June 1, 2016 Market Wrap Up

June 1, 2016 tvcuser Education, Trading Data, Earnings, Economic, ETE, Events, HFC, NKE, OPEC, OPTT, S&P 500, USO, VIX, WLK

The S&P 500 started the new month on a positive note, however; volume was well below the average. With that said, it’s not the greatest sign, when we’re moving towards all-time highs without any follow through in volume.

Stocks in play today: Nike (NKE) -.5%, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) +8%, Ocean Power Technologies (OPTT) +285%, Hollyfrontier (HFC) +5%

Given the weak volume and lack of downward follow through pressure…the VIX didn’t do too much, closing at 14.20.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down less than .25% today. Crude oil futures have been wrestling trying to break $50 per barrel. Now, they’ve been able to get their intraday, but have yet to hold on to it. Tomorrow marks an OPEC meeting as well as the EIA petroleum report.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Westlake Chemical Corp (WLK), which traded 16.9 times normal volume. We also saw a ton of bearish bets being placed in Nike (NKE), which traded 3.9 times usual volume.

Here’s what’s left for tomorrow and Friday:

Key Economic Data:
2 June 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status 11:00 AM ET
3 June 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
2 June 2016- CIEN, CONN, JOY, AMBA, AVGO, CMTL, FIVE, IDT, ZUMZ

Key Events:
KeyBanc Industrials & Auto Conference (runs till 6/2)
Bernstein 32nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference (runs till 6/3)
Bank America Global Technology Conference (runs till 6/2)
Cowen 44th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (runs till 6/2)
DA Davidson 8th Annual Technology Forum; RBC Consumer & Retail Conference (runs till 6/2)

February 9, 2016 Market Wrap Up

February 9, 2016 tvcuser Education, Trading Conferences, Data, DB, Earnings, Economic, ETE, FLY, S&P 500, VIAB, VIX, ZIOP

It was a pretty dull day in the markets, given all the volatility we’ve seen lately. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged. It appears that traders are waiting for tomorrow, as Janet Yellen takes the stage and addresses congress on the state of the economy.

Any chance of a potential rally was thwarted due to the weakness in energy prices. Crude Oil is at the lowest levels of the year. The cash market closed below 28, losing nearly 6% today. We’re down nearly 15% over the last four trading sessions.

Despite heavy selling pressure in oil and the equity market being relatively flat, the VIX didn’t really know where to go. When the smoked clear, it closed above 26.50, a gain of 2%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Fly Leasing Limited (FLY), about 5.6 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Viacom (VIAB) -21%, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) +14.5%, Deutsche Bank (DB) -.8%

As mentioned earlier, traders will be paying attention to FED Chairman Yellen as she testifies to Congress tomorrow.

Also, here’s what else is going on this week:

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

Key Earnings:
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)

February 8, 2016 Market Wrap Up

February 8, 2016 tvcuser Education, Trading BLMN, China, CHK, Conferences, CVS, Data, DIS, Earnings, Economic, ETE, KO, PENN, S&P 500, VIX, WMB

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

December 17, 2015 Market Wrap Up

December 17, 2015 tvcuser Education, Trading ATVI, Data, Earnings, education, ETE, FOMC, KBIO, P, RWLK, S&P 500, SFL, SPY, TK, TOO, trading, VIX

The S&P 500 closed lower, a day after the FOMC announced that they would be raising key interest rates. Initially, futures were trading higher pre-market. However, as the day progressed things got uglier. In fact, we saw some heavy selling pressure in the after-hours session. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF closed the day down more than 1.5%.

Surprisingly, the VIX didn’t really blast off, only gaining about 6% and closing below 19.

Oil names took a hit, not a surprise, as crude oil futures closed below $35 per barrel. Some oil and gas names also took a hit. For example, Teekay Offshore partners (TOO) was down over 50% after they announced that they would be cutting their dividend.

Stocks in play today included: Kalobios Pharmaceuticals (KBIO) -53%, Teekay (TK) -57%, Pandora (P) +13%, and ReWalk Robotics (RWLK) +80%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in the Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI). We also saw massive put buyers in Ship Finance International (SFL).

Here’s what is going on for tomorrow:

Key Earnings:
18 December 2015- BBRY, DRI, KMX, LEN