 3%, more than six points off the 200-day moving average. On the bright side, Netflix hit 52-week highs, after announcing a date on when it will enter Japan and catching a few price target raises.

Interestingly, the Chinese market rebounded last night. Which was good enough to see commodity prices rebound slightly.

The VIX saw a slight pop, closing the day at 13, a move of 3.5%.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Rite Aid Corp (RAD). We also saw bearish option activity in Cirrus Logic Inc (CRUS).

August 3, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 3, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading Apple, China, Data, Earnings, Economic, education, SRPT, trading, URBN, VIX

August 3, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 closed negatively today, causing the index to drop below its 50 and 100 day moving averages. As mentioned yesterday, traders have been focused on China’s market and economic data.

With that said, we saw weaker manufacturing data from them, which caused commodity prices to tumble.

Crude oil futures are now at 3 month lows after dropping nearly 3%. In addition, gold futures are near 12-month lows.

Despite the negative tone, the VIX was only up around 4%, closing at 12.56. Interestingly, Apple saw a pretty sharp sell off, down over 2% and trading below its 200-day moving average for the first time since 2013.

August 2, 2015 The Week Ahead

August 2, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading

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.

July 30, 2015 Market Wrap Up

July 30, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading

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

July 28, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading

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%

July 26, 2015 The Week Ahead

July 26, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading

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.

July 23, 2015 Market Wrap Up

July 23, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading

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%.

August 11, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 9, 2015 The Week Ahead

August 6, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 4, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 3, 2015 Market Wrap Up

August 2, 2015 The Week Ahead

July 30, 2015 Market Wrap Up

July 28, 2015 Market Wrap Up

July 26, 2015 The Week Ahead

July 23, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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