August 30, 2016 Market Wrap Up

August 30, 2016 tvcuser Education, Trading AGU, ANF, Conferences, Crude Oil, CTRP, Earnings, Economic Data, HSY, NPTN, POT, S&P 500, VIX

The S&P 500 closed lower today, on below average volume. It’s been nearly two months of trading without seeing a +/- 1% move in the market. Eventually, something has to give in what has been a painfully slow summer in terms of volume and volatility.

Stocks in play today included: Potash Corporation (POT) +12%, Agrium (AGU) +7%, The Hershey Company (HSY) -10.8%, and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) -20.3%

The VIX closed the day slightly higher, closing above 13, at 13.12.

Crude oil futures bounced back a little from yesterday’s pullback, climbing more than 1% and closing above $47 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in NeoPhotonics Corporation (NPTN), which traded 4.6 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Ctrip (CTRP), which was 2.6 times normal options volume. Keep in mind, they have earnings tomorrow after the close.

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

Key Economic Data:
31 Aug 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM
1 Sep 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET.
2 Sep 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
31 Aug 2016- CHS, BLOX, BOBE, BOX, CRM, FIVE, SMTC
1 Sep 2016- CIEN, CPB, JOY, LULU, AMBA, AVGO, PAY, SWHC

Key Conferences:
Jefferies Semiconductor, Hardware, and Communications Conference (runs till 8/31)

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

April 5, 2016 Market Wrap Up

April 5, 2016 tvcuser Education, Trading AGN, BIG, Crude Oil, Data, DRWI, Earnings, Economic, Events, NPTN, S&P 500, TSLA, USO, VIX

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