With less than a month to go this year, momentum in U.S. corporate bond issuance continues. High-yield in particular is worth paying attention to. November saw issuance of $125.3 billion, made up of $97.2 billion in investment-grade and $28.1 billion … Continued
QQQ (PowerShares QQQ Nasdaq ETF) finds itself at an interesting juncture. The ETF (153.50) peaked at 156.69 seven sessions ago, before coming under heavy selling pressure in two separate sessions (Chart 1). The bulls nonetheless are putting their foot down, … Continued
The options market continues to reflect elevated optimism. In nine of the last 12 sessions, the CBOE equity put-to-call ratio registered readings in the 0.50s. The other three were in the low 0.60s. In fact, major U.S. stock indices yesterday … Continued
Unless momentum changes swiftly, the tech-dominated Nasdaq 100 index once again is beginning to lag, creating opportunities for nimble traders. The Nasdaq 100 has come a long way. It is up nearly 29 percent this year – much more than … Continued
Once Again, a rally in VIX was used as an opportunity to sell – sell hard. Last Friday, in the wake of the Michael Flynn news, VIX shot up to 14.58 intraday but only to end the session up 0.15 … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of Nov 28, 2017. 10-year note: Currently net long 123.9k, up 12.9k. The U.S. economy is in its ninth year of recovery. Post-Great Recession, real GDP has grown at an average 2.2 percent. … Continued
XLV (SPDR health care sector ETF) made a move this week. After facing resistance at the 50-day for several sessions, it bolted past that average Tuesday. Wednesday added another 0.5 percent, but the session was also unable to hang on … Continued
Here is a brief review of period-over-period change in short interest in the November 1-15 period in nine S&P 500 sectors. XLB (SPDR materials ETF) XLB (59.14) peaked at 59.62 on October 26. The bears were able to push the … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of Nov 21, 2017. 10-year note: Currently net long 111.1k, up 36.2k. “In light of elevated asset valuations and low financial market volatility, several participants expressed concerns about a potential buildup of financial … Continued
Major U.S. stock indices rallied to fresh new highs last week. Even small-caps, which until recently had been lagging their large-cap brethren, joined the party. With seasonality in their favor, will the bulls be able to build on this or … Continued