April 11, 2017 Market Wrap Up

Stocks slipped lower today, with the Russell 2000 being the only major indice closing positive. With that said volumes were relatively low across the board. With the Easter holiday coming, it’s expected to see a slowdown as we only have two more trading days left in the week.

Keep in mind, some of the major banks will be releasing earnings on Thursday. Until then, expect to see political headlines dominate the news. More specifically what’s been happening with Syria and relations with Russia.

Where is the VIX in today’s action?

It appears that traders are finding more reason to hedge. Whether that’s anticipation of earnings, geopolitical risks increasing or domestic policies falling out of favor. That said, the VIX closed +7% higher, closing above 15, at 15.07.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) +.27%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) +0.95%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) 1.45%.
On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in MSG Networks Inc (MSG), which traded 10.7 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Ambev SA (ABEV), which traded 161 times normal option volume.

Here is what else traders will be watching tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
12 April 2017- EIA Petroleum Status 10:30 AM ET
13 April 2017- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET; PPI 8:30 AM ET
14 April 2017- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET; Retail Sales 8:30 AM

Key Earnings:
12 April 2017- FAST, PIR
13 April 2017- APOG, C, JPM, WFC

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