In the absence of major news or market data this week, the earnings have been the focus. Certain major companies such as IBM, EBAY, and even Apple have disappointed to one degree or another. The Nasdaq broke to new highs, but the broader markets failed to do so, and the S&P 500 now has pulled back toward the middle of its multi-month range. Advanced options traders have ways to win in exactly this kind of market. To learn more about this, click here: http://www.optionsuniversity.com
Volatility has hit and bounced slightly off of a rock bottom level that saw the CBOE Volatility index go briefly below 12. It remains there for now settling near the low end of its range.
OVERSEAS: Recent overnight action shows foreign markets mostly mixed and relatively quiet with certain Chinese markets being the only exception. Shanghai and Shenzhen markets have spiked upward more than 2%. Perhaps these markets will benefit from the Australian government’s decision to cut interest rates.
OIL: Despite a high demand for gasoline during summer driving season and refineries working near top capacity, oil inventories have taken a break from the recent downward trend, and even increased by 2.5 Million barrels this week.
JOBS: The expectation this week for new jobless claims has been that they would remain little changed from the prior week. A consensus estimate of 279K new claims, compared with last weeks actual number of 281K. Surprisingly, they came in much lower than that at 255K which should help the recently up ticking claims average resume its downward trend:
HOUSING: The housing market remains hot, beating expectations at an annual rate of 5.49 Million existing home sales. This is up over 3% for June, and follows a strong May as well.
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