May 19, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 closed the day slightly lower; however, volume was extremely anemic.

The VIX is trading below the 13 level; however, it gained less than a percent.

The energy market saw some increased volatility. The United States Oil Fund was down 4%, closing at 19.63. In addition, option volatility spiked in USO options, rising nearly 4 points and closing at 33% IV (for the 30-day at-the-money options)

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA), United Parcel Service (UPS), Endo International PLC (ENDP) and Meritor (MTOR).

One name that saw massive selling pressure was Yahoo (YHOO), the stock price was down 7% on the fears that they may have some issues with IRS, regarding the way their spinoff would be treated.

Here’s what’s on tap for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
20 MAY 2015- FOMC Minutes 2:15 PM ET
21 MAY 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Survey 10:00 AM ET, Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET
22 May 2015- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
20 MAY 2015- LOW, SPLS. TGT, CRM, NTAP
21 MAY 2015- ARUN, GPS, MRVL, ROST, HPQ, LGF
22 MAY 2015- ANN, CPB, DE

Key Conferences:
18 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/20)- JP Morgan Global TMT Conference
18 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/20)- UBS Healthcare Conference
18 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/21)- UBS Oil & Gas Conference
19 May 2015 (runs till 5/20)- JP Morgan Homebuilding Conference
19 May 2015 (runs till 5/20)- JP Morgan Consumer & Retail Conference
19 May 2015 (runs till 5/20)- SunTrust Financial Services Confere