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)

January 14, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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In 2016, volatility is the name of the game. With that said, it was out in full force today. The S&P 500 traded in a range of 1878 to about 1934. Ultimately closing the day about 1.67% higher. Believe it or not, we’re nearly flat on the week now.

The VIX continues to stay elevated above 20, however; today it was down 5%, closing at 23.95.

Crude oil futures prices continue to hover around $30 per barrel. Lately, the equity markets have been selling off when energy does. Let’s see if that theme continues.

Stocks in play included: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +6.2%, Solarcity (SCTY) -13.5%, and Abbvie (ABBV) +6.7%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Abbvie (ABBV). We also saw aggressive put buying in Workday (WDAY) .

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
15 January 2016- PPI 8:30 AM ET, Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
15 January 2016- BLK, C, FAST, RF, USB, WFC

Conferences:
15 January 2016- JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (runs till 1/15), UBS Greater China Conference (runs till 1/15)

October 22, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 was on fire today, closing the day up near 2%. The SPDR S&P (SPY) is now up more than 6% on the month.

The market opened up strong after earnings from McDonalds posted better than expected earnings. The stock price closed the day up a little more than 8%.

The VIX continues to get leveled, it closed the day at 14.45, down more than 13%.

The energy sector was relatively flat; however, we did see some strength in some energy stocks in the likes of Exxon Mobil (XOM), which was more than 3%.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Vmware (VMW). Options that saw bearish put buying in AbbVie (ABBV).

This evening we got earnings from Alphabet (GOOGL) +9% , Amazon (AMZN) +9.7%, and Microsoft (MSFT) +8%.

Here’s what’s on tap tomorrow:

23 October 2015- AAL, PG