Volatility is absent in the S&P, but pops up in the NASDAQ ahead of tech earnings
I’d call the market mood “odd” right now. It’s maybe “hopeful fear.” Or maybe “fearful hope.” Nobody wants to move to the sidelines in case the rally is going to continue. Nobody wants to be too long just in case we’re looking at a pullback or correction. The focus of this uncertainty is the big technology stocks of the NASDAQ
Stocks, especially tech stocks, show more volatility than closing prices indicate
To subscribe to JAM you need to fill in some details below including, ahem, some info on how you'll pay us. A subscription is $199 (although if you're subscribing with one of our special offers it will be lower) for a year for ongoing and continuing access to the...Tech slide continues casting doubt on “buy on the dip” strength
Anyone who bought technology stocks on the dip last Friday and Monday is feeling unhappy today. And that spells a worried market. Especially since key stocks in the sector such as Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) are showing signs of breaking through important support. The NASDAQ Composite Index is off 0.93% today as of 12:30 p.m. New York time.
Tech stocks down again but not a replay of Friday rout
The market is more anxious today but it doesn’t seem anywhere near panic country. The CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX), was up another 10% today (10.75% as of 1:30 to be exact) on top of a greater than 10% gain on Friday, but that’s a relatively restrained move considering that what is known as the “fear” index has been trading near record lows and that this index can tack on moves of 30% to 40% in a day when investors get really fearful.
Looking for risk in this market? Check out the financial sector
To subscribe to JAM you need to fill in some details below including, ahem, some info on how you'll pay us. A subscription is $199 (although if you're subscribing with one of our special offers it will be lower) for a year for ongoing and continuing access to the...Buy on the dip reflex is still in force today
Last night I posted that today would be critical for this market’s buy on the dip reflex. Yesterday’s move up after the Wednesday rout wasn’t convincing. As long as traders and investors treat any dip as an occasion for buying, it will be difficult for this market to build up any downside momentum. So far, today’s market action is a very strong vote in favor of the continued working of the buy on the dip reflex.
Volatility roars back today–but what about tomorrow?
To subscribe to JAM you need to fill in some details below including, ahem, some info on how you'll pay us. A subscription is $199 (although if you're subscribing with one of our special offers it will be lower) for a year for ongoing and continuing access to the...Oil back down this morning as “hedgies” reposition
So much for Monday’s oil rally. This morning, a day after Russia and Saudi Arabia succeeded in talking up oil prices with promises that OPEC and allied non-OPEC producers would extend the current production cuts past their June expiration until the end of 2017, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate is down 0.8% to $46.06 a barrel and international benchmark Brent crude is off 0.81% to $48.94 a barrel as of noon in New York
Low volatility a threat to big bank earnings
To subscribe to JAM you need to fill in some details below including, ahem, some info on how you'll pay us. A subscription is $199 (although if you're subscribing with one of our special offers it will be lower) for a year for ongoing and continuing access to the...This is one odd market: How odd? Look at the SKEW
On one level the U.S. stock market makes perfect sense. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index is up 6.64% for 2017 and as you’d expect volatility has tumbled with the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index down 22.72% for the year. But another volatility index the CBOE SKEW Index is up 7.5% for 2017. How can two volatility indexes be giving such different pictures of the level of fear, nervousness, and expected volatility in the S&P 500?