October 26, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 closed relatively flat today in what is one of the busiest earnings week of the year. Last night we heard from Apple, which disappointed by posting its third straight quarter of declining iPhone sales. This put a damper on the Nasdaq composite today as it dropped about .7%.

In the after hours we got earnings out of Tesla Motors (TSLA), which is up more than 6% at the time of this writing. This morning we got earnings out Biogen (BIIB), which is a gain of nearly 4%.

Stocks in play today included: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) -17%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -9%, NCR +14.5%, and Akamai Technologies (AKAM) +14.6%

The VIX sold rose nearly 6%, closing at 14.24.

Crude oil futures prices sold off for the third straight day, and is now down more than 3% on the week.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in SolarCity (SCTY), which traded 2.1 times normal option volume. In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Western Union Company (WU), which saw 9.8 times normal options volume.

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

Key Earnings:
27 Oct 2016- AET, ALXN, AMT, APD, BMY, BOFI, BWA, BX, CAB, CELG, CL, CLF, CME, COP, DB, DOW, DPS, F, GNC, HACA, IP, LAZ, LLL, MJN, MO, MPC, NOK, NOV, PENN, POT, PX, SIRI, SWK, TMO, TPH, TPX, TROW, UPS, VW, WWE, AIG, AMZN, BIDU, CA, CBI, CRUS, CY, DLR, ELLI, EXPE, FLEX, FTNT, GOOGL, HIG, MCK, PFG, STRZA, SYK, SYNA, TWTR
28 Oct 2016- ABBV, AN, CVX, CBOE, HSY, MA, NWL, PSX, SNY, SHPG, TEN, WY, XOM, XRX, SIMO

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May 4, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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The S&P 500 sold off for the second consecutive day, and is now down more than .5% on the week so far. Some attribute this to some weak economic data, as we saw a drop in imports today.

Some of the highlights today included comments out the Sohn Investment Conference. A meeting of some of the sharpest minds on wall street, presenting their top picks for the year. With that said, we saw a decent amount of volatility in individual stocks mentioned; as traders and machine reading algos reacted to the conference.

Names mentioned included: Bank Of The Ozarks (OZRK) -4.2%. Solarcity (SCTY) -9.2%, and Depomed (DEPO) -1.1%

The VIX caught a bid, closing the day at 16.05, an increase of nearly 3%.

Crude Oil is down around 5% over the last 4 trading sessions. However, it did manage to bounce back from earlier lows, despite seeing a higher than expected build out the DOE report.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in BGC Partners (BGCP). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Pattern Energy Group (PEGI), which saw 6.7 times usual options volume.

This evening we got earnings out of Tesla (TSLA) +0.5%, Whole Foods Market (WFM) +2.9%, and Fitbit (FIT) -11.7% to name a few.

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

Key Economic Data:
5 May 2016– GDP 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
6 May 2016– Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
5 May 2016– APO, AVP, BABA, CHK, DDD, DISCA, FIG, G, ITG, K, LXP, MGM, MRK, OA, REGN, SEAS, WFT, ANET, ATVI, DATA, DWA, ENDP, FEYE, GPRO, HLF, MDVN, OLED, POST, TRUE, UBNT, YELP
6 May 2016– AGN, WLTW, WY, EXC

January 14, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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In 2016, volatility is the name of the game. With that said, it was out in full force today. The S&P 500 traded in a range of 1878 to about 1934. Ultimately closing the day about 1.67% higher. Believe it or not, we’re nearly flat on the week now.

The VIX continues to stay elevated above 20, however; today it was down 5%, closing at 23.95.

Crude oil futures prices continue to hover around $30 per barrel. Lately, the equity markets have been selling off when energy does. Let’s see if that theme continues.

Stocks in play included: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +6.2%, Solarcity (SCTY) -13.5%, and Abbvie (ABBV) +6.7%.

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Abbvie (ABBV). We also saw aggressive put buying in Workday (WDAY) .

Here’s what’s on tap for tomorrow:

Key Economic Data:
15 January 2016- PPI 8:30 AM ET, Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
15 January 2016- BLK, C, FAST, RF, USB, WFC

Conferences:
15 January 2016- JPMorgan Healthcare Conference (runs till 1/15), UBS Greater China Conference (runs till 1/15)

August 25, 2015 Market Wrap Up

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August 25, 2015 Market Wrap Up

The S&P 500 is down nearly 10% over the last few trading sessions. Today’s action was a punch to the gut for all the bulls; nearly an 80 pt swing from high to the low. The market gapped up very strong and stayed there for a good portion of the day. However, it gave it all back by the close.

All eyes will be on China to see how their markets open. They recently decided to cut their key interest rates, which was the catalyst for today’s short-lived rally. Maybe it’s because they’ve cut rates five times since November.

Believe it or not, the VIX dropped, closing at 36.02.

On the options front, we saw bullish call buying in Solar City (SCTY). We also saw bearish option activity in Cheniere Energy (LNG).

Here’s what else is going on:

Key Economic Data:
26 August 2015- Durable Goods 8:30 AM ET
27 August 2015- GDP 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
28 August 2015- Personal Income 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
26 August 2015- EXPR, GES, NQ
27 August 2015- ARO, ADSK, BEBE, BURL, DG, GME, SDRL, GAME, SPLK, TIF, ULTA, VEEV, YGE, TD
28 August 2015- BIG