March 17, 2015 Market Recap

The S&P 500 closed down today, on a rather dull Saint Patricks Day. All eyes will be on the FOMC announcement and whether or not the FED will be changing their tone pertaining to interest rates. For a while now, they’ve hinted that they’ll be raising rates in either June or September. With that said, they’ve given the market enough time to prepare, but we’ll have to wait for the market’s reaction.

The VIX closed the day slightly positive, finishing at 15.66. Again, this is neither a high or low level on the VIX. However, we could see a massive spike tomorrow in either direction, depending on how the market reacts to the FOMC announcement.

One sector that traders were watching today was the energy sector. The United States Oil Fund (USO), was down over 2%, extending to a 6 day losing streak. Believe it or not, USO is now 45% below its 200-day simple moving average.

In the options market, we saw bullish flow in Facebook (FB), CONSOL Energy (CNX), DreamWorks Animation (DWA), and Nucor Corporation (NUE). In addition, we saw bearish flow in Theravance Inc. (THRX). However, the option market, like the stock market, was uneventful today.

Here’s what you should be watching tomorrow…

Key Economic Data:
18 March 2015- FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET

Key Earnings:
18 March 2015- FDX, GIS, GES, JBL, NQ

Conferences:
18 March 2015- Brokers & Exchanges Forum