VIX says sky is clear, SKEW says institutions getting ready for clouds

posted in: Derivatives, Equities | 0

VIX:VXV itching to move higher, which could put stocks under pressure VIX suggests calm, but SKEW points to institutions buying tail-risk protection Put-to-call ratios have had extreme readings past several sessions on both CBOE, ISE The S&P 500 Large Cap … Continued

Duel between year-end seasonality (+ve) and QE end (-ve)

posted in: Credit, Economy, Equities | 0

Economy was probably not reason why QE2/3 got launched, stock sell-off was One month after QE1/2 ended, stocks began to act sick, prompting Fed into action Year-end rally may or may not happen; impending sell-off to test Fed’s pain threshold … Continued

Gold is bottoming, only question is duration

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

Improvement in gold’s price action in recent sessions Key will be if non-commercials begin to add to net long gold futures Looks to be bottoming, but still tentative; short GLD puts safe way to go for now Gold ($1,187.9) is … Continued

Bulls have baton, but grip is easing

posted in: Equities, Technicals | 0

Big tailwind for stocks has come from grossly oversold technical conditions Several indicators are lagging – failing to confirm recovery highs in major U.S. indices Some signs stocks want to rest; could be important as SPX sits right underneath major … Continued

Recent equity advance probably squeezed shorts, who could get active again

posted in: Equities, Technicals | 0

Shorts continued to raise bets, with short interest at multi-year highs October 15th reversal followed by sharp advance probably caused short-covering With QE gone and broken trendline resistance on S&P 500 intact, shorts could get active again Bulls probably took … Continued