August 8, 2017 Market Wrap Up

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The markets were on pace for another slow grind up. However, that changed after some political remarks out of the White House, specifically; comments from the President about North Korea and it’s nuclear weapons ambitions.

Earnings highlights included: DIS -2.56%, CVS -0.7%, and CYBR -1.87%

The VIX climbed due to geopolitical concerns, it closed at 10.96.

Index EF movers: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) -0.25%, iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) -0.31%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrials Average ETF (DIA) -0.07%, and PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ) -0.17%

Commodity and futures related ETF movers: United States Oil Fund (USO) -0.4%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -0.36%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) +0.29%

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Urban Outfitters Inc (URBN), which traded 3.4 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Francesca’s Holdings Corporation (FRAN), which traded 7.7 times normal option volume.

Economic Releases:
9 August 2017- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
10 August 2017- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, PPI 8:30 AM ET
11 August 2017- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
8 August 2017- CABO, CVS, DF, ENDP, EXPD, IEP, KORS, LAMR, LNG, MNK, QVCA, RL, SEAS, SEE, TDG, TIME, VRX, ZBRA, ZTS, BUFF, CYBR, DIS, DXC, GDDY, HTZ, MSNT, MYGN, NUAN, PCLN, TRIP, TSO, XEC, ZG
9 August 2017- CROX, IPXL LITE, MYL, WB, WEN, FLO, FOXA,
10 August 2017- KSS, M, PRGO, JWN, NVDA, NWSA, SNAP, PCTY, TTD
11 August 2017- JCP

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February 7, 2017 Market Wrap Up

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The markets closed the day mixed on below average trading volume. One interesting note coming out of Bespoke, was that the S&P 500 has gone 80 sessions without a single down day of 1% or lower. Again, that’s pretty amazing considering all the media attention we’ve had surrounding US politics.

Some strong earnings performers included: Cardinal Health (CAH) and National Oilwell (NOV)

Some weak earnings performers included: Disney (DIS), Michael Kors (KORS), and General Motors (GM).

The VIX closed lower today, and is still trading below the 12 mark, as it ended the day at 11.29.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) -1.67%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) +0.74%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -0.24%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Denbury Resources (DNR), which traded 8.7 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Infinera Corporation (INFN), which traded 3.4 times normal option volume.

Here is what is left for the rest of the week:


Key Economic Data:
8 Feb 2017- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
9 Feb 2017- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM

Key Earnings:
8 Feb 2017- AXTA, CTSH, EXC, GRA, GRUB, HUM, LPX, RIO, OC, SNY, TWX, VOYA, DNB, FISV, GLUU, IRBT, LVLT, MC, PAYC, SCSS, TRMB, TYL, WFM, ZEN
9 Feb 2017- BATS, BWA, BZH, CLF, COTY, CVS, DNKN, K, KKR, KO, LIVE, MAS, MHK, OXY, PTEN, RAI, TDC, TWTR, VIAB, VRTU, WWE, YUM, ATVI, CERN, CYBR, EXPE, INFN, JCOM, LPLA, MNK, NCR, MPWR, NVDA, NWSA, P, RICK, UBNT, VRSN, WU, YELP, ZAYO, ZNGA
10 Feb 2017- AXL, G, MT

Key Events:
6 Feb 2017- Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum (runs till 2/8)
8 Feb 2017- Cowen 38th Annual Aerospace, Defense & Industrials Conference (runs till 2/9)
9 Feb 2017- KBW Winter Financial Services Symposium (runs till 2/10)

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August 9, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 traded slightly higher today on below average volume, a theme over the last couple of weeks. The SPDR S&P 500 traded about 50 million shares, whereas on average it’s been trading around 76 million shares per day.

Stocks in play today include: Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) +26%, Rackspace (RAX) + 6.7%, and Wayfair (W) -19.7%.

The VIX closed higher, still trading below 12 at 11.66.

Crude oil futures closed mildly lower, closing under $43 per barrel. Gold and Treasury bonds both caught a bid today, both gaining about .5%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Splunk (SPLK) at 2.5 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Phillips 66 at 2.2 times normal options volume.

This evening we got earnings out of Disney (DIS) -.5%, Yelp (YELP) +13.8%, Sunpower (SPWR) -22.7%, and Fossil (FOSL) +3.7%.

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

Key Economic Data:
10 Aug 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
11 Aug 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
12 Aug 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPI 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
10 Aug 2016- JD, KORS, PRGO, RL, WEN, BUFF, SHAK
11 Aug 2016- BABA, EAT, FLO, CSAL, KSS, M, JWN, NVDA, RT
12 Aug 2016- JCP

Key Conferences:
Credit Suisse Transports Conference (runs till 8/10); Jefferies Industrials Conference (runs till 8/11); JPMorgan Auto Conference (runs till 8/10); Oppenheimer Tech, Internet, and Communications Conference (runs till 8/10); UBS Financial Services Conference (runs till 8/10)

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August 7, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 closed the week higher, holding on to record high levels. Earnings have been rolling out pretty smoothly and on Friday we received a really strong employment number. Sure, a lot of these gains in the market have been on extremely low volume, however; that hasn’t been raised as a concern yet. The economic schedule is light but there are more earnings to look forward too.

The VIX continued to decline during the week, closing on Friday below 12, at 11.39.

Crude oil futures prices gained almost 1% on the week, however; we’re nearly 12% off our one month highs.

Moving on, gold futures prices dropped more than 1% on the week, turning a weekly gain into a loss after Friday’s employment numbers. In addition, T-bond futures prices dropped more than 1.5%, as they fell back from yearly high levels.

As mentioned earlier, earnings season continues to roll. We’ll be hearing from Michael Kors (KORS), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), Alibaba (BABA), Yelp (YELP), and Disney (DIS) just to name a few.

Here is what is on tap for this upcoming week:

Key Economic Data:
10 Aug 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
11 Aug 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
12 Aug 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPI 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
8 Aug 2016- AGN, DF, HZNP, TSN, ENDP, MCHP, NUAN, ONDK, NWSA, RAX, TWLO, WBMD
9 Aug 2016- CHTR, COH, INCY, LAMR, LNG, MYL, SNI, VRX, W, WWAV, ZBRA, CYBR, DIS, FOSL, JAZZ, MDVN, SCTY, SPWR, YELP
10 Aug 2016- JD, KORS, PRGO, RL, WEN, BUFF, SHAK
11 Aug 2016- BABA, EAT, FLO, CSAL, KSS, M, JWN, NVDA, RT
12 Aug 2016- JCP

Key Conferences:
8 Aug 2016- Credit Suisse Homebuilding & Building Products Conference (runs till 8/9)
9 Aug 2016- Credit Suisse Transports Conference (runs till 8/10); Jefferies Industrials Conference (runs till 8/11); JPMorgan Auto Conference (runs till 8/10); Oppenheimer Tech, Internet, and Communications Conference (runs till 8/10); UBS Financial Services Conference (runs till 8/10)

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February 8, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The Chinese markets were closed today in celebration of their new year. With that said, many traders believed that volatility would come in during their holiday break. Well…that clearly wasn’t the case today. The S&P 500 sold off 1.4% and the NASDAQ was down more than 1.8%.

We continue to see weakness in Biotech, Technology, and the MLP sector. It probably doesn’t help that commodities are also weak. Most importantly, crude oil, which settled below $30 per barrel.

It’s not a real surprise to see the VIX trade above 25 today, finishing the day 11% higher and closing at 26.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Penn National Gaming (PENN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Bloomin Brands (BLMN), about 58 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Chesapeake Energy (CHK) -33%, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE), and Williams Companies (WMB) -35%.

We’ve got earnings from Coca-Cola (KO) and CVS Pharmacy (CVS) tomorrow, along with Disney (DIS). Overall, earnings have been pretty weak this quarter. Let’s see if that trend changes at all.

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

Key Economic Data:
11 February 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
12 February 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
9 February 2016- CVS, KO, MAS, VIAB, WYN, AKAM, DIS, NCR, NUAN, PNRA, WU
10 February 2016- ARMH, TWX, EXPE, IRBT, TWTR, WFM, ZNGA, MYL, LOCK, FNF
11 February 2016- AVP, BTU, BWA, CAG, GNC, K, MOS, NOK, PEP, RIO, SHPG, TAP, TIME, WWAV, AIG, ATVI, CBS, CYBR, FEYE, GRPN, INFN, P, QLIK, RSG

Key Conferences:
8 February 2016- Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum (runs till 2/10)
9 February 2016- Bank America Merrill Insurance Conference (runs till 2/11), Goldman Sachs Tech Conf (runs till 2/11), Goldman Sachs Insurance Conf (runs till 2/11)
10 February 2016- Leerink Healthcare Conference (runs till 2/11)
11 February 2016- KBW Financial Conference (runs till 2/12)