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A Suspect Breakout for the S&P 500A Suspect Breakout for the S&P 500 AT40 = 52.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 56.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.8 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The stock market is not quite out the (short-term) woods yet. Last Wednesday I pointed out why the latest bearish divergence forced me to back down from my cautiously bullish short-term trading call. My neutral stance reflected a fresh wariness over an S&P 500 (SPY) grinding higher without the confirmation of a higher AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs). The S&P 500 (SPY) proceeded to bolt higher on Thursday to a fresh all-time high with a close that stretched above its upper Bollinger Band (BB). AT40 traded higher along with the S&P 500, but my favorite technical indicator failed to break out from its two week range which itself is at the bottom of a 5 month range. The stretch above the upper-BB was enough to prevent me from chasing the S&P 500 against my change in short-term trading call. The lack of confirmation from AT40 sealed the deal and even increased the risk for an imminent pullback by my calculation. On Friday, the S&P 500 (SPY) pressed higher intraday only to fade to a slightly lower close. AT40 broke out and then faded right back into its trading range. With a Federal Reserve meeting as a potential catalyst, I go into the coming week wary of the next short-term pullback. In an on-going change of fortunes, the tech-laden NASDAQ and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) are lagging the S&P 500. Both indices last hit all-time highs almost a month ago. Tech stocks have been unable to regain momentum since then even though the uptrending 20 and 50DMAs continue to guide tech stocks. The volatility index, the VIX, remains a very interesting part of the stock market’s divergent behavior. The VIX ended a down week at 11.7, just above recent lows and just above the 11 level which marks “extremely low volatility” (ELV). This level of complacency underlines the market’s overall bullish mood. It also makes portfolio protection very cheap. October is the last month of the year that includes a history of danger for the stock market, so it makes sense to load up on the “bargains” on SPY put options and long volatility trades. Since I am not (yet?) bearish, I chose with the long volatility trade. I bought yet another tranche of ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures (UVXY) call options at the same time I let the last tranche wither away to nothingness. A falling U.S. dollar index is helping the bullish mood by offsetting the negative impact of trade tensions on stocks with international sensitivities. There is likely a virtuous circle going on as the (surprisingly) positive response to heightening trade tensions is taking steam out of the dollar. A lower dollar is helping boost the outlook beyond U.S. borders. Commodity-related stocks were on fire (I clearly sold my call options on BHP Billiton (BHP) too early) and emerging market currencies did very well. The dollar weakened despite a fresh surge in long-term interest rates. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) sold off hard this week and allowed me to take profits on my last tranche of TLT puts. Still, if I am to believe the other signals in the market, long-term rates are not going much higher from here, and the Federal Reserve this coming week is set to reassure markets about future monetary tightening. If instead the news upsets the market, I will pounce on fades of many of the trades that assumed otherwise.
SP:SPX
by drduru
Bond H&S = risk off deflationary + curve inversionMeasured moved based on H&S break has this moving approximately 10%. We're currently looking at a retest of the break, but it's fading fast. When combined with the record net-short interest here, this could be a fast move, and could even invert the yield curve in one fell-swoop. If so, this would be reminiscent of the 2000 yield curve inversion, which happened extremely quick, and occurred around the same time the bear market started. Note that the big drop after the head that occurred around May 25th was a global collateral call. That alone is reason to realize that liquidity is not what we thought and there may be more problems in the global dollar funding system than many would know.
TVC:US10Y
by GTStockmaster
2
Rising rates: Why is the 30 year yield so low? The 30 year treasury yield has traded under 3.25% for almost 4 years now. The Fed continues to hike rates on a quarterly basis and Trump is unhappy about rising rates. Every day we hear how the economy is 'in great shape', and jobs data is 'as good as it gets'. More significantly what is pushing up rates are increased treasury issuance and the Fed's accelerating Quantitative Tightening. So all in all why isn't the 30 year yield closer to 4% like it was only four years ago? For several years the market has priced in low expectations for the long term. The yield curve continues to flatten towards the lowest spreads since leading up to the great recession. (28 basis points on the 30-5 spread and 30 points on the 10-2 spread). At this rate the curve could flatten or invert in 6 to 12 months. An inverted yield curve historically is followed by economic recession. What's your thoughts?
TVC:US30Y
by dime
2
THE WEEK AHEAD: NFLX, EBAY, IBM, XOP, EWZ, TLT/TBTWe're back into the thick of earnings season again ... . NFLX (rank 64/implied 52) pops the top on Monday after market close, so you're going to want to slap anything you want to do on before session end to take maximum advantage of a volatility contraction play. Pictured here is a 20 delta iron condor in the weekly with a buying power effect of 6.59 per contract, and a max of 3.41 (a smidge greater than one-third the width of the wings). Naturally, you'll have to adjust the strikes shortly before fill, since it's a mover. Look to take profit at 50% max ... . EBAY hits the bricks on Wednesday after market close. I'd rather have background implied at >50% (it's currently at ~33%), but it may be worth watching to see if it ramps up in the Monday through Wednesday sessions. IBM gets its party on on Wednesday after market close, too, but that background implied of 25% doesn't exactly get my motor running. On the exchange-traded fund front, there isn't much premium to be had, and what there is to be taken is to be found in the places where it's been over the past several weeks: Brazil (EWZ -- 33.5% background), and petro (XOP/OIH -- 30%). Me personally, I'm hand sitting on those until I can see the whites of September's eyes (it's still 68 days out). That being said, if you're willing to go a little more long-dated here: the XOP Sept 21st 43 short straddle is paying 4.36 with break evens at 38.64/47.36, theta of 3.12, and -7.82 delta; the EWZ Sept 21st 34 short straddle: 4.06 credit, 29.94/38.06 break evens, 2.9 theta, -6.74 delta. Other "Major Food Group" Directionals: TLT continues to bop annoyingly along horizontal support/resistance near 122.50 like a toddler kicking the back of your seat in economy class. My tendency has been to short on retrace in a tightening rate environment, with the preference being for more flexible, longer-dated setups like diagonals where I've got time to reduce cost basis, as opposed to using static one-off spreads where you could find yourself in the middle of a short-term risk off event that ruins your day. Inversely, TBT is holding on by its fingernails to 35.25. I could see pulling the trigger on either here -- a long-dated TLT downward put diagonal or covered short combo/a TBT upward call diagonal/covered long combo. (See TBT Upward Call Diagonal Post, below).
NASDAQ:NFLX
by NaughtyPines
4
Strength in Investment-Grade Debt Shows Flight to Safety$TLT #Bonds #bund #gild #treasuries These custom support resistance indicator lines show decent places to enter or exit. The Blue indicator line serves as a Bullish Trend setter. If your instrument closes above the Blue line, we think about going Long. If your instrument closes below the Red line, we think about Shorting. For Stocks, I prefer to use the Yellow line as my Bearish Trend setter (on Daily charts). Find out more. Send Private Mail (PM) to @MasterCharts
FX:BUNDLong
by mastercharts
ES1!: Wedge Wedge Wedge for potential -10% Right, I have articulated previously on how I feel fundamentally about S&P500 earnings growth and think the anti-trade rhetoric is not going away till Nov mid-terms. ES1! is trading at the top of a mini-wedge tucked within a medium term wedge. Drawing on my Dr Suess instincts to try to explain this: Wedge 1 is mini wedge which I believe is a continuation pattern from the short-term peak on 14 June Wedge 2 is the medium term wedge which I believe is a continuation pattern from the Jan - Feb correction If you recall, the Jan - Feb correction represents a trend line break of the seemingly improbable Fibo-busting 2-yr bull run from Feb'16. So a breakdown from Wedge 1 will give us a -2% downside target to 2660 which happens to the the lower boundary of Wedge 2. A breakdown from Wedge 2 will give us a -10% downside target to 2440/60 which happens to be the 38.2% retracement of the Feb'16 uptrend. Follow me so far? This reinforced the signal from my UST/SPX relative return model which is in deep buy territory for UST, hence my earlier calls to buy TY1!, TLT and did I talk about T US? Hang on to your breeches!
CME_MINI:ES1!Short
by WellTrainedMonkey
1
TYA Long: Potential 20% upsideWhat does the last 2 troughs in the TYA channel has in common with the current? Equity markets were at all-time-high. SPX CY'18 is expected to deliver +26% eps growth this year thanks to the tax cuts and budget deficits. Next year, it is expected to deliver something closer to norm, 10% growth. That is if the Trump's FART bill (google it, not kidding, there is a FART bill in circulation) does not kill growth growth. TLT is also trading at the bottom of a multi-decade range and has a +40% upside.
TLong
by WellTrainedMonkey
TRADE IDEA: TLT AUG/SEPT 120/27 DOWNWARD PUT DIAGONALShort on strength/horizontal resistance ... . Metrics: Max Profit on Setup: $208/contract Max Loss on Setup: $489/contract Break Even: 122.08 vs. 122.11 spot Debit Paid to Spread Width Ratio: 489/700 = 69.9% Notes: This assumes that this level (122) sticks around or is available at NY open. Ideal profit would be ~20% of what you put it on for (.20 x 4.89 = .98/contract). Roll short put out on significant decrease in value (generally 50% max).
NASDAQ:TLTShort
by NaughtyPines
THE WEEK AHEAD: EWZ, EWW, CPB, BOXThis week: three candidates for directionals and one nondirectional premium selling play ... . CPB: Although timing could have been better to catch the absolute bottom in this, implied volatility rank and background implied volatility remain quite high in this underlying (61/35). Given price weakness coupled with high implied volatility rank, I would think that a bullish assumption directional would be the way to go, with the most straightforward strategy being via short put. Pictured here is a "Wheel of Fortune," at-the-money short put that's paying 1.85 at the mid with a break even of 36.15. The basic strategy is to take the short put all the way to expiry and, if assigned, proceed to cover at or above your cost basis and work it as you would any covered call. Naturally, if price finishes above 38, you walk away with the entire premium. Variations: 30 delta short put: Aug 17th 36, 1.05 credit at the mid, 34.95 break even. EWZ: The Brazil exchange-traded fund has absolutely been crushed, with price within 5% of its 52-week low. With a rank of 50 and background at 35, here's another play where you've got weakness coupled with volatility, so a bullish assumption play makes the most sense. The Aug 17th 32 "Wheel of Fortune" pays 1.65 with a break even of 30.35; the Aug 17th 30 delta short at the 30 strike, .87 with a break even of 29.13. EWW: If you're already in Brazil, EWW (rank 65/implied 27) is also at the bottom of a fairly long term range between 43 and 56. Wheel of Fortune: Aug 17th 46 short put: 1.75 at the mid, 44.25 break even; 30-delta: Aug 17th 44, .98 credit, break even at 43.02. BOX: With earnings 25 days in the rear view mirror and high rank and implied (76/53), I'd probably opt for a Plain Jane nondirectional: the Aug 17th 24/32 is paying 1.78 with a 69% probability of profit, break evens at 22.22/33.78 (wide of the expected on both sides), delta of .72, and theta of 3.34. Defined risk variation: Aug 17th 22/25/31/34 iron condor is paying 1.26 (I had to bring in both sides a smidge because the highest strike in Aug expiry is currently at 34 ... ). OTHER ACTIVE ALERTS: TLT, short on retrace at 122 (downward skip month put diagonal; horizontal resistance) or TBT, long on retrace at 36 (upward skip month call diagonal; horizontal support). XOP, short on retrace at 44.50 (downward skip month put diagonal; top of range).
C
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: TLT AUG/SEPT 119/126 DOWNWARD PUT DIAGONAL... for a 4.83/contract debit. Fading the treasuries move higher ... again. Here are the metrics: Max Loss On Setup: $483 Max Profit On Setup: $217 Break Even on Setup: 121.17 Debit Paid/Spread Width Ratio: 69% Theta: .32 Delta: -42.26 Notes: Will look to take profit at 20% max. Ordinarily, I like to do these skip month (e.g., Aug/Oct) to give me an additional roll opportunities, but wanted to keep things small (going out farther in time requires a wider spread to achieve a break even at or above spot). The Aug/Oct setup would be the 119/129 for a 7.72/contract debit, max profit on setup of 2.28, debit paid/spread width ratio 77% ... .
NASDAQ:TLTShort
by NaughtyPines
3