August 20, 2018 The Week Ahead

Education, Trading , , , , , ,

Stocks were mixed during the week as attention remains on the ongoing currency crisis in Turkey as well as, trade negotiations between the US and China. The number of earnings reports are declining and trading volumes are starting to come in as the summer drags along.

Stocks in play during the week included: WMT +8.51%, TSLA -14.06%, CGC +19.47%, SWCH -26.79%, and JWN +12.55%

Here are how some of the most widely traded index ETFs performed over the week:
Powershares QQQ ETF (QQQ) -0.37%, SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) +0.67%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) +1.27%, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) +0.49%

The VIX closed at 12.60 on Friday.

graph

Here are how some futures and commodity ETFs performed over the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) -2.77%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) +0.27%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -2.23%

Economic Releases:
22 Aug 2018- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET; FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET

23 Aug 2018- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET; PMI Composite Flash 9:45 AM ET; New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
20 Aug 2018- EL, BHP, FN

21 Aug 2018- COTY, KSS, TJX, TOL, KEYS, LZB, URBN

22 Aug 2018- LOW, TGT, ADI, SMRT

23 Aug 2018- BABA, ADSK, INTU, LB, ROST, SNPS, SPLK, VEEV

Be sure to check out our Active Trading Masters Program | Online Courses

July 7, 2016 Market Wrap Up

Education, Trading , , , , , , , , ,

The S&P 500 was relatively flat today on below average volume. However, there were some interesting sectors in play. More specifically, healthcare, retail and foods. With that said, a lot of eyes and ears will be on tomorrow’s jobs report as the shortened trading week comes to a close.

Stocks in play today include: Humana (HUM) -10%, AVG Technologies (AVG) +30.9%, Whitewave Foods Company (WWAV) +18.6%, and First Solar Energy (FSLR) -9.9%

The VIX was down a little bit, closing at 14.76.

Crude oil futures got torched today. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down more than 4%, closing the day at 10.82.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Nordstrom Inc (JWN), which traded 6.7 times normal volume. We also saw a ton of bearish bets being placed in WellCare Health Plans, which traded 16.8 times usual volume.

Here’s what’s left for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
8 July 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

November 15, 2015 The Week Ahead

Education, Trading , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

Read More…