January 18, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 continues to see heavy selling pressure this year, as we’re already down 8% thus far. Many attribute it to the slowdown in China; The Shanghai Composite Index is down more than 17% year-to-date.

In addition, crude oil prices continue to drop. They’re down over 20%, early in the new year. Cash crude oil prices are currently trading below $30 per barrel.

The VIX actually didn’t change much from last week, closing above 27.

For a four-day trading week, it’s pretty busy. On Tuesday, we’ll get China retail sales and GDP numbers. On Thursday, we’ve got the ECB interest rate decision. On top of that, we’ve got a ton of earnings being reported.

Reporting this week: Netflix (NFLX), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), IBM, Goldman Sachs (GS), Starbucks (SBUX), and a whole lot more.

Here’s what else is on tap:

Key Economic Data:
20 January 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET, Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET
21 January 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Survey 8:30 AM ET
22 January 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
19 January 2016- BAC, MS, SCHW, UN, UNH CREE, IBKR, IBM, LLTC, NFLX
20 January 2016- EAT, GS, FFIV, XLNX
21 January 2016- ALK, CP, LUV, VZ, ISRG, JBHT, MXIM, SBUX
22 January 2016- COL, GE, KSU, LM, SAP, SYF

Conferences:
20 January 2016- World Economic Forum in Davos (runs til 1/23)

January 14, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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In 2016, volatility is the name of the game. With that said, it was out in full force today. The S&P 500 traded in a range of 1878 to about 1934. Ultimately closing the day about 1.67% higher. Believe it or not, we’re nearly flat on the week now.

The VIX continues to stay elevated above 20, however; today it was down 5%, closing at 23.95.

Crude oil futures prices continue to hover around $30 per barrel. Lately, the equity markets have been selling off when energy does. Let’s see if that theme continues.

Stocks in play included: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +6.2%, Solarcity (SCTY) -13.5%, and Abbvie (ABBV) +6.7%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Abbvie (ABBV). We also saw aggressive put buying in Workday (WDAY) .

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
15 January 2016- PPI 8:30 AM ET, Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
15 January 2016- BLK, C, FAST, RF, USB, WFC

Conferences:
15 January 2016- JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (runs till 1/15), UBS Greater China Conference (runs till 1/15)

January 12, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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It was another tremendous day of volatility in the markets. The S&P 500 traded between 1914 and 1947, ultimately closing the day .8% higher. Believe it or not, this marks the second straight up day on the week. But as mentioned earlier, the markets have been all over the place, swinging from positive to negative territory at rapid speeds.

The VIX sold off nearly 8%, closing above 22, at 22.47.

Crude oil futures prices went below $30 per barrel during the trading session. However, they were able to close above that level. It seems like for the last two years, traders have been trying to pick a bottom in crude oil with not a whole lot of success.

With that said, several oil and commodity related names were in play today: Freeport-Mcmoran (FCX) -5.4%, Sunedison (SUNE) -9.6%, Williams Companies (WMB) -12%

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ). We also saw aggressive put buying in Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (TNDM).

Here’s what’s up for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
14 January 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
15 January 2016- PPI 8:30 AM ET, Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
13 January 2016- SVU
14 January 2016- JPM, INTC
15 January 2016- BLK, C, FAST, RF, USB, WFC

Conferences:
11 January 2016- JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (runs till 1/15), UBS Greater China Conference (runs till 1/15)
12 January 2016- Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conf (runs till 1/13), Needham Growth Conference (runs till 1/14)

January 10, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 is off to a rocky start, down nearly 6% in the year. Fears of a China slow-down, along with rising interest rates are possible reasons for the sell off. With that said, traders will be watching closely what happens in the Asian sessions.

In addition, crude oil prices continue to drop. They’re down over 10%, early in the new year. Crude oil futures prices are currently below $35 per barrel.

The VIX exploded, gaining over 9 points on the week, closing above 27.

If things weren’t volatile enough, earnings kick off this coming week. We are looking forward to results out of intel (INTC), as well as many of the big banks like Wells Fargo (WFC), JPMorgan (JPM), and Citigroup (C).

Here’s what else is going on:

Key Economic Data:
14 January 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
15 January 2016- PPI 8:30 AM ET, Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
11 January 2016- AA
12 January 2016- CSX
13 January 2016- SVU
14 January 2016- JPM, INTC
15 January 2016- BLK, C, FAST, RF, USB WFC

Conferences:
11 January 2016- JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (runs till 1/15), UBS Greater China Conference (runs till 1/15)
12 January 2016- Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conf (runs till 1/13), Needham Growth Conference (runs till 1/14)

January 7, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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It was another rough day in the markets. We’re already down 5% in the S&P 500, early into the new year. The catalyst this time came out of Asia. The Shanghai Composite dropped 7% overnight. With that said, all eyes will be on that market this evening. However, the markets closed a tad above their daily lows.

The VIX exploded higher, closing up to nearly 25, a gain of over 21%.

Crude oil futures prices have not faired better, they’re down about 9% on the new year.

Stocks in play today included: Apple (AAPL) -4.8%, Sunedison (SUNE) -38.5%, Dynavax (DVAX) +39%

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Darling Ingredients (DAR). We also saw aggressive put buying in Cerner Corp (CERN).

There is not much on tap in respect to economic news.

Conferences:
6 January 2016- Consumer Electronics Show (runs till 1/9)

January 5, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 had its first up day of the new year, however; it’s still down more than 1% from yesterday’s sell off. A really shaky start, which makes tomorrow’s FOMC minutes a potential market changer.

In addition, the Consumer Electronics Show continues tomorrow. Companies are presenting their new products to this huge public forum. A good showing can boost stock prices higher. On the other hand, a poor showing can really drive stock prices lower, as witnessed with FitBit (FIT) today.

The VIX sold off slightly, closing the day slightly below 20.

Crude oil futures prices have not faired better, they’re down about 3% over the first two trading days of the year.

Stocks in play today included: Apple (AAPL) -2.5%, Fitbit -18.4%, and ManKind (MNKD) -48.4%

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Microchip Technology (MCHP). We also saw aggressive put buying in Cirrus Logic (CRUS) .

Key Economic Data:
6 January 2016- International Trade 8:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
7 January 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
6 January 2016- MON
7 January 2016- FINL, KBH, STZ, WBA, BBBY, HELE, SNX, TCS

Conferences:
6 January 2016- Citigroup Internet, Media & Telecom Conference (runs till 1/7)
6 January 2016- Consumer Electronics Show (runs till 1/9), Goldman Sachs Energy Conference (runs till 1/7)

January 3, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 closed the year slightly negative, snapping a four year streak of positive returns. Unfortunately, the Dow Jones Industrial Average also suffered the same fate. On the other hand, the NASDAQ was able to post modest gains on the year.

The VIX actually closed the week higher, finishing 2015, above 18.

Crude oil futures prices dropped significantly again for the second straight year. The futures prices are currently trading well below $40 per barrel. Gold futures prices finished the year relatively flat.

We should get a sneak peek of what 2016 will be like on Wednesday, as the FOMC releases the minutes from their last meeting. With that said, volumes should slowly start picking back up.

Here’s what is on tap this coming week:

Key Economic Data:
4 January 2016- ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET
6 January 2016- International Trade 8:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
7 January 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
6 January 2016- MON
7 January 2016- FINL, KBH, STZ, WBA, BBBY, HELE, SNX, TCS

Conferences:
5 January 2016- Citigroup Internet, Media & Telecom Conference (runs till 1/7), Goldman Sachs Healthcare Conference
6 January 2016- Consumer Electronics Show (runs till 1/9), Goldman Sachs Energy Conference (runs till 1/7)

December 29, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 is up over 1% over the last two days on relatively low volume. With that said, we’ve got just two more trading days till the year is over. Will all three major indices finish positive? At the moment, NASDAQ and the S&P 500 are both positive. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is still down slightly.

The VIX continues to see a big sell off, it’s now trading around 16 and was down about 5% on the day.

Oil names caught a small bounce, the United States Oil Fund (USO) was up nearly 2% after the API Inventory numbers came out in the after hours.

Stocks in play today included: Sunedison (SUNE) -9%, FXCM +26%, and Amazon (AMZN) +2.8%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NWL). We also saw aggressive put buying in Ultra Petroleum Corp (UPL).

As mentioned earlier this week, there isn’t much going on data wise.

Key Economic Data:
31 December 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

December 23, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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If there was any doubt about having a Santa Claus Rally, it was erased today. The S&P 500 is up nearly 3% over the last three trading sessions. With that said, we are no longer negative on the year.

Tomorrow the markets will be open till 1pm ET. It should be a slow day, but you never know what headline might come out and cause an individual stock or ETF to really start moving. But don’t hold your breath.

The VIX continues to see a big sell off, it’s now trading below 16.

Oil names caught a bounce, the United States Oil Fund (USO) was up nearly 5% today.

Stocks in play today included: Nike (NKE) -2.5% and Freeport-McMoran (FCX) +16%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in China Finance Online Co. (JRJC). We also saw aggressive put buying in Irobot (IRBT).

Here’s what is going on for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
24 December 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

December 22, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed higher, making it two straight days now. With that said, it appears that the Santa Claus rally is back on. We’ve nearly regained all of Friday’s losses. However, don’t be surprised to see a slowdown in volumes as we approach the Christmas Holiday.

Not to mention, the VIX has seen a big sell off over the last two trading days, it’s now below 17.

Oil names caught a bounce, the United States Oil Fund (USO) was up about 1% today. However, we are still near the 52-week lows.

In after hours action, Nike (NKE) released earnings and the time of this post, the stock price is trading about 2% higher from the close. Micron also released, and the time of this post the stock price was trading 6% lower from the close.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Graphic Packaging Company (GPK). We also saw massive put buyers in Encana Corporation (ECA).

Here’s what is going on for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
23 December 2015- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET, Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET, New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET
24 December 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET