It is damage control time for small-cap investors. When on August 14 August 21st weekly 119 puts were hypothetically sold for $0.92, IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 Index, was trading at $119.62. If the short put got assigned, it was … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of August 25, 2015. Change is week-over-week. (Please keep in mind that these holdings are as of Tuesday. By then, from high to low the S&P 500 was down 12.5 percent. In … Continued
After last week’s bloodbath in stocks, Friday brought a small consolation for small-cap investors. Maybe. During the week, IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, lost major support – which is three percent away. The 118-119 support goes back to March last … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials contained in the Commitment of Traders report as of August 18, 2015. Change is week-over-week. (Please note that these holdings are as of Tuesday. The S&P 500 swooned six percent in the next … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of August 11, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: How might the renminbi devaluation impact the Fed’s desire to hike rates this year? The devaluation is at least disinflationary as far U.S. … Continued
An options trade may be brewing on IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF. In the July 15-31 period, shorts’ bearish bet on IWM paid off. Short interest went up nearly five percent during the period. The ETF fell 2.1 percent, … Continued
Small-caps were big laggards last week. IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, lost 2.5 percent, versus drops of 1.3 percent for the S&P 500 Index, 1.8 percent for the Dow Industrials and 1.7 percent for the Nasdaq Composite, among others. … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of August 4, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell told CNBC on Wednesday that he has not made up his mind yet on whether interest rates should … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of July 28, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: The following from the FOMC statement drew a lot of attention: “The Committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target … Continued
U.S. small-caps have been through a lot in recent months. Chart 1 says it all. Will that change following Tuesday’s huge reversal? Since the Russell 2000 Index (1224.6) broke the mid-October 2014 trend line toward the end of April, it … Continued