March 2, 2017 Market Wrap Up

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The markets sold off today on rather light volume. However, today’s headlines were dominated by Snap. The much anticipated IPO traded over 216M shares on its opening day, closing up more than 40%, at 24.48. With that said, this was the largest IPO in over 2 years.

Strong earnings performers included: Abercrombie & Fitch Company (ANF), Burlington Stores (BURL), and Intrexon (XON)

Weak earnings performers included: Costco Wholesale (COST), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), and Shake Shack (SHAK)

ETF Performers: United States Oil Fund (USO) -2.02%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -0.43%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -1.23%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in HRG Group Inc (HRG), which traded 5.2 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Fastenal Company (FAST), which traded 2.6 times normal option volume.

There are no major events on the schedule for tomorrow.

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August 30, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed lower today, on below average volume. It’s been nearly two months of trading without seeing a +/- 1% move in the market. Eventually, something has to give in what has been a painfully slow summer in terms of volume and volatility.

Stocks in play today included: Potash Corporation (POT) +12%, Agrium (AGU) +7%, The Hershey Company (HSY) -10.8%, and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) -20.3%

The VIX closed the day slightly higher, closing above 13, at 13.12.

Crude oil futures bounced back a little from yesterday’s pullback, climbing more than 1% and closing above $47 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in NeoPhotonics Corporation (NPTN), which traded 4.6 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Ctrip (CTRP), which was 2.6 times normal options volume. Keep in mind, they have earnings tomorrow after the close.

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

Key Economic Data:
31 Aug 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM
1 Sep 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET.
2 Sep 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
31 Aug 2016- CHS, BLOX, BOBE, BOX, CRM, FIVE, SMTC
1 Sep 2016- CIEN, CPB, JOY, LULU, AMBA, AVGO, PAY, SWHC

Key Conferences:
Jefferies Semiconductor, Hardware, and Communications Conference (runs till 8/31)

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May 26, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 was relatively flat today, as volume seems to have dried up as we near all-time highs.

Stocks in play today: Gogo (GOGO) +16.3%, Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) +7.5%, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) -16%, and Signet Jewelers (SIG) -10.5%

It was no surprise to see the VIX sell off as hard as it did. Many traders will be away tomorrow, as Monday is a holiday. With that said, it makes sense to see volatility come in, given not much is expected over the next few days. The VIX closed below 13.50.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down less than 1% today. Now, crude oil futures did hit $50 per barrel for the first time in over 6 months, but were unable to hold that level into the close.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), which was 3.1 times normal volume. We also saw a ton of bearish bets being placed in Eagle Pharmaceuticals (EGRX).

Here’s what’s left for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
27 May 2016- GDP 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

November 15, 2015 The Week Ahead

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The SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) has been on a 3-day sell off, closing the week 3.5% lower. It’s hard to point to exactly what caused the sell of, but per usual, there are a number of theories ranging from profit taking to weak retail sales numbers. What looked like a sure December rate hike, now appears less uncertain.

As mentioned retailers took a hit. Nordstrom (JWN) -19%, Macy’s (M) -17%, Target (TGT) -8%, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) -12% … just to name a few. Could this be the catalyst to put a rate hike on hold? We shall see. One thing though, we’ll be getting the FOMC Minutes transcript on 11/18, which should shed some light on the matter.

The VIX shot off like a rocket, and is now trading above 20.

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