February 16, 2016 Market Wrap Up

The equity markets started the week off with a strong start, up more than 1.5% in the S&P 500. In addition, the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 posted gains greater than 2% respectfully. The gains held from last night’s session, as the Shanghai Index gained more than 3% along with a boost in crude oil futures prices.

The gains in oil came after an announcement that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Venezuela agreed “freeze” output. However, those gains faded as the news was not as bullish sounding as a production cut.

Despite the risk on appetite, the VIX only dropped about 5% and closed above 24.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Chegg Inc (CHGG). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in CPI Card Group (PMTS), about 51.2 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Gogo (GOGO) -29%, Community Health Systems (CYH) -22% and ADT (ADT) +49%.

We also saw a ton of SEC filings from funds, updating their status on new and old positions. For some stocks, these have the potential to move stock prices. For example, after the close, Berkshire Hathaway announced a stake in Kinder Morgan (KMI), which popped more than 6% higher in the after hours session.

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

Key Economic Data:
17 February 2016- Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET, PPI 8:30 AM ET, Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
18 February 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Survey 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 11:00 AM ET
19 February 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
17 February 2016- DPS, GRMN, TMUS, PCLN, SHOP, BLMN, HST, BRCD, CF, CYH, GDDY, JIVE, MAR, MRO, NTAP, NVDA, SPWR, WMB, PKD
18 February 2016- CAB, DAN, DISCA, DUK, HOT, LNG, MGM, MPEL, WM, WMT, PCG, AMAT, JWN, SAM, WAGE
19 February 2016- DE

Key Conferences:
15 February 2016- CAGNY Conference (runs till 2/19)
17 February 2016- Barclay’s Industrial Conference (runs till 2/19)

December 1, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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 30, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 closed the day relatively weak, as traders came back from Thanksgiving break. With that said, we still finished the month higher. On the other hand, energy, the United States Oil Fund (USO) finished the month down more than 12%. In addition, gold, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) was down nearly 7% on the month.

There was a decent amount of attention on retail names, stats for Black Friday and Cyber Monday were hitting the tape. Unfortunately, Target (TGT) had issues with their website today, the stock price was down 1.3%. Here’s how other retailers fared: Wal-Mart (WMT) -1.6%, Gap (GPS) -2.3%, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) -3.8%, and Amazon (AMZN) -1%.

The VIX finished the day a point higher, closing the month at 16.13.

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 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