April 28, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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It was a pretty busy day in the markets, so let’s highlight some of the key events that went down. First, the futures took a hit pre-market after the Bank of Japan decided not to add further stimulus. It was widely accepted that they would continue to add stimulus and that was not the case at all.

With that said, the S&P 500 managed to rally into the green. That’s with a weaker than expected GDP number. However, we started to see some selling pressure after Billionaire Investor, Carl Icahn gave some cautious views on the market, not to mention, he sold all of his Apple (AAPL) stake, which took the stock and the overall market down.

The S&P 500 closed down nearly 1%, gold futures were up nearly 2%, and silver futures were more than 2%.

The VIX caught a bid, closing the day at 15.22, an increase of more than 10%.

Crude Oil shrugged off the weakness in the equity markets as it continues to chase the $50 per barrel level. The futures are currently trading above $46 per barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Tronox (TROX). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Synaptics Incorporated (SYNA), which saw 3.2 times usual options volume.

This evening we got earnings out of Amazon (AMZN) +11.7%, Linkedin (LNKD) +11%, Pandora (P) +8%, and Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) -4.1% to name a few.

Here’s what’s left for the last trading day of the month:

Key Economic Data:
29 April 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
29 April 2016- CBOE, PSX, SHPG, XOM, TYC

April 26, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was relatively flat today, ahead of a heavy earnings and data week. The S&P 500 closed the day at 2091.70.

This evening we got results out of Twitter (TWTR) -9.3%, Apple (AAPL) -8.5%, and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -2.3%.

Overall, this should have a negative effect on the market. However, we’ve got the FOMC announcement which has the potential to shift the markets in either direction.

The VIX caught a bid, closing the day at 13.96.

Crude Oil has had a nice bounce today, climbing in the after hours after seeing a draw in the API data. We’re now trading above $44 a barrel.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Huntington Bancshares Inc (HBAN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in ExamWorks Group (EXAM), which saw 7.4 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Sarepta (SRPT) -31%, Amira Nature Foods (ANFI) -16.6%, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals +2.2%.

Here’s what’s left for the rest of the week:

Key Economic Data:
27 April 2016- International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10 :30 AM ET, FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET

28 April 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

29 April 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
27 April 2016- ANTM, BA, BEN, BHI, CMCSA, DPS, GSK, GRMN, HES, HLT, IP, LLL, MDLZ, NDAQ, NOC, SC, SO, UTX, AVB, FB, FSLR, HOLX, INFN, MAR, WLL, XLNX

28 April 2016- ABBV, ADP, AET, APD, BMY, CAB, CAH, CELG, CL, CLF, CME, COMM, COP, DB, DOW, DPZ, F, MA, MJN, MO, MPC, NOV, TMO, PTEN, RTN, TWC, UPS, VALE, VIAB, AMGN, AMZN, CATM, EXPE, FLEX, JNPR, LNKD, OUTR, P, QLIK, STRZA, SWKS, WDC

29 April 2016- CBOE, PSX, SHPG, XOM, TYC

April 24, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week slightly higher, still within close distance from the all-time highs. Not too shabby considering many of the earnings out have been rather weak. In terms of this upcoming week, we’ll be stuffed with earnings and economic data.

For example, we’ll have earnings out of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Exxon just to name a few. In addition, an FOMC announcement on Wednesday and GDP on Thursday.

The VIX closed the week slowly, at 13.22. This makes 8 straight trading days that the VIX has closed below 14, making it the longest streak of the year.

Crude oil finished the week about 8% higher from last Friday. For many, this came as a surprise given there was no real positives that came out of the Doha meeting. With that said, the futures shrugged that off after Monday’s sell-off.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up…

Key Economic Data:
25 April 2016- New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET
26 April 2016- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET
28 April 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
29 April 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
25 April 2016- FDC, HAL, KKR, LH, XRX, AGNC, CDNS, ESRX, KN, NBR, NXPI, PXD, SWFT, ZION, RE
26 April 2016- AKS, ALLY, BAX, BP, CNX, COH, DD, FCX, GLW, HSY, IR, JBLU, JNS, LLY, LMT, MAS, MHFI, MMM, ODP, PCAR, PG, PH, R, RAI, SAVE, SPG, STAY, SVU, TMUS, WAT, WYN, APPL, AKAM, ASH, BWLD, BYD, CAKE, CMG, CREE, COF, CRUS, EBAY, EW, FTNT, IRBT, NCR, PNRA, SLCA, T, TEX, TWTR, TX, X
27 April 2016- ANTM, BA, BEN, BHI, CMCSA, DPS, GSK, GRMN, HES, HLT, IP, LLL, MDLZ, NDAQ, NOC, SC, SO, UTX, AVB, FB, FSLR, HOLX, INFN, MAR, WLL, XLNX
28 April 2016- ABBV, ADP, AET, APD, BMY, CAB, CAH, CELG, CL, CLF, CME, COMM, COP, DB, DOW, DPZ, F, MA, MJN, MO, MPC, NOV, TMO, PTEN, RTN, TWC, UPS, VALE, VIAB, AMGN, AMZN, CATM, EXPE, FLEX, JNPR, LNKD, OUTR, P, QLIK, STRZA, SWKS, WDC
29 April 2016- CBOE, PSX, SHPG, XOM, TYC

April 19, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was relatively mixed today, with the Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500 trading higher, while, the Nasdaq closed lower due to some poor earnings results in some heavily weighted companies like Netflix.

The VIX sold off a little bit, closing the day at 13.24. This the fourth straight close under 14, and the second lowest closing print of the year.

Crude Oil has had a nice bounce off Sunday’s lows, following an unproductive Doha meeting. WTI Crude closed the day above 41, at 41.08.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Deere & Co. (DE). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Cardinal Health (CAH), which saw 6.2 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: IBM (IBM) -5.6%, Netflix (NFLX) -12.9%, and SeaDrill (SDRL) +12.9%

Here’s what’s left this week:

Key Economic Data:
20 April 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
21 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
20 April 2016- ABT, ARMH, ASML, CHKP, EMC, CP, KO, HBAN, ITW, SAP, TUP, USB, AXP, CCK, CTXS, FFIV, MAT, NEM, QCOM, SYK, YUM, VMI
21 April 2016- ALK, BBT, BIIB, BK, CFG, DGX, DHI, FCS, FITB, GM, KCG, KEY, LUV, PPG, PHM, SHW, UA, UNP, VZ, AMD, GOOGL, MSFT, SBUX, SWN, V, SLB
22 April 2016- CAT, GE, KMB, MCD, SYF, STI

April 17, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week higher, actually near 3-month highs as earnings season picks up steam. On the menu this week: Microsoft, Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, American Express, Alphabet, Starbucks, and McDonalds just to name a few.

The VIX closed the week nearly two points lower from last Friday, at 13.62.

Crude oil finished the week slightly higher, however; it’s seeing heavy selling pressure Sunday night after OPEC’s Meeting this weekend. When countries came together this weekend, they were unable to come up with any form of resolution on a potential production freeze. With that said, Iran decided not to freeze output causing a standoff amongst members.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up…

Key Economic Data:
19 April 2016- Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET
20 April 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
21 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
18 April 2016- HAS, JBHT, MS, PEP, BMI, IBM, NFLX
19 April 2016- EAT, GS, HOG, JNJ, KSU, PM, UNH, DFS, LLTC, ISRG
20 April 2016- ABT, ARMH, ASML, CHKP, EMC, CP, KO, HBAN, ITW, SAP, TUP, USB, AXP, CCK, CTXS, FFIV, MAT, NEM, QCOM, SYK, YUM, VMI
21 April 2016- ALK, BBT, BIIB, BK, CFG, DGX, DHI, FCS, FITB, GM, KCG, KEY, LUV, PPG, PHM, SHW, UA, UNP, VZ, AMD, GOOGL, MSFT, SBUX, SWN, V, SLB
22 April 2016- CAT, GE, KMB, MCD, SYF, STI

April 12, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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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

April 5, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was under a lot of selling pressure for most of the day. It all started last night, as Asian and European markets were both weak. The S&P 500 closed down more than 1%, making it two straight down days in a row.

The VIX shot up after hanging out in the low 13s…it’s now back above 15, as it closed the day 9.2% higher at 15.42.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in NeoPhotonics (NPTN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Big Lots (BIG), which was 7.3 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Allegran (AGN) -15%, DragonWave (DRWI) +36%, and Tesla Motors (TSLA) +3.8%

In the after-hours, we saw a jump in crude oil prices following the American Petroleum Institute numbers. They reported a drop in crude inventories by 4.3m barrels. The United States Oil Fund (USO) is up more than 2% on that.

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

Key Economic Data:
6 April 2016- EIA Petroleum Report 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
7 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
6 April 2016- GPN, MON, STZ, APOG, APOL, BBBY
7 April 2016- CAG, KMX, RAD

Key Events:
6 April 2016- 2016 MRO Americas Conference (runs till 4/7)
7 April 2016- Cowen 2nd Annual Retail & Luxury Day

April 3, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week off on year-to-date highs. That’s more than 250 points higher than the February 11 lows. Even more impressive, the Nasdaq is up more than 14% from those February 11 lows.

The VIX closed the week at 13.10. These are clearly the lowest levels of the year. The belief is that the Fed may not be in a rush to raise interest rates, given global uncertainty. We should get a clearer picture after the FOMC minutes are released.

Crude oil finished the week lower, dislocating from equities, as they dropped more than 5% on the week. A couple weeks ago they were trading above $40 per barrel, however; they’re currently trading around $36.40.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up…

Key Economic Data:
5 April 2016- International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET
6 April 2016- EIA Petroleum Report 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
7 April 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
5 April 2016- WBA, DRI
6 April 2016- GPN, MON, STZ, APOG, APOL, BBBY
7 April 2016- CAG, KMX, RAD

Key Events:
5 April 2016- 2016 Healthcare Back-to-Basics Forum, 2016 MRO Americas Conference (runs till 4/7)
7 April 2016- Cowen 2nd Annual Retail & Luxury Day

March 29, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The market was on an absolute tear following comments out of Fed Chair Yellen this afternoon. More or less, she gave off the impression that there will be no upcoming rate hike at the April meeting. Of course, this was the signal for lift off. The SPY finished the day 1% higher, IWM closed nearly 3% higher, and the QQQ closed 1.5% higher.

The appetite for risk is back on, as witnessed in the VIX. The VIX closed down nearly 10%, below 14 at 13.82.

One sector which did not participate in the rally was Crude Oil. It was down more than 2%. This now makes for five straight losing days.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in TiVo (TIVO). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Arctic Cat (ACAT), which was 14.2 times usual options volume.

Stocks in play included: Himax Technologies (HIMX) +16.3%, Conns (CONN) -24.6%, and Puma Biotechnology (PBYI) -20.8%

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

Key Economic Data:
30 March 2016- EIA Petroleum Report 10:30 AM ET
31 March 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
1 April 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
30 March 2016- MU, PAYX
31 March 2016- SONS
1 April 2016- BBRY

March 27, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 finished the week slightly lower, however; continues to show resilience against a number of negative headlines. GDP numbers on Friday were taken well. This may induce some fear of an upcoming rate hike at the next FOMC meeting. Traders will be listening to FED members and their rhetoric as the date approaches.

The VIX is trading below 15, an indication that the market doesn’t have a whole lot of fear at the moment. Of course, it’s generally when we experience complacency, when we start to see volatility pick up. Are we there yet? We’ll just have to wait and see, but there isn’t much on the schedule in terms of earnings and economic events.

Crude oil finished the week relatively flat, however; it’s down about 5% over the last three trading sessions. Nonetheless, a very impressive move over the last month and a half, from mid 20s to near 40s.

Here’s what’s on tap for this week coming up, and Happy Easter from all of us at TVC.

Key Economic Data:
28 March 2016- International Trade in Goods 8:30 AM ET, Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET
30 March 2016- EIA Petroleum Report 10:30 AM ET
31 March 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
1 April 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
29 March 2016- LEN, PLAY
30 March 2016- MU, PAYX
31 March 2016- SONS
1 April 2016- BBRY