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Markets opened in the red this morning after a punishing day yesterday. SPX opened at yesterday's close and dropped to $1636 but then started bouncing back, recovering most of the early losses by noon and then chopping sideways through the close. SPX closed at $1651, down $5. RUT actually closed the day with a $2 gain at $984. Volatility rose less than a half point to 14.1%. Trading volume fell off from yesterday's highs with 2.6 billion shares of the S&P 500 trading, just above the 50 dma at 2.4B. Trading volume on the NYSE dropped 4% and volume on NASDAQ decreased 16%.
Initial unemployment claims dropped 23k and the number of continuing claims declined 112k to just under three million. The FHFA housing price index rose 1.3% in March compared to February and was up over 7% compared to one year ago. So the data supporting the idea of real estate having hit its bottom and bouncing back continue to come in.
Looking for support levels from the nearly continuous upward trending SPX chart isn't easy. Today's close at $1651 supports the $1650 level touched about three times earlier this month. One may also discern a support level at about $1635 from early May. So the fact that SPX bounced back and held above $1650 may be significant. I will be watching $1650 and then $1635 before pulling the emergency stop cord. Today's bounce back upward on decreased volume supports the premise that this isn't the beginning of the long awaited 5-10% correction. A well defined support level is on the chart at $1600 and a 5% correction would take us through that level to $1586. Another well defined support level exists at $1540 and a 10% correction would take us back to $1503. Today's price action started out looking like it could be the beginning of the correction, but the bounce on lower volume certainly doesn't support that premise.
What yesterday's price action does tell us isn't pleasant: when the Fed does start to "taper" its stimulus, look out below! It will be ugly. But I think traders reflected on Bernanke's words and realized he doesn't have anywhere near the strong economic data he has repeatedly cited as a precursor to ending the Fed's quantitative easing.
This drop in the market has softened the pressure on the call spreads of my June condor on RUT, pushing the call spreads out to about one standard deviation OTM. The position's P/L stands at -$2,660 with delta = -$74 and theta = +$145. We have a long holiday weekend coming up; it will be interesting to see how traders position themselves tomorrow. But we non-directional traders love long weekends.
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The markets traded up strongly this morning, mostly based on Bernanke's testimony before Congress. But when the FOMC minutes were released this afternoon, it included comments that several committee members are ready to reduce the Fed stimulus if economic data show improvement. To my mind, that wasn't news because it was the classic "if" statement and we aren't seeing much in the way of stronger economic data. The news has been full of committee members saying they were ready to reduce quantitative easing if the economic data improved, so today's minutes should not have surprised anyone. Apparently, many fingers were on the sell trigger and the markets sold off strongly in the afternoon on strong volume.
The report of another strong increase in existing home sales to an annualized rate of 4.97 million didn't hurt the morning's bullish sentiment. SPX lost $14 to close at $1655 and RUT sold off even more strongly to $982, down $17. Trading volume spiked upward with 3.0 billion shares of the S&P 500 stocks trading; volume on the NYSE increased 28% and trading on NASDAQ increased 23%. The VIX jumped up to 14.5%, but then pulled back to 13.8%, up about half a point.
Is this the beginning of the long awaited correction or did traders just get spooked and overreact? The SPX candlestick pattern is the classic bearish engulfing pattern, or the outside day in western bar charts. This often signals a trend reversal to the downside. On the other hand, SPX traded down to $1650 and then bounced. Hewlett Packard reported better than expected results after the bell, so that might help support a bounce back tomorrow.
I removed the hedge on my June position; that takes it to a net P/L of -$2,940 with position delta = -$69 and position theta = +$148. Today's market move reduced the delta of the 1030 calls to 14 and the 900 puts remain far OTM with a delta of 9. Our theta/delta ratio is strong. But we'll see what tomorrow brings.
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The SPX opened this morning and started another relentless climb higher, peaking at $1673 around noon ET. But then it bled off all of those gains and went into the red, dropping to $1664 by 2 pm ET. It recovered most of that by the end of trading, closing at $1666 for a loss of one dollar. RUT fared a little better, with a $2 gain at $998, but those gains came in the last 4-5 minutes of trading. Trading volume was down significantly with 2.1 billion shares of the S&P 500 trading. Trading volume was lower by 5% on both the NYSE and NASDAQ. VIX popped up a half point to 13.0%, still a low value historically.
There wasn't much economic news today. The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank released its national activity index that measures manufacturing activity. It decreased to a -5.3 for April from the previous month's -2.3, with negative numbers indicating contraction. This is consistent with other similar manufacturing surveys of the past few months. The stock market going higher every day causes us to forget that the economy is still struggling.
I rolled the 1020/1030 call spreads in my RUT Jun condor to 1030/1040 this morning, and, of course, then the market pulled back. This position now stands at a loss of -$2,530 on 20 contracts with delta = -$7 and theta = +$66. We still hold the July 1000 calls as a hedge. This condor still has the potential to make a nice profit if the index levels out or pulls back from here, so our rolls and hedges have served their purposes.
Traders are focused on Bernanke's testimony before Congress on Wednesday, so tomorrow's market may be very quiet.
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Markets seemed a little lost today. SPX opened positively this morning, but then quickly dove into the red, traded slightly upward for the balance of the day, and then deteriorated from about 2 pm ET through the close. SPX gained $3 to close at $1669 while RUT closed at $999, up $1. Trading volume bumped up a little from yesterday but remained below average. Trading in the S&P 500 rose to 2.3 billion shares and trading on the NYSE was up 6%. Volume on NASDAQ rose 2%. Volatility rose a touch with the VIX closing up 0.4 points at 13.4%. It is too early to be conclusive, but the SPX chart of the past few days seems to be treating $1670 as resistance; a similar pattern is emerging with RUT tentatively trading above $1000, but then pulling back.
Traders seem to be obsessed with any news, rumors, or even baseless speculations concerning the Fed scaling back its quantitative easing. I think it is evidence of the market finding itself in new territory, i.e., a strong bullish trend with minimal underlying economic support. Yes, one can point to good corporate earnings, but we all know the macroeconomic data remain weak. Companies aren't posting good earnings by expanding and hiring. Traders know the picture is flawed and they are spooked by the idea of the Fed pulling out and the markets having to stand on their own. Perhaps that is a problem with the entire country with more and more people feeling they must depend on the government.
My Jun condor position on the Russell 2000 Index remains hedged with a P/L of -$2,850 with position delta = -$13 and position theta = +$77. Be careful about adding more capital to positions until after the Bernanke testimony and the release of the FOMC meeting minutes tomorrow.
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Consumer sentiment data appeared to give the market a boost today and resumed the uptrend. SPX closed up $16 at $1666. RUT increased $11 to close at $996. VIX lost almost a percentage point to close at 12.5%. Trading volume was mixed with a slight decrease in the S&P 500 to 2.5 billion shares, but a 17% increase on the NYSE. But on the other hand, trading volume fell 7% on NASDAQ.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment data jumped up in May to 83.7, significantly higher than April's 76.4. Leading economic indicators were released for April and were up 0.6%.
RUT settled at $989.53 today, so the remaining put spreads in my May condor will expire worthless this weekend, resulting in a 10% gain. This brings the Flying With The Condor™ service to break-even for 2013 (making up for the Jan loss). My Jun position stands at a P/L of -$2,670 with position delta = -$44 and position theta = +$76.
Have a great weekend.
