April 28, 2016 Market Wrap Up

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 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

January 20, 2016 Market Wrap Up

It was another crazy day in the markets. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) opened the day at 185.03, hit a high of 188.06, and posted a low of 181.02. When the dust settled, it ended the day down 2.41 points or 1.28%. We’re close to being down 10% on the year.

The VIX continues to stay elevated, it closed above 27, however; it nearly hit 30 at one point during the session.

Crude oil futures prices are at decade lows, with no clear sign of support. We’re currently trading below $29 per barrel. Of course, this has taken a strain on the overall market. With that said, crude oil futures prices have suffered an even greater loss than equities so far this year.

Not only that, but we’ve gotten to the point where a gallon of gasoline is cheaper than a gallon of water and a gallon of milk.

Stocks in play included: Netflix (NFLX) -.45%, Exxon (XOM) -4%, Synaptics (SYNA) +27.3%, Twitter (TWTR) +5%

On the options front, we saw large call buying activity in Icici Bank (IBN). In addition, we saw heavy put buying in Stone Energy (SGY).

Here’s what’s on tap for the rest of the week. Keep in mind, we’ve got an ECB decision tomorrow morning.

Key Economic Data:
21 January 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Survey 8:30 AM ET
22 January 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
21 January 2016- ALK, CP, LUV, VZ, ISRG, JBHT, MXIM, SBUX
22 January 2016- COL, GE, KSU, LM, SAP, SYF

Conferences:
20 January 2016- World Economic Forum in Davos (runs til 1/23)