Selling Apple September Call Options to roll over into October Calls

Selling Apple September Call Options to roll over into October Calls

The Apple September 17 Call Options with a strike of $150 in my Volatility Portfolio climbed another 23.3% today. The options looks to be moving up as traders position themselves for a bump in Apple after the company’s next new product day–speculation has the date for the announcement of a nee iPhone as September 14 with pre-orders to start on September 17. The announcement is likely to be big news and will probably drive the stock higher. For the September 17 Call Options, however, the date is something of a double-edged sword since a September 14 announcement–a big positive–runs right into the time decay of the options since them expire on September 17.

Selling my AMD September 17 Call Options (strike price of $92.50) out of my Volatility Portfolio

Selling my AMD September 17 Call Options (strike price of $92.50) out of my Volatility Portfolio

I got another 50% pop (aso f 3:30 p.m. New York time) today in the price of the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) September 17, 2021 Call Options with a strike price of $92.50 (AMD210917C0009250). I’m going to take my profits here. With the end of earnings season in the next two weeks, I think the risk/reward ratio for holding stocks is shifting toward risk. And I’d rather be more in cash rather than less as we head into what I see as a volatile fall.

An odd market before big tech earnings #1–I’m holding onto my AMD and APPL options until after earnings

An odd market before big tech earnings #1–I’m holding onto my AMD and APPL options until after earnings

As of 12:15 p.m. the Standard & Poor’s 500 was down .01% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 0.75%. Tech stocks were down much more with the NASDAQ Composite off 1.85% and the NASDAQ 100 lower by 1.82%. The tech companies due to report earnings today after the close were all down. Apple (AAPL) was lower by 1.68%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) had dropped 2.01%. And Microsoft (MSFT() was off 1.66%.

Selling Apple September Call Options to roll over into October Calls

Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…

I hope it’s no surprise to you–I’ve been yammering away on this topic for the last two weeks after all–but next week is a big week for earnings from bellwether tech companies. The market reaction to those earnings will determine whether the current earnings based rally goes on for a while or if, instead, we get a sell on the news retreat. Tuesday, April 27, is the first big day with Apple (AAPL), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Alphabet (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) all reporting.

The window for using Call Options to profit from technology earnings season is starting to close

The window for using Call Options to profit from technology earnings season is starting to close

Just a reminder: To profit from anticipation of strong and maybe even better than expected tech stock earnings using Call Options, you want to buy the options before the actual earnings announcement. You’re betting on a rush to get in on the good earnings news before the actual news. Which means that if you’re looking to buy Call Options on Apple (AAPL) or Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) you want to do it NOW, since these companies announce second quarter earnings next week on July 27. Here are my preferences in tech stocks earnings options play

Investors buy the dip; Delta variant is forgotten for a day

Investors buy the dip; Delta variant is forgotten for a day

Today investors and traders ran to buy all the re-opening, post-vaccine recovery, cyclical stocks that they dumped yesterday. Macy’s (M) is up 4.29% as of 3:30 p.m. New York time after plunging 4.90% yesterday. Amusement park operator Cedar Fair (FUN) is up 4.12%. Cyclical Dupont (DD) is up 1.34% after closing down 4.46% yesterday. Carnival Cruise (CCL) is ahead 7.83% today after dropping 5.74% yesterday. It’s as if the market has decided that the really scary upward trend in new infections from the spread of the Delta variant is done with and over. Pandemic yesterday. No pandemic today.. The figures from the pandemic front say otherwise. The 14-day change in new cases as of July 19 is 198%. The 14-day change in new deaths is 44%.

Stocks extend growth fears, selling today–how far does this go?

Stocks extend growth fears, selling today–how far does this go?

Today, Monday, July 19, stocks accelerated their retreat from the end of last week on fears that a fourth wave of the pandemic, fueled by the Delta variant, will crush hopes that the economy is headed back to normal. As of the close New York the Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 1.59% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 2.09%. The NASDAQ Composite was off 1.06% and the NASDAQ 100 had dropped 0.90%. The small cap Russell 2000 had fallen 1.51% and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) was down 1.68%. For the day at least you can see the market’s fears accurately reflected in the list of stocks falling most heavily.

Saturday Night Quarterback (on a Sunday) says, For the week ahead expect…

Saturday Night Quarterback (on a Sunday) says, For the week ahead expect…

Investors and traders will be looking to the first batch of earnings from big banks on Tuesday and Wednesday to answer two big questions: 1. Will earnings show the huge 65% year over year growth now expected by Wall Street analysts? 2. Will investors and traders sell on the news or push stocks higher on hoped for more economic (and earnings growth) to come? But I think w’ll have to wait until the week of July 27 to get answers to those queries.

For one day at least the central banks are  back in charge of stock and bond  markets

For one day at least the central banks are back in charge of stock and bond markets

Stocks rallied today and bond prices moved higher (sending bond yields lower) on news that China People’s Bank and the European Central Bank would both pursue monetary moves to bolster growth. The People’s bank reduced the amount of cash that banks have to hold in reserve by 0.5 percentage points. That will send about 1 trillion yuan ($154 billion) in liquidity into the economy. The reduction in the reserve ratio was larger than most economists had projected. China is set to announced second quarter GDP figures in the coming week and the strength and accelerated timing of the move fed speculation that the numbers will show weaker than expected economic growth. The European Central Bank shifted its inflation target to 2% rom the prior “below, but close to, 2%.” The move signaled that the ECB, like the U.S. Federal Reserve, would be willing to tolerate higher inflation in the short term rather than endanger economic growth by raising interest rates. The central banks move–plus a week of selling of cynical stocks, led to a solid rally today