September 10, 2018 The Week Ahead

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It was a rough week for U.S. stocks, specifically the tech heavy Nasdaq. Semiconductors like KLAC, MU, and AMAT were all under heavy selling pressure. Pot stocks remained active, as Tilray gained over 30%

Other notable stock movers over the week included: ZUO -24.9%, RH -19.7%, ULTA +16.9%, and FB -8.2%

Here are how some of the most widely traded index ETFs performed over the week:
Powershares QQQ ETF (QQQ) -2.84%, SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) -0.93%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) -0.18%, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) -1.06%

We’ll see if the President’s recent comments regarding trade with China escalate and put a further scare into the markets… just in time for Halloween.

The VIX closed at 14.88 on Friday, a gain of 13.5%

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Here are how some futures and commodity ETFs performed over the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) -3.19%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -1.77%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -0.36%

Economic Releases:
12 Sep 2018- PPI- FD 8:30 AM ET; EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET

13 Sep 2018- CPI 8:30 AM ET; Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

14 Sep 2018- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET; Industrial Production 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
10 Sep 2018- HOV, CASY, SONO

11 Sep 2018- FRAN

12 Sep 2018- COOL, TLRD, SAIC, PVTL

13 Sep 2018- KR, ADBE, VNCE, ORCL

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March 26, 2017 Market Wrap Up

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The markets bounced back today after seeing some selling pressure over the last week. With that said, the sell off didn’t last that long, nor was it that intense.

After seeing the VIX hang out in the 14 area last week, we’re seeing it come back in. Today it closed at 11.53, a drop of nearly 8% today.

ETF Performers: United States Oil Fund (USO) +1.10%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -0.67%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -0.43%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in ON Semiconductor (ON), which traded 4.6 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Scana Corporation (SCG), which traded 11.5 times normal option volume.

Some earnings results that traders paid attention too today included:

Carnival (CCL) +0.62%.Darden Restaurants (DRI) +9.3%, Factset Research (FDS) -5.7%, and Restoration Hardware (RH) +19.5%

Here is what is on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
29 March 2017- Pending Home Sales Index 10:00 AM ET
30 March 2017- GDP 8:30 AM ET; Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
31 March 2017- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
29 March 2017- PRGS, WRD, GEVO, OMN
30 March 2017- LNN, SNAK, TITN, EGLE, PRKR, UNXL

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November 17, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed near its 52-week highs today as the market keeps on rolling. The FOMC hinted that they are very close to raising rates, possibly in December. It appears that market is preparing for a rate hike, and based on the price action they’re OK with it.

One of the more active names today was Dryships (DRYS), -90%, it traded in a range between 10.80 to 54.15, finally closing at $11. The stock price was trading under five bucks a couple weeks ago and as high as $100 per share this week. The sector as a whole was on fire for a couple weeks, but it seems like the party is over for the shippers.

The VIX has dropped significantly over the last two weeks, as the market is not as worried about a Trump Presidency.

Crude oil futures prices sold off a little, and have sold off on four out of the last five trading days.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Restoration Hardware (RH), which traded 3.5 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in G III Apparel Group (GIII), which saw 7.5 times normal options volume.

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow:

Key Earnings:
18 Nov 2016- ANF, BKE, FL

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