Mar
17
S&P 500 From a Technical View
After suffering a 27.35 point dip (-2.08%) on Friday, the S&P 500 closed at 1288.15. On a weekly basis, this large cap index was the only one out of three to close in the red…by 5.2 points, or 0.4%. More importantly, she’s on the verge of new lows for the year…not good for the bulls (though great for the bears). The line in the sand is 1274. That’s where (basically) the S&P 500 has made lows this month as well as January. Of course, the attack on that support level […]
Mar
5
OPEC???
March S&P’s this morning are trading +6.90 points on improved bond insurer news and some short-covering. The US stock market yesterday traded lower most of the day until a late day pop left the indexes finishing mixed (Dow -0.37%, S&P 500 -0.34%, NASDAQ Composite +0.07%). Bullish factors for stock prices yesterday included (1) the 7.9% rally in Ambac after CNBC reported the bailout plan for the world’s 2nd biggest bond insurer is progressing, (2) the 8.3% gain in Barr Pharmaceutical after a US judge invalidated a patent on Bayer AG’s […]
Feb
29
Are We Trending Yet?
Option trading can be fun, exciting, and profitable, but it can be full of frustration and losses. Have you ever noticed how frustrating it is to see your stock bounce up and down everyday in a seemingly endless sideways pattern? Most of the time we can be so tired of a trade that by the time it really decides to move our direction, we have already jumped ship. Is there help? Can someone rescue us? Here comes J. Welles Wilder with his Average Directional Index (ADX). It is a great […]
Feb
19
Is the VIX showing the Market’s Hand?
“Some very interesting action lately with volatility (or lack thereof). One thing’s for certain…the increased market volatility has investors feeling might uncomfortable. Traders? Not really, it’s a dream environment. Last year, the VIX was sporting a near alltime low of 11….now we see the fear index comfortably in the mid 20’s….and has been there for quite some time (50 MA of the VIX has been over 20 since Aug 16, 1007). We’ve seen recent attempts by the bears to rip this market up…but lately, it hasn’t materialized. Why is this […]