In its rather brief history going back to January 1990, out of 6,725 sessions, there have only been 10 times when spot VIX jumped 40 percent or higher in a single session. That is how rare it is! Last Friday … Continued
Seven weeks of sideways action on the S&P 500 large cap index has been resolved. Last Friday, the index dropped 2.5 percent, for a weekly drop of 2.4 percent. This comes on the heels of an important breakout in July. … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of September 6, 2016. 10-year note: Is the ECB reaching the end of the stimulus rope? This is not a consensus thinking, but the bank may very well be trying to … Continued
Bloomberg carried an article this Tuesday highlighting what it called shrinking cash piles at American companies. Cash and equivalents dropped to a median $860 million at S&P 500 companies in 2Q16. At the end of that quarter, cash ex-financial sector … Continued
March 20, 2008: 114.1 August 27, 2015: 112.6 September 7, 2016: 112.0 On October 11, 2007, the S&P 500 large cap index entered a bear market peaking at 1576.09. It would not bottom until March 9, 2009 when the tape … Continued
At first glance, major U.S. equity indices are at/near all-time highs, with suppressed volatility. Amid this tranquility, the cost of protection is on the rise, and hedge funds’ net shorts in VIX futures are taking an increasing share of open … Continued
Markets are under the influence of the Fed’s rate hike talk – or a lack of it – a little too much … to such an extent that it can potentially backfire someday. Last Thursday, we learned that the ISM … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of August 30, 2016. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Prior to this week, after hawkish comments from several FOMC members, it looked like the August jobs report was the sole make-or-break data … Continued
After 11 consecutive months of remaining sub-parity, the green line in Chart 1 went back over in July. The line represents a ratio of NYSE margin debt to its 12-month average. When the latter is higher than the former, it … Continued
Of late, there is a spring in small-caps’ step. Can it be sustained? In August, the Russell 2000 small cap index (1239.91) jumped 1.6 percent, even as the S&P 500 large cap index inched down 0.1 percent and the Dow … Continued