March 19, 2024

The NightCap

The Market: Overall it was another tight trading range session but the Russell 2000 (IWM) continued its underperformance and finished down over –1%.  It appears that traders may be on hold until the FOMC statement and rate decision tomorrow. Transportation (IYT) sector was the hardest hit on the WSC Scoreboard as the sector ETF finished down -2.65% followed by yesterday’s biggest loser, Energy (XLE), which closed down -1.2%.  The biggest gaining sector on the session was HealthCare (XLV) which finished up 1.84% and was helped by Allergan (AGN), Biogen Inc (BIIB), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRTX), and Mylan NV (MYL) which all…

The NightCap

The Market: Overall a dull session as the markets remainder in a tight range for the entire day but we expect to see volatility in many individual names as this will be a very active earnings week with many big names reporting.  As always we will highlight the names that reported after the close as well as those scheduled to report pre-market tomorrow but please remember that you can often  look ahead a few days under the Events Calendar section. If an active earnings wasn’t enough, we also have an active Economic Calendar with the FOMC Statement and Rate decision…

China’s action spills into global markets

The Market: Stocks opened lower after China suffered its worst losing day in over 8 years but the S&P managed to find a bottom right at the 200 day SMA and has so far rallied off the lows with upside action continuing into the after market.  It will be interesting to see how China’s market reacts today and if the S&P can keep the momentum going through the overnight trading and into tomorrow’s open. Also don’t forget we have the FOMC Rate decision and Statement on Wednesday the 29th (full Economic Calendar below). Leading to the downside in today’s session…

XLU stands out in today’s action

Index & Sector performance 2/18/15 The Market: A choppy session overall which ended up finishing flat.  Some negative divergence is building on the S&P 500 60 minute chart but, even when it leads to a pullback, the divergence can exist for many day.  We wouldn’t be surprised to see the index continue to meander and drift higher for the remainder of the week into Options expiration. In individual sectors it was the Utilities (XLU) leading the way and by a wide margin finishing up 2.37%.  We would be watching the XLU closely here to see if it can build on…

Eurozone fears trigger late day sell-off

Index & Sector performance 2/4/15 The Market: Monday’s reversal in the S&P 500 (SPY) of the 200 day SMA continued Tuesday and was extending in today’s session, even with Oil trading lower, until later in the trading day when the index dropped sharply.  Traders pointed to news our of Europe that the ECB will not allow Banks to use Greek government debt as collateral for loans as the catalyst.  The Dow (DIA) was the only index on the WSC Scoreboard which managed to finish higher but that was greatly due to Disney (DIS) beating EPS and finishing up 7.63% on…

BIIB helps XLV finish up over 26% YTD

Index & Sector performance 12/2/14 The Market: It was a solid session following Monday’s drop with the Russell 2000 (IWM) clearly leading and with advancers leading decliners by roughly 2:1. In Individual sectors it was Transportation (IYT) leading up 1.18% followed closely by Energy (XLE), which is still trying to recover from Friday’s big gap down, up 1.16%, and lastly HealthCare (XLV) which finished 1.12% higher and is now up over 26% year-to-date.  Helping the XLV today was Biogen Idec (BIIB) which gained 6.43% on positive results from an early-stage Alzheimer’s drug trial.  BIIB is a name to watch.  Above…

Intraday swing leave only small gains

Index & Sector performance 4/28/14 The Market: After moving slightly higher in the overnight and early trading, the S&P 500 quickly dropped in the midday session before finding a bottom around 1:30 pm ET.  While the S&P fell a few points short of making it back to the earlier intraday highs, it did manage to post a small gain on the day.   The Dow led the major indices helped by a 4.2% gain from Pfizer (PFE) while the Russell 2000 closed slightly down on the day. Many big name stocks in the news including the aforementioned Pfizer (PFE) who…

Buy the rumor – Sell the news?

Index & Sector performance 10/16/13 The Market: Another strong day in the market sent the S&P 500 index over 23 points higher after a brief consolidation day yesterday.  What started as a small gap quickly ran in the first hour of trading eventually topping at 11:15 am EST.  The market then consolidated until 2:30 pm EST when it bottom and started a rally back toward the highs of the day.  Amidst a light economic data week, the news of Washington and the pending debt deal have continued to drive attention and trader reaction. Ahead of tomorrow’s Unemployment data (357K Consensus)…

Ben to the rescue!

Index & Sector performance 9/18/13 The Market: The clock struck 2pm EST and it is time for Big Ben and the Fed to put all the recent speculation, at least for now, to rest.  Neither changes to the current $85B bond purchased program nor the fed funds target rate.  That news sparked a near 30 point rally which ultimately closed up 23 points from the announcement. Besides the Federal Reserve rate decision, in economic data we had building permits and housing starts which both came in lower than the previous month and also below expectations but with all due respect…