April 26, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was relatively flat today, ahead of a heavy earnings and data week. The S&P 500 closed the day at 2091.70.

This evening we got results out of Twitter (TWTR) -9.3%, Apple (AAPL) -8.5%, and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -2.3%.

Overall, this should have a negative effect on the market. However, we’ve got the FOMC announcement which has the potential to shift the markets in either direction.

The VIX caught a bid, closing the day at 13.96.

Crude Oil has had a nice bounce today, climbing in the after hours after seeing a draw in the API data. We’re now trading above $44 a barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Huntington Bancshares Inc (HBAN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in ExamWorks Group (EXAM), which saw 7.4 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Sarepta (SRPT) -31%, Amira Nature Foods (ANFI) -16.6%, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals +2.2%.

Here’s what’s left for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
27 April 2016- International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10 :30 AM ET, FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET

28 April 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

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

Key Earnings:
27 April 2016- ANTM, BA, BEN, BHI, CMCSA, DPS, GSK, GRMN, HES, HLT, IP, LLL, MDLZ, NDAQ, NOC, SC, SO, UTX, AVB, FB, FSLR, HOLX, INFN, MAR, WLL, XLNX

28 April 2016- ABBV, ADP, AET, APD, BMY, CAB, CAH, CELG, CL, CLF, CME, COMM, COP, DB, DOW, DPZ, F, MA, MJN, MO, MPC, NOV, TMO, PTEN, RTN, TWC, UPS, VALE, VIAB, AMGN, AMZN, CATM, EXPE, FLEX, JNPR, LNKD, OUTR, P, QLIK, STRZA, SWKS, WDC

29 April 2016- CBOE, PSX, SHPG, XOM, TYC

April 24, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week slightly higher, still within close distance from the all-time highs. Not too shabby considering many of the earnings out have been rather weak. In terms of this upcoming week, we’ll be stuffed with earnings and economic data.

For example, we’ll have earnings out of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Exxon just to name a few. In addition, an FOMC announcement on Wednesday and GDP on Thursday.

The VIX closed the week slowly, at 13.22. This makes 8 straight trading days that the VIX has closed below 14, making it the longest streak of the year.

Crude oil finished the week about 8% higher from last Friday. For many, this came as a surprise given there was no real positives that came out of the Doha meeting. With that said, the futures shrugged that off after Monday’s sell-off.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up…

Key Economic Data:
25 April 2016- New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET
26 April 2016- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET
28 April 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
29 April 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
25 April 2016- FDC, HAL, KKR, LH, XRX, AGNC, CDNS, ESRX, KN, NBR, NXPI, PXD, SWFT, ZION, RE
26 April 2016- AKS, ALLY, BAX, BP, CNX, COH, DD, FCX, GLW, HSY, IR, JBLU, JNS, LLY, LMT, MAS, MHFI, MMM, ODP, PCAR, PG, PH, R, RAI, SAVE, SPG, STAY, SVU, TMUS, WAT, WYN, APPL, AKAM, ASH, BWLD, BYD, CAKE, CMG, CREE, COF, CRUS, EBAY, EW, FTNT, IRBT, NCR, PNRA, SLCA, T, TEX, TWTR, TX, X
27 April 2016- ANTM, BA, BEN, BHI, CMCSA, DPS, GSK, GRMN, HES, HLT, IP, LLL, MDLZ, NDAQ, NOC, SC, SO, UTX, AVB, FB, FSLR, HOLX, INFN, MAR, WLL, XLNX
28 April 2016- ABBV, ADP, AET, APD, BMY, CAB, CAH, CELG, CL, CLF, CME, COMM, COP, DB, DOW, DPZ, F, MA, MJN, MO, MPC, NOV, TMO, PTEN, RTN, TWC, UPS, VALE, VIAB, AMGN, AMZN, CATM, EXPE, FLEX, JNPR, LNKD, OUTR, P, QLIK, STRZA, SWKS, WDC
29 April 2016- CBOE, PSX, SHPG, XOM, TYC

April 21, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was relatively weak today, with the Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all closing in the red. For the most part, earnings have been somewhat mixed.

This evening we got results out of Starbucks (SBUX) -5.4%, Microsoft (MSFT) -2.5%, and Alphabet (GOOGL) -3.8%. This might weigh down the Nasdaq tomorrow.

The VIX caught a bid, closing the day at 13.95. This is the fourth straight close under 14, and the second lowest closing print of the year.

Crude Oil has had a nice bounce off Sunday’s lows, following an unproductive Doha meeting. WTI Crude closed the day above 41, at 41.08.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in CDK Global (CDK). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Tidewater Inc (TDW), which saw 6.9 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Biogen (BIIB) +5%, Viacom (VIAB) +13.8%, and Intrexon (XON) -26.4%.

Here’s what’s left for tomorrow:

Key Earnings:
22 April 2016- CAT, GE, KMB, MCD, SYF, STI

April 19, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was relatively mixed today, with the Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500 trading higher, while, the Nasdaq closed lower due to some poor earnings results in some heavily weighted companies like Netflix.

The VIX sold off a little bit, closing the day at 13.24. This the fourth straight close under 14, and the second lowest closing print of the year.

Crude Oil has had a nice bounce off Sunday’s lows, following an unproductive Doha meeting. WTI Crude closed the day above 41, at 41.08.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Deere & Co. (DE). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Cardinal Health (CAH), which saw 6.2 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: IBM (IBM) -5.6%, Netflix (NFLX) -12.9%, and SeaDrill (SDRL) +12.9%

Here’s what’s left this week:

Key Economic Data:
20 April 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
21 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
20 April 2016- ABT, ARMH, ASML, CHKP, EMC, CP, KO, HBAN, ITW, SAP, TUP, USB, AXP, CCK, CTXS, FFIV, MAT, NEM, QCOM, SYK, YUM, VMI
21 April 2016- ALK, BBT, BIIB, BK, CFG, DGX, DHI, FCS, FITB, GM, KCG, KEY, LUV, PPG, PHM, SHW, UA, UNP, VZ, AMD, GOOGL, MSFT, SBUX, SWN, V, SLB
22 April 2016- CAT, GE, KMB, MCD, SYF, STI

April 17, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week higher, actually near 3-month highs as earnings season picks up steam. On the menu this week: Microsoft, Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, American Express, Alphabet, Starbucks, and McDonalds just to name a few.

The VIX closed the week nearly two points lower from last Friday, at 13.62.

Crude oil finished the week slightly higher, however; it’s seeing heavy selling pressure Sunday night after OPEC’s Meeting this weekend. When countries came together this weekend, they were unable to come up with any form of resolution on a potential production freeze. With that said, Iran decided not to freeze output causing a standoff amongst members.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up…

Key Economic Data:
19 April 2016- Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET
20 April 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
21 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
18 April 2016- HAS, JBHT, MS, PEP, BMI, IBM, NFLX
19 April 2016- EAT, GS, HOG, JNJ, KSU, PM, UNH, DFS, LLTC, ISRG
20 April 2016- ABT, ARMH, ASML, CHKP, EMC, CP, KO, HBAN, ITW, SAP, TUP, USB, AXP, CCK, CTXS, FFIV, MAT, NEM, QCOM, SYK, YUM, VMI
21 April 2016- ALK, BBT, BIIB, BK, CFG, DGX, DHI, FCS, FITB, GM, KCG, KEY, LUV, PPG, PHM, SHW, UA, UNP, VZ, AMD, GOOGL, MSFT, SBUX, SWN, V, SLB
22 April 2016- CAT, GE, KMB, MCD, SYF, STI

April 14, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was relatively flat today, trading in a very narrow range. The S&P 500 traded between 2078 to 2087, closing in the middle of that range at 2082.

Despite a slow moving market, the VIX sold off a little bit, closing at 13.72.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down .5%, closing the day at 10.48. Crude oil is still comfortably trading above $41 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Union Pacific (UNP). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Waddell & Reed Financial (WDR), which saw 48.4 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Bofi Holding (BOFI) -16.3%, Repros Therapeutics (RPRX) +20%, and Seagate Technology (STX) -20%

Earnings tomorrow include Citigroup. Thus far, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have posted solid results. However, Wells Fargo did not react as well on their earnings.

Here’s what’s left this week:

Key Economic Data:
15 April 2016- Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET

Key Earnings:
15 April 2016- C, RF, SCHW

April 12, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market had a nice bounce after yesterday’s sell off. In fact, we’re not too far off most recent highs. With that said, earnings have kicked off and much of the focus will be on that over the next several weeks.

The VIX sold off nearly 9%, closing the day at 14.85.

One of the sectors on fire was energy. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up over 2.5%, closing the day at 10.64. Crude Oil is closed above $41 per barrel, sitting around 3 month highs.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Synaptics, Incorporated (SYNA). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP), which saw 8.7 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Chesapeake Energy (CHK) +33%, Juniper Networks (JNPR) -7%, Seadrill (SDRL) +22%, and Horizon Pharma (HZNP) (-25%)

As mentioned, earnings season is going to start picking up some steam. Here’s what is on tap for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Key Economic Data:
13 April 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPI-FD 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
14 April 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
15 April 2016- Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET

Key Earnings:
13 April 2016- JPM, PIR
14 April 2016- BAC, BLK, DAL, PGR, TSM, WFC, AMD, CHKE
15 April 2016- C, RF, SCHW

April 10, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week lower, however; we’re only 1.32% off our yearly highs heading into earnings season. With that said, several names in the financial sector will be reporting. This includes JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citi to name a few.

The VIX closed the week more than two points higher from last Friday, at 15.36. It didn’t stick in the 13-range for too long.

Crude oil finished the week higher, more than 6% as they inch back near $40 per barrel. Part of the help came from the EIA Petroleum numbers, which indicated greater than expected draws in supply.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up…

Key Economic Data:
13 April 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPI-FD 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
14 April 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
15 April 2016- Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET

Key Earnings:
11 April 2016- AA
12 April 2016- FAST, CSX, ADTN
13 April 2016- JPM, PIR
14 April 2016- BAC, BLK, DAL, PGR, TSM, WFC, AMD, CHKE
15 April 2016- C, RF, SCHW

April 5, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was under a lot of selling pressure for most of the day. It all started last night, as Asian and European markets were both weak. The S&P 500 closed down more than 1%, making it two straight down days in a row.

The VIX shot up after hanging out in the low 13s…it’s now back above 15, as it closed the day 9.2% higher at 15.42.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in NeoPhotonics (NPTN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Big Lots (BIG), which was 7.3 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Allegran (AGN) -15%, DragonWave (DRWI) +36%, and Tesla Motors (TSLA) +3.8%

In the after-hours, we saw a jump in crude oil prices following the American Petroleum Institute numbers. They reported a drop in crude inventories by 4.3m barrels. The United States Oil Fund (USO) is up more than 2% on that.

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

Key Economic Data:
6 April 2016- EIA Petroleum Report 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
7 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
6 April 2016- GPN, MON, STZ, APOG, APOL, BBBY
7 April 2016- CAG, KMX, RAD

Key Events:
6 April 2016- 2016 MRO Americas Conference (runs till 4/7)
7 April 2016- Cowen 2nd Annual Retail & Luxury Day

April 3, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week off on year-to-date highs. That’s more than 250 points higher than the February 11 lows. Even more impressive, the Nasdaq is up more than 14% from those February 11 lows.

The VIX closed the week at 13.10. These are clearly the lowest levels of the year. The belief is that the Fed may not be in a rush to raise interest rates, given global uncertainty. We should get a clearer picture after the FOMC minutes are released.

Crude oil finished the week lower, dislocating from equities, as they dropped more than 5% on the week. A couple weeks ago they were trading above $40 per barrel, however; they’re currently trading around $36.40.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up…

Key Economic Data:
5 April 2016- International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET
6 April 2016- EIA Petroleum Report 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
7 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
5 April 2016- WBA, DRI
6 April 2016- GPN, MON, STZ, APOG, APOL, BBBY
7 April 2016- CAG, KMX, RAD

Key Events:
5 April 2016- 2016 Healthcare Back-to-Basics Forum, 2016 MRO Americas Conference (runs till 4/7)
7 April 2016- Cowen 2nd Annual Retail & Luxury Day