January 12, 2017 Market Wrap Up

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The markets were relatively weak today as all major indices finished the day lower. However, it’s important to note that volumes were below average. In fact, there wasn’t really much going on today. Tomorrow should be a little different as we’re expecting earnings out of some big banks.

The VIX closed the day slightly higher at 11.54.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) +1.5%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -0.22%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) +0.36%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Zayo Group Holdings (ZAYO), which traded 6.2 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Veeco Instruments (VECO), which traded 25.6 times normal option volume.

Check out what’s left on the schedule below:

Key Economic Data:
13 Jan 2017- PPI-FD 8:30 AM ET, Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings Release Dates:
13 Jan 2017- BAC, BLK, INFY, JPM, PNC, WFC

Key Conferences:
JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (runs till 1/13)

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January 4, 2017 Market Wrap Up

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The markets are coming into 2017 on a two-day winning streak. Once again, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is creeping in on 20k. Volumes today were relatively light, despite get some fresh data from the FOMC, more specifically, the release of the minutes from the last meeting.

Judging by how the VIX performed, there wasn’t much of a surprise in the Fed minutes. With that said, the VIX closed at 11.85, a drop of nearly 8%.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) +1.49%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) +0.39%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) +0.39%.

Stocks in play today included Kohl’s, which announced some poor holiday sales numbers in the after-hours. At the time of this writing the stock price was down nearly 9%. With that said, several other retailers were taken down with it. This includes: Macy’s -7%, Nordstrom -2.7%, and Dillards -1.6%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), which traded 2.1 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF), which traded 5.1 times normal option volume.

Check out what’s left on the schedule below:

Key Economic Data:
5 Jan 2017- EIA Petroleum Status Report 11:00 AM ET
6 Jan 2017- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET; International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
5 Jan 2017- MON, STZ, WBA, RT, HELE, PSMT, SCHN

Key Conferences:
5 Jan 2017- JPMorgan 15th Annual Technology Forum at CES; Stephens, Oppenheimer, RBC Capital at CES; CES (runs until Friday, the 8th)

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January 2, 2017 The Week Ahead

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As many expected, volume was relatively light going into the last trading week of 2016. With that said, it should be noted that equities in general had a very impressive year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up roughly 13% on the year, the S&P 500 approximately 10%, and the Nasdaq was up more than 7%.

We enter a shortened trading week, however; it should be a busy month with the inauguration of President-Elect Trump happening near the end of the month.

Despite the volume output, the VIX managed to climb steadily the final week, closing 2016 at 14.04.

Crude oil futures had an impressive comeback in 2016, after hitting a low in February, they gained more than 100%, closed the year above $50 per barrel and right near their 52-week highs.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) +2.27%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) +1.12%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) +1.88%.

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Here are a list of events that traders will be watching:

Key Economic Data:
3 Jan 2017- ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET
4 Jan 2017- FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
5 Jan 2017- EIA Petroleum Status Report 11:00 AM ET
6 Jan 2017- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET; International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
4 Jan 2017- SONC
5 Jan 2017- MON, STZ, WBA, RT, HELE, PSMT, SCHN

Key Conferences:
4 Jan 2017- Citigroup Internet, Media, Telecom Conference (runs till 1/5)
5 Jan 2017- JPMorgan 15th Annual Technology Forum at CES; Stephens, Oppenheimer, RBC Capital at CES; CES (runs until Friday, the 8th)

December 6, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 continued to chug along, and the Russell 2000 reached an intraday high during today’s session. All eyes are on the FOMC meeting next week. As of now, the market is pricing in a rate hike. With that said, trading volumes are expected to dry out as we approach the holiday season. For example, today was about half the volume we normally see in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

This can be seen with what’s been going on in the VIX. The VIX closed below 12, at 11.79 today.

Crude oil futures snapped a four-day winning streak, however; they’ve been on an absolute tear following the OPEC announcement last week, trading above $50 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Tableau Software (DATA), which traded 2.8 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in PharmAthene (PIP), which saw 9.8 times normal options volume.

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

Key Economic Data:
7 Dec 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
8 Dec 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
7 Dec 2016- LULU, XRX, COST, HRB, UNFI
8 Dec 2016- CIEN, FRED, HOV, VNCE, AVGO, FNSR
9 Dec 2016- MTN

Key Conferences:
Goldman Sachs European Industrials Conference (runs till 11/7); KeyBanc Consumer Conference (runs till 11/7); UBS Media Communications Conference (runs till 11/7); Raymond James Technology Conference (runs till 11/7)
Cowen Energy & Natural Resources Conference (runs till 11/7); Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference (runs till 11/7)
7 Dec 2016- Barclay’s Technology Conference (runs till 11/8); Citigroup Healthcare Conference (runs till 11/8)

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December 4, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all closed the week lower after posting several weeks of impressive gains. It’s too early to tell whether this is the beginning of something more significant or simply just a pull back from record highs. One things for sure, there isn’t much on the schedule in terms of domestic economic events and earnings.

In respect market volatility, the VIX closed at 14.12 on Friday.

With that said, traders will closely be watching the ECB Policy Meeting, as well as comments out of President-Elect Trump. He’s made some recent comments on potentially taxing domestic businesses that leave the U.S. and try to sell their products back into the country. Of course, this could impact some publicly traded companies dramatically.

Crude oil futures responded well following the OPEC meeting. Crude oil futures prices rose more than 12% and are not to far off from 52-week highs. Energy related companies also saw huge bid as well.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) +11.3%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -1.01%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -0.42%.

Here are some important events worth watching during the week:

Key Economic Data:
6 Dec 2016- International Trade 8:30 AM ET
7 Dec 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
8 Dec 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
5 Dec 2016- COUP
6 Dec 2016- AZO, BMO, BOBE, HDS, MIK, TOL, PLAY, SIGM
7 Dec 2016- LULU, XRX, COST, HRB, UNFI
8 Dec 2016- CIEN, FRED, HOV, VNCE, AVGO, FNSR
9 Dec 2016- MTN

Key Conferences:
5 Dec 2016- Barclays Discretionary Conference (runs till 11/6); Goldman Sachs European Industrials Conference (runs till 11/7); KeyBanc Consumer Conference (runs till 11/7); UBS Media Communications Conference (runs till 11/7); Raymond James Technology Conference (runs till 11/7)
6 Dec 2016- Cowen Energy & Natural Resources Conference (runs till 11/7); Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference (runs till 11/7)
7 Dec 2016- Barclay’s Technology Conference (runs till 11/8); Citigroup Healthcare Conference (runs till 11/8)

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November 29, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed the day positive on relatively low trading volume. Overall, it was a really slow day in terms of news. In the background, traders were paying attention to what was being said at the Robin Hood Conference. In addition, they were also reacting to headlines from OPEC affiliates, as OPEC is set to meet tomorrow.

With little going on, the VIX sold off mildly, closing the day below 13, at 12.90.

Crude oil futures gave up all of yesterday’s gains, and then some. Per usual, mixed signals out of OPEC had traders feeling like it might be difficult for the cartel to come to an agreement. Of course, these OPEC meetings are pure wild cards. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Zayo Group Holdings (ZAYO), which traded 3.3 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Michaels Companies (MIK), which saw 30.3 times normal options volume.

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

Key Economic Data:
30 Nov 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
1 Dec 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, ISM Mfg Index 10:00 AM ET
2 Dec 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
30 Nov 2016- AEO, TITN, BOX, BV, GES, LZB, NQ, PVH, SMTC
1 Dec 2016- CIBC, DG, EXPR, KR, AMBA, ASNA, GII FIVE, SWHC, ULTA, WDAY, ZUMZ
2 Dec 2016- BIG, FRED

Key Conferences:
28 Nov 2016- Bank of America Merrill Lynch Leveraged Finance Corporation Conference (runs till 11/30); Credit Suisse Tech, Media and Telecom Conference (runs till 12/2)
29 Nov 2016- Citigroup Basic Materials Conference (runs till 12/1); Jefferies Energy Conference (runs till 11/30); Piper Healthcare conference (runs till 11/30); FBR Investor Conference; FBR Investor Conference
30 Nov 2016- Credit Suisse 4th Annual Industrials Conference (runs till 12/1); JPMorgan Financial Tech & Speciality Forum
2 Dec 2016- Bank America Auto Dealer Day Conference

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November 27, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 closed the week on record highs on a shortened trading week. However, stealing some spotlight has been the Russell 2000, which is now running on a 15-session winning streak. It’s up an impressive 20% on the year. The Nasdaq also performed well, gaining nearly 1% on the week, however; it was on very light trading volume.

Market participants will closely be watching the retail sales numbers that come out of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There are also a decent amount of retailers reporting earnings as well. You can find the earnings schedule below.

In other news, OPEC will meeting on November 30th. Per usual, these meetings are such wild cards, there is no use in trying to predict how they will turn out. One thing we should expect is greater volatility in the energy stocks and futures.

Now, here is how some of the other closely followed ETFs did on the week: United States Oil Fund (USO) +2.02%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) -0.34%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) -3.07%.

Here are some important events worth watching during the week:

Key Economic Data:
29 Nov 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET
30 Nov 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
1 Dec 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, ISM Mfg Index 10:00 AM ET
2 Dec 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
28 Nov 2016- VNET,
29 Nov 2016- TIF, MNK, DSX, ADSK, FSC, GWRE, SPLK
30 Nov 2016- AEO, TITN, BOX, BV, GES, LZB, NQ, PVH, SMTC
1 Dec 2016- CIBC, DG, EXPR, KR, AMBA, ASNA, GII FIVE, SWHC, ULTA, WDAY, ZUMZ
2 Dec 2016- BIG, FRED

Key Conferences:
28 Nov 2016- Bank of America Merrill Lynch Leveraged Finance Corporation Conference (runs till 11/30); Credit Suisse Tech, Media and Telecom Conference (runs till 12/2)
29 Nov 2016- Citigroup Basic Materials Conference (runs till 12/1); Jefferies Energy Conference (runs till 11/30); Piper Healthcare conference (runs till 11/30); FBR Investor Conference; FBR Investor Conference
30 Nov 2016- Credit Suisse 4th Annual Industrials Conference (runs till 12/1); JPMorgan Financial Tech & Speciality Forum
2 Dec 2016- Bank America Auto Dealer Day Conference

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November 6, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week on a nine day losing streak as fears of a Donald Trump Presidency is now very much in play. Over the last two weeks, Hillary Clinton has lost a ton of momentum and the market has reacted in a similar fashion. However, on Sunday, the FBI’s Comey announced that Hillary was free of any wrong doing pertaining to her emails, and we’re seeing a nice bump in the futures prices on Sunday. We shall see what happens on election day Tuesday.

The VIX gained more than 6 points on the week and closed above 22.50 on Friday.

Crude oil futures price sold nearly 10% on the week, closing below $50 and now roughly 15% off the 52-week highs.

Earnings will be heavy again, but the main event is clearly the election on Tuesday.

Here is what else is on the schedule for the upcoming week:

Key Economic Data:
8 Nov 2016- U.S. Presidential Election
9 Nov 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:300 AM ET
10 Nov 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
7 Nov 2016- AMC, ARIA, BID, CTSH, DF,ELNK, FDC, HSBC, HZNP, LC, MGM, RACE, ROK, ACAD, CRAY, CZR, FANG, HTZ, MAR, NWSA, PCLN
8 Nov 2016- DHI, JCI, OA, QVCA, SEAS, VRX, W, TRIP
9 Nov 2016- COTY, DISH, KITE, WEN, WWAV, NTES, SHAK, SPWR, TASR, TUBE, VRTU
10 Nov 2016- AZN, FLO, M, KSS, PRGO, PRTY, RL, WIX, BUFF, DIS, JWN, KORS, NVDA
11 Nov 2016- JCP

Key Conferences:
7 Nov 2016- Credit Suisse Healthcare Conference (runs till 11/9); Edison Electric Institute Conference (runs till 11/9)
8 Nov 2016- Baird Industrial Conference (runs till 11/10); Stephens Fall Investor Conference (runs till 11/9)
9 Nov 2016- RBC Capital Tech, Internet, Media/Telco Conference (runs till 11/10); UBS Building & Building Products Annual CEO Conference (runs till 11/9); Wells Fargo Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (11/10)

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September 25, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 closed the week 1.2% higher. The markets reacted positively to the FOMC decision, with only two more meetings left, the chances of the Fed not increasing rates at all this year has gotten higher. With fear of a rate hike decreased, we’ve seen a sell off in VIX and risk-on attitude.

Of course, there are some interesting events coming up this week. For example, the first US Presidential Debate, and the big informal Opec Meeting, which is sure to drive volatility in the oil markets.

The VIX has gone from 17.50 back down to 12.29 over the last two weeks.

Crude oil futures prices surged about 3.5% higher on the week. It’s worth mentioning there is an informal OPEC meeting on the 26th to the 28th of this month. This, of course, this should heighten volatility in the crude futures market.

Moving on, gold futures prices had five straight positive days as it closed 2% higher. In addition, T-bond futures prices gained more than 1% on the week, and had five straight positive days.

Here is what else is on the schedule for the upcoming week:

Key Economic Data:
26 Sep 2016- New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET
28 Sep 2016- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET; EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
29 Sep 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET; International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET; Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
30 Sep 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
26 Sep 2016- CCL, CALM, SNX, THO, MTN
27 Sep 2016- FDS, NKE
28 Sep 2016- PAYX, PIR, ATU, IDT
29 Sep 2016- CAG, PEP, CAMP, COST

Key Conferences:
26 Sep 2016- Bank Leveraged Finance Conference (runs till 9/28)
27 Sep 2016- Dougherty Institutional Investor Conference (runs till 9/28)

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September 21, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 raged higher today after the FOMC decided to leave rates unchanged. The S&P 500 closed the day more than 1% higher and the NASDAQ closed at all time highs. In addition, we also saw prices in treasuries and gold trade higher as well.

Stocks in play today included: Adobe (ADBE) +7%, Conns (CONN) +15.43%, and Shutterfly (SFLY) -11.9%

The destruction of the VIX was back in session as it dropped more than 12%,closing at 13.30.

Crude oil futures prices soared today, closing the day nearly 3% higher and finishing around $44 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Penn National Gaming (PENN), which traded 4.8 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS), which was 3.9 times normal options volume.

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

Key Earnings:
22 Sep 2016- AZO, RAD, SCHL
23 Sep 2016- FINL

Key Conferences:
Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference (runs till 9/22)

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