March 15, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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It was a rather dull day in the equity markets, as traders await the FOMC announcement tomorrow. The S&P 500 is down less than half of a percent over the last two trading days.

The SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) had a low of 201.05, a high of 202.07, closing relatively flat at 199.54.

Oil traded lower, the United States Oil Fund (USO) closed the day at 9.75, down about 1.2%

The VIX closed above 17, down less than half of a percent at 16.84.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PCG). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Navient Corporation (NAVI), which was 16.2 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Mallinckrodt (MNK) -15.5%, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) -51%, and Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (MJN) +11%

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

Key Economic Data:
16 March 2016- CPI 8:30 AM ET, Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET, Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET, Fed Chair Press Conference 2:30 PM ET
17 March 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Survey 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
16 March 2016- CTRP, FDX, GES, JBL
17 March 2016- ADBE, ARO, LE, MIK

Key Conferences:
14 March 2016- Citigroup CEO Conference (runs till 3/16)
15 March 2016- Bank of America Global Industrials and Autos Conference (runs till 3/18), Barclays Global Healthcare Conference (runs till 3/17)

March 1, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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We had lift-off in the markets today, as the S&P 500 closed more than 2% higher on the day. Even more impressive, the Nasdaq closed more than 3% higher. The S&P 500 is nearly 10% higher than its February 11 lows.

Crude oil futures closed the day higher, trading comfortably above $34 per barrel. Of course, tomorrow we’ll have data from the Department of Energy on inventory levels. This is a report many traders will be paying attention to.

The VIX got clobbered, dropping more than 13% and closing at 17.70.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in ImmunoGen (IMGN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Fastenal Company (FAST), about 5.9 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) -1%, Tesla Motors (TSLA) -3%, and Pepco Holdings (POM) -12%.

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

Key Economic Data:
1 March 2016- ISM Mfg Index 10:00 AM ET
2 March 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
3 March 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
4 March 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
2 March 2016- ANF, DSX, COSST, NOG
3 March 2016- BKS, BURL, CIEN, JOY, CIEN, KR, SSYS, AMBA, AVGO, NMBL
4 March 2016- SPLS

Key Conferences:
29 February 2016- BMO Metals & Mining Conference (runs till 3/3), JPMorgan High Yield Leveraged Finance Conference (runs till 3/2), Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (runs till 3/3)
2 March 2016- Simmons Energy Conference (runs till 03/4)

December 15, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed higher, making it two straight up days after Friday’s sell off. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has regained nearly all of Friday’s losses. Of course, this sets the stage for tomorrow’s FOMC meeting. For now, the consensus is that they will raise rates, but we’ll know for sure what their intentions are in the afternoon.

The VIX took a hit today, dropping nearly 8 percent. With that said, it’s still trading above 20, going into the FOMC announcement.

Oil caught a bounce, making it two straight up days. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was about 1.5%.

Stocks in play today included Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) +17%, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) +6%, and Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) +16%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in the Vitamin Shoppe (VSI). We also saw massive put buyers in KCG Holdings (KCG).

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

Key Economic Data:
16 December 2015- Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET, Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET, FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET, FOMC Forecasts 2:00 PM ET, Fed Chair Press Conference 2:30 PM ET
17 December 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
16 December 2015- FDX, JOY, JBL, PIR, ORCL
17 December 2015- ACN, RAD, GIS, SAFM, RHT
18 December 2015- BBRY, DRI, KMX, LEN

December 1, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 was strong all day, closing nearly 1% higher. The SPDR S&P 500 is less than 1% off the 52-week highs and more than 16% higher than the August lows. The market is preparing for potential rate hikes later this month. In addition, there might be some money managers chasing performance before the end of the year.

Stocks in play today included: Cummins (CMI) -7.8%, Acorn International (ATV) +630%, Sunedison (SUNE) +8.5%, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) +9.6% to name a few.

The VIX got smoked, closing the day 9% lower at 14.67.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in ADT (ADT). We also saw massive put buyers in Urban Outfitters (URBN), which was down over 5%.

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

Key Economic Data:
01 December 2015- ISM Manufacturing 10:00 AM ET
03 December 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
04 December 2015- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
01 December 2015- BMO, BOBE
02 December 2015- AEO, AVGO, ARO, VMEM
03 December 2015- EXPR, G, SHLD, AMBA, BKS, FIVE, ULTA
04 December 2015- HOV

Key Events:
30 November 2015- Credit Suisse Industrial Conference (runs till 12/3), Credit Suisse Tech, Media, Telecom Conference (runs till 12/3)
01 December 2015- Citigroup Basic Materials Conference (runs till 12/2), Cowen 4th Annual HealthCare Conference, Cowen 5th Annual Ultimate Energy Conference (runs till 12/2), Goldman Sachs Metals & Mining Conference (runs till 12/2), Piper Jaffray HealthCare Conference (runs till 12/2)
03 December 2015- Wells Fargo Boston Gaming Forum
04 December 2015- American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting

November 19, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed the day relatively flat, after a monster rally yesterday, where the market reacted positively to the FOMC minutes.

Interestingly, the VIX actually is trading around 17 and we are less than 2% off the highs in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF.

Stocks in play today, included Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) +15%, Sunedison (SUNE) -11%, and Kalobios Pharmaceuticals (KBIO) +367%. Also, in the after hours, Nike (NKE) announced a new $12 billion share repurchase program and a raise in dividends. The stock is up more than 3% in the after hours.

The energy sector remains weak; the United States Oil Fund (USO) was flattish today. It’s now just 5% off the 52-week lows.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Allergran (AGN). In addition, we saw bearish bets being placed in Medtronic (MDT).

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

20 November 2015- ANF, FL

September 21, 2015 The Week Ahead

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September 21, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 ended the day higher, however; volume was very light. With that said, we did get some form of relief after Friday’s sell off.

Despite the lackluster volume, the VIX sold off rather harshly, ending the day down nearly 10% at 20.14

Crude Oil futures were relatively strong, the United States Oil Fund (USO) was up nearly 3 percent.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying take place in Etsy Inc. (ETSY). The bears were out in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX). In fact, the pharmaceutical space as a whole took a hit today after Presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, made some comments that were taken negatively amongst the sector.

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