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)

April 28, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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It was a pretty busy day in the markets, so let’s highlight some of the key events that went down. First, the futures took a hit pre-market after the Bank of Japan decided not to add further stimulus. It was widely accepted that they would continue to add stimulus and that was not the case at all.

With that said, the S&P 500 managed to rally into the green. That’s with a weaker than expected GDP number. However, we started to see some selling pressure after Billionaire Investor, Carl Icahn gave some cautious views on the market, not to mention, he sold all of his Apple (AAPL) stake, which took the stock and the overall market down.

The S&P 500 closed down nearly 1%, gold futures were up nearly 2%, and silver futures were more than 2%.

The VIX caught a bid, closing the day at 15.22, an increase of more than 10%.

Crude Oil shrugged off the weakness in the equity markets as it continues to chase the $50 per barrel level. The futures are currently trading above $46 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Tronox (TROX). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Synaptics Incorporated (SYNA), which saw 3.2 times usual options volume.

This evening we got earnings out of Amazon (AMZN) +11.7%, Linkedin (LNKD) +11%, Pandora (P) +8%, and Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) -4.1% to name a few.

Here’s what’s left for the last trading day of the month:

Key Economic Data:
29 April 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
29 April 2016- CBOE, PSX, SHPG, XOM, TYC

January 24, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 had its first positive week on the year. However, despite being up 3 out of 4 trading sessions, there still seems to be a lot of fear in the markets. We had about a 100 point range from the highs to lows (1812-1906).

A lot of eyes are on the Asian Markets, as well as the world energy market. Crude Oil prices have had a nice bounce after trading below $30 per barrel. They finished the week up, about 7% or so. However, it’s too early to tell if the bottom is in or we’re just seeing a dead-cat bounce.

The VIX waited till Friday to sell-off hard. Overall, it closed the week more than 15% lower. With that said, it’s still trading above 22.

This is an incredibly busy week, which includes an army of earnings releases and economic data. Some of those highlights include the FOMC Meeting and GDP numbers on Friday. Earnings will cover several sectors including pharmaceuticals, energy, defense, technology, and transportation.

Reporting this week: Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Caterpillar (CAT), Halliburton (HAL), Eli Lilly (LLY), and a whole lot more.

Here’s what else is on tap:

Key Economic Data:
27 January 2016- New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET
28 January 2016- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
29 January 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET, International Trade in Goods 8:30n AM ET

Key Earnings:
25 January 2016- DHI, HAL, KMB, MCD, ASH, PKG, SWFT, ZION, STLD
26 January 2016- DD, COH, FCX, GLW, JNJ, JNS, LMT, MMM, PG, PH, WAT, AAPL, CB, COF, NAVI, SYK, T, X
27 January 2016- BA, CLF, EMC, NVS, STJ, STM, TUP, CAVM, CRUS, CTXS, FB, INVN, HOLX, JNPR, LRCX, MLNX, MCK, QCOM, PYPL, SNDK, TER, TSCO, TXN, URI, VRTX
28 January 2016- ABT, BMY, DGX, F, CAT, CELG, CY, DB, HOG, JBLU, LLY, NDAQ, UA, V, VLO, POT, NUE, HSY, AMZN, EA, FLEX, SYNA, SWKS, MSFT, NOC
29 January 2016- AAL, ABBV, PCAR, APD, CL, CVX, HON, MA, PCAR, PSX, XRX

December 29, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 is up over 1% over the last two days on relatively low volume. With that said, we’ve got just two more trading days till the year is over. Will all three major indices finish positive? At the moment, NASDAQ and the S&P 500 are both positive. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is still down slightly.

The VIX continues to see a big sell off, it’s now trading around 16 and was down about 5% on the day.

Oil names caught a small bounce, the United States Oil Fund (USO) was up nearly 2% after the API Inventory numbers came out in the after hours.

Stocks in play today included: Sunedison (SUNE) -9%, FXCM +26%, and Amazon (AMZN) +2.8%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NWL). We also saw aggressive put buying in Ultra Petroleum Corp (UPL).

As mentioned earlier this week, there isn’t much going on data wise.

Key Economic Data:
31 December 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

November 30, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed the day relatively weak, as traders came back from Thanksgiving break. With that said, we still finished the month higher. On the other hand, energy, the United States Oil Fund (USO) finished the month down more than 12%. In addition, gold, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) was down nearly 7% on the month.

There was a decent amount of attention on retail names, stats for Black Friday and Cyber Monday were hitting the tape. Unfortunately, Target (TGT) had issues with their website today, the stock price was down 1.3%. Here’s how other retailers fared: Wal-Mart (WMT) -1.6%, Gap (GPS) -2.3%, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) -3.8%, and Amazon (AMZN) -1%.

The VIX finished the day a point higher, closing the month at 16.13.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in ADT (ADT). We also saw massive put buyers in Urban Outfitters (URBN), which was down over 5%.

Here’s what is going for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
01 December 2015- ISM Manufacturing 10:00 AM ET
03 December 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
04 December 2015- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
01 December 2015- BMO, BOBE
02 December 2015- AEO, AVGO, ARO, VMEM
03 December 2015- EXPR, G, SHLD, AMBA, BKS, FIVE, ULTA
04 December 2015- HOV

Key Events:
30 November 2015- Credit Suisse Industrial Conference (runs till 12/3), Credit Suisse Tech, Media, Telecom Conference (runs till 12/3)
01 December 2015- Citigroup Basic Materials Conference (runs till 12/2), Cowen 4th Annual HealthCare Conference, Cowen 5th Annual Ultimate Energy Conference (runs till 12/2), Goldman Sachs Metals & Mining Conference (runs till 12/2), Piper Jaffray HealthCare Conference (runs till 12/2)
03 December 2015- Wells Fargo Boston Gaming Forum
04 December 2015- American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting

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