April 12, 2016 Market Wrap Up

The market had a nice bounce after yesterday’s sell off. In fact, we’re not too far off most recent highs. With that said, earnings have kicked off and much of the focus will be on that over the next several weeks.

The VIX sold off nearly 9%, closing the day at 14.85.

One of the sectors on fire was energy. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up over 2.5%, closing the day at 10.64. Crude Oil is closed above $41 per barrel, sitting around 3 month highs.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Synaptics, Incorporated (SYNA). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP), which saw 8.7 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Chesapeake Energy (CHK) +33%, Juniper Networks (JNPR) -7%, Seadrill (SDRL) +22%, and Horizon Pharma (HZNP) (-25%)

As mentioned, earnings season is going to start picking up some steam. Here’s what is on tap for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Key Economic Data:
13 April 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPI-FD 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
14 April 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
15 April 2016- Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET

Key Earnings:
13 April 2016- JPM, PIR
14 April 2016- BAC, BLK, DAL, PGR, TSM, WFC, AMD, CHKE
15 April 2016- C, RF, SCHW

February 8, 2016 Market Wrap Up

The Chinese markets were closed today in celebration of their new year. With that said, many traders believed that volatility would come in during their holiday break. Well…that clearly wasn’t the case today. The S&P 500 sold off 1.4% and the NASDAQ was down more than 1.8%.

We continue to see weakness in Biotech, Technology, and the MLP sector. It probably doesn’t help that commodities are also weak. Most importantly, crude oil, which settled below $30 per barrel.

It’s not a real surprise to see the VIX trade above 25 today, finishing the day 11% higher and closing at 26.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Penn National Gaming (PENN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Bloomin Brands (BLMN), about 58 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Chesapeake Energy (CHK) -33%, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE), and Williams Companies (WMB) -35%.

We’ve got earnings from Coca-Cola (KO) and CVS Pharmacy (CVS) tomorrow, along with Disney (DIS). Overall, earnings have been pretty weak this quarter. Let’s see if that trend changes at all.

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

Key Economic Data:
11 February 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
12 February 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
9 February 2016- CVS, KO, MAS, VIAB, WYN, AKAM, DIS, NCR, NUAN, PNRA, WU
10 February 2016- ARMH, TWX, EXPE, IRBT, TWTR, WFM, ZNGA, MYL, LOCK, FNF
11 February 2016- AVP, BTU, BWA, CAG, GNC, K, MOS, NOK, PEP, RIO, SHPG, TAP, TIME, WWAV, AIG, ATVI, CBS, CYBR, FEYE, GRPN, INFN, P, QLIK, RSG

Key Conferences:
8 February 2016- Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum (runs till 2/10)
9 February 2016- Bank America Merrill Insurance Conference (runs till 2/11), Goldman Sachs Tech Conf (runs till 2/11), Goldman Sachs Insurance Conf (runs till 2/11)
10 February 2016- Leerink Healthcare Conference (runs till 2/11)
11 February 2016- KBW Financial Conference (runs till 2/12)

October 27, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 closed the day relatively flat, it appears that the market is awaiting further news from the FOMC meeting tomorrow.

Earlier today we got earnings results from Pfizer (PFE) +2.4%, Merck (MRK) +1%, and Du Pont (DD) +2.7%.

This evening we got earnings out of Apple (AAPL) -1%, Gilead Sciences (GILD) flat, and Twitter (TWTR) -11%.

The VIX continues to show few signs of panic, as it closed the day at 15.43.

The energy sector was relatively weak; the United States Oil Fund (USO) was down more than 1% today.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in YRC Worldwide (YRCW). Options that saw bearish put buying in Chesapeake Energy (CHK).

In other news, Walgreens (WBA) announced that they are buying Rite Aid (RAD) for $9.41 billion.

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

Key Economic Data:
28 October 2015- FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET
29 October 2015- GDP 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
30 October 2015- Personal Income 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
28 October 2015- GRMN, HLT, HOT, IMAX, IP, LVLT, MDLZ, NOV, TMUS, VLO, WBA, VW, AMGN, ATML, CRUS, FFIV, GPRO, LOCK, WMB, PYPL, NE, MUR, CAVM
29 October 2015- AET, CLF, COP, ESV, JAH, JCI, KERX, MO, NOK, MTH, TEVA, TWC, VALE, ZBH, BIDU, EA, LNKD, MOBL, SBUX, WU, SCTY
30 October 2015- ABBV, CVS, XOM, MYL, CVX, CL, ETN