Stock Market Watch for the Week of January 28th

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Stocks are looking to close the first month of the year in impressive fashion. All major stock indices are up. Led by small-caps, the Russell 2000 is up 10% this year. That said, we’re entering the most important period of January, as a number of high profile stocks are set to report earnings, names like FB, TSLA, AMZN, MSFT, AAPL, MRK and much more.

In addition to a slew of earnings, the FOMC is meeting on Wednesday. However, it appears that the Fed is going to work with the market, and not announce a rate hike during this meeting. One could argue that comments from Fed officials over the past few weeks has been a catalyst to the market rally.

Now, there is still plenty of market uncertainty. For example, the government did reopen, but only for three weeks until an agreement can be made. Also, trade talks with China are still ongoing with no resolution in sight.

That said, the VIX closed at 17.48 on Friday, as markets rallied off the news that the government will be reopened.

graph
Source: Yahoo

Here are how some of the most actively traded index ETFs performed over the week: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) +1.07%, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) +1.04%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) +1.47%, Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) +0.93%

Here are how some of the most actively traded commodity and interest rate ETFs performed: United States Oil Fund (USO) +1.99%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) +0.28%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) +0.61%

Economic Releases:
29 Jan 2019- International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET

30 Jan 2019- GDP 8:30 AM ET; EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET; FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET

1 Feb 2019- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
28 Jan 2019- AKS, GGG, WHR, RMBS, CAT, ETH

29 Jan 2019- EAT, DOV, BIIB, GLW, HCA, HOG, LLL, LMT, NUE, PCAR, ROK, VZ, VRX, AAPL, AMGD, AMD, EBAY, HA, JNPR, KLAC, MXIM, PEG, RHI, SYK

30 Jan 2019- ADP, ALLY, ANTM, BA, BEN, GD, HP, MCD, NDAQ, SIRI, T, TMO, CREE, CRUS, DLB, FB, FICO, MDLZ, MSFT, MUR, NOW, PYPL, QCOM, TSLA, V, WYNN

31 Jan 2019- BAX, CHTR, CELG, COP, EPD, GE, MA, NOC, S, UPS, VLO, AMZN, POST, MCK, SYMC

1 Feb 2019- BAH, BERY, CI, CVX, D, HON, JCI, KKR, LYB, MSG, MRK, SPG, WY, XOM, ZBH

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April 30, 2017 The Week Ahead

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The stock market posted impressive gains over the week, largely lead by a favorable French vote and somewhat decent earnings. The Nasdaq had four of its bigger firms report earnings: Amazon.com (AMZN) +2.94%, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) +3.10%, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) +7.44%, and Intel (INTC) -0.47%. All but Intel posted impressive gains on the week.

Here are how some of the most popular ETF Indices performed: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) +1.49%, iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) +1.35%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrials Average ETF (DIA) +1.87%, and PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ) +2.59%

Despite politics drawing a lot of attention, the markets don’t seem to be fazed. The VIX closed at 10.82 on Friday.

Some of the largest publically traded companies in the world will report this week. They include: Apple, CVS, Pfizer, Tesla, and Facebook.

Here are how some futures/commodity related ETF’s performed: United States Oil Fund (USO) -0.78%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -0.96%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -1.26%.

Below you’ll find what is else is on the schedule:

Key Economic Data:
03 May 2017- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET; FOMC Meeting 2:00 PM ET
04 May 2017- International Trade 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
05 May 2017- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
02 May 2017- ADM, AET, CHTR, COH, COP, CVS, EMR, ETN, EXLS, FIS, HCA, HCP, HLT, LL, MA, MOS, MRK, PFE, SABR, SHOP, AAPL, AKAM, APC, BYD, CSOD, DVN, FEYE, FSLR, FTR, GILD, EVHC, GDDY, HUBS, MDLZ, MTCH, OCLR, OKE, TEX, TWLO
03 May 2017- ADP, CDW, CLX, DLPH, EL, FLOW, GRMN, GRPN, HUM, ICE, MCK, NYT, RAI, S, SBGI, SO, TAP, TWX, YUM, AIG, ARRS, ANSS, CAKE, CATM, CF, CRUS, CXO, DDD, FB, FIT, GLUU, LNT, KHC, LVLT, PXD, PRU, RIG, TIVO, TSLA, WMB
04 May 2017- APA, CHD, CHK, D, FLR, INCY, IT, K, OXY, ZTS, VIAB, WLTW, ATVI, CBS, LOGM, MET, MRO, PKI, VECO
05 May 2017- CNP, CTSH, HCN, MC

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April 27, 2017 Market Wrap Up

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Stocks ended up higher on the day, except for the Russell 2000, which sold off about -0.16%. The Nasdaq hit record highs, as many of the big are set to report earnings this eventing.

At the time of this writing, this is how some of them stand: Amazon (AMZN) +5%, Alphabet (GOOGL) +4.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) -0.33%, and Intel (INTC) -2.65%. That said the Nasdaq is up in the after hours about 0.5%.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) -0.19%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -0.03%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -0.37%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in LPL Financial Holdings (LPLA), which traded 2.9 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Treehouse Foods Inc (THS), which traded 13.2 times normal option volume.

Here is what is left on the schedule:

Key Economic Data:
28 April 2017- GDP 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
27 April 2017- ABBV, APD, BMY, BSX, BWA, CELG, CMCSA, CME, DOW, F, GRUB, IP, IRM, JCI, LAZ, LLL, LUV, MPC, POT, SIRI, SPG, UAA, UNP, UPS, AIV, AMZN, BIDU, EXPE, GOOGL, GPRO, INTC, MLNX, MAC, MSFT, SBUX, VRTX, WDC
28 April 2017- CL, COG, CVX, GM, GT, HST, LYB, PSX, SYF, VFC, XOM, WY

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October 20, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 was relatively flat today on below average volume. That’s kind of surprising given that we’re starting to see a lot of earnings come in. Before the US market opened the news out of the ECB was that they were leaving key interest rates unchanged.

In the after hours we got earnings out of Microsoft (MSFT), which topped 1Q profit forecasts and traded 5% higher. In addition, Paypal (PYPL) also traded higher due to strong revenue numbers.

Stocks in play today included: NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) +4.18%, Varian Medical Systems (VAR) +3.28%, Dragonwave (DRWI) +94.5%, and Time Warner (TWX) +5%

The VIX sold off more than 4.5% and closed at 13.75.

Crude oil futures prices sold off about 2.3% today, but still closed above $50 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Iamgold Williams Sonoma (WSM), which traded 8 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Infosys (INFY), which saw 3.4 times normal options volume.

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
20 Oct 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET, Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
21 Oct 2016- GE, HON, IPG, MCD, SYF, SAP, STI, MAN

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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

January 24, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 had its first positive week on the year. However, despite being up 3 out of 4 trading sessions, there still seems to be a lot of fear in the markets. We had about a 100 point range from the highs to lows (1812-1906).

A lot of eyes are on the Asian Markets, as well as the world energy market. Crude Oil prices have had a nice bounce after trading below $30 per barrel. They finished the week up, about 7% or so. However, it’s too early to tell if the bottom is in or we’re just seeing a dead-cat bounce.

The VIX waited till Friday to sell-off hard. Overall, it closed the week more than 15% lower. With that said, it’s still trading above 22.

This is an incredibly busy week, which includes an army of earnings releases and economic data. Some of those highlights include the FOMC Meeting and GDP numbers on Friday. Earnings will cover several sectors including pharmaceuticals, energy, defense, technology, and transportation.

Reporting this week: Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Caterpillar (CAT), Halliburton (HAL), Eli Lilly (LLY), and a whole lot more.

Here’s what else is on tap:

Key Economic Data:
27 January 2016- New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET
28 January 2016- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
29 January 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET, International Trade in Goods 8:30n AM ET

Key Earnings:
25 January 2016- DHI, HAL, KMB, MCD, ASH, PKG, SWFT, ZION, STLD
26 January 2016- DD, COH, FCX, GLW, JNJ, JNS, LMT, MMM, PG, PH, WAT, AAPL, CB, COF, NAVI, SYK, T, X
27 January 2016- BA, CLF, EMC, NVS, STJ, STM, TUP, CAVM, CRUS, CTXS, FB, INVN, HOLX, JNPR, LRCX, MLNX, MCK, QCOM, PYPL, SNDK, TER, TSCO, TXN, URI, VRTX
28 January 2016- ABT, BMY, DGX, F, CAT, CELG, CY, DB, HOG, JBLU, LLY, NDAQ, UA, V, VLO, POT, NUE, HSY, AMZN, EA, FLEX, SYNA, SWKS, MSFT, NOC
29 January 2016- AAL, ABBV, PCAR, APD, CL, CVX, HON, MA, PCAR, PSX, XRX

October 22, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 was on fire today, closing the day up near 2%. The SPDR S&P (SPY) is now up more than 6% on the month.

The market opened up strong after earnings from McDonalds posted better than expected earnings. The stock price closed the day up a little more than 8%.

The VIX continues to get leveled, it closed the day at 14.45, down more than 13%.

The energy sector was relatively flat; however, we did see some strength in some energy stocks in the likes of Exxon Mobil (XOM), which was more than 3%.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Vmware (VMW). Options that saw bearish put buying in AbbVie (ABBV).

This evening we got earnings from Alphabet (GOOGL) +9% , Amazon (AMZN) +9.7%, and Microsoft (MSFT) +8%.

Here’s what’s on tap tomorrow:

23 October 2015- AAL, PG