Weekly Wrap-Up + Market Forecast + Sector Watch: SPX, Nasdaq, BTK, FAS, SOXX, XLE

It was another volatile week.  Stocks tumbled during the first 3 days of trading, hitting an intraday low of 1820.66 on Wednesday before bouncing back.  But, by Friday's close, SPX was back up to test 1890!

Things once again went according to my weekly Market Forecast.  Last weekend, I wrote,

" Financials will be very important, especially their earnings. Biotechs could see more selling to catch up to the broader market. Below 1900, SPX has support at 1880. Nasdaq has support at 4240."

On Monday, the market fought to keep above 1880, but, failed.  On Tuesday, buyers tried again to keep that support.  But, earnings from WFC and JPM were not good enough.  On Wednesday, stocks experienced a bit of "free falling", dropping nearly 50 points to 1820 before bouncing!  On Friday, MS's report was better and stocks rebounded, with both SPX and Nasdaq closing above their respective support levels.

We had a mixed week, with TSO calls giving us profits as high as +138.71%:

CLVS Options Sell to close 20.00 (6.49%) of CLVS Nov 22 2014 Call 45.0 at 6.50000 4.84% ($600.00) Profit
SCTY Options Sell to close 5.00 (1.57%) of SCTY Nov 22 2014 Call 48.0 at 6.00000 15.38% ($400.00) Profit
SCTY Options Sell to close 5.00 (2.09%) of SCTY Nov 22 2014 Call 48.0 at 8.00000 53.85% ($1,400.00) Profit
AAPL Options Sell to close 10.00 (2.01%) of AAPL Nov 22 2014 Put 95.0 at 4.00000 5.26% ($200.00) Profit
TSO Options Sell to close 10.00 (1.87%) of TSO Oct 18 2014 Put 60.0 at 3.70000 138.71% ($2,150.00) Profit
TSLA Options Sell to close 20.00 (1.52%) of TSLA Oct 18 2014 Call 230.0 at 1.50000 -68.75% ($-6,600.00) Loss
TSO Options Sell to close 10.00 (1.57%) of TSO Oct 18 2014 Put 60.0 at 3.10000 100.00% ($1,550.00) Profit
TSO Options Sell to close 10.00 (1.53%) of TSO Oct 18 2014 Put 60.0 at 3.00000 93.55% ($1,450.00) Profit
HLF Options Sell to close 10.00 (0.93%) of HLF Oct 18 2014 Put 45.0 at 1.85000 8.82% ($150.00) Profit
BIDU Options Sell to close 10.00 (1.59%) of BIDU Oct 18 2014 Put 200.0 at 3.20000 8.47% ($250.00) Profit
CLVS Options Sell to close 10.00 (0.51%) of CLVS Oct 18 2014 Call 45.0 at 1.00000 -69.70% ($-2,300.00) Loss
BIDU Options Sell to close 10.00 (1.01%) of BIDU Oct 18 2014 Put 200.0 at 2.01000 -63.12% ($-3,440.00) Loss

For the week, the Dow was down 163.69 points; SPX fell 19.73 points; Nasdaq lost 17.8 points.  Gold bounced again to around $1237/ounce, while oil fell again to just above $83/barrel.  At the time of this writing, Asian markets were mostly higher.  Let's see where the US markets stood after Friday's close:

SPX


On Friday, SPX added +24 points to close at 1886.76.  Its daily MAs slid, but, its MACD flattened.

Nasdaq

Nasdaq gained +41.05 points to close at 4258.44.  It closed below its daily MAs.

Although both SPX and Nasdaq were able to bounce back above their respective support levels, all three major indices (including the Dow) closed below their respective daily MAs.  For the new week, earnings season is going into full gear, with AAPL and IBM coming after the market on Monday!

Monday:  (AM) HAL, HAS, BTU, PETS, SAP; (PM)  AAPL, CMG, ILMN, IBM, STLD

Tuesday:  (AM) ATI, KO, COCO, UTX; (PM) BRCM, CREE, VMW, YHOO
Wednesday:  (AM) ABT, BIIB, BA, EMC, PII, SPG, SMED, USB; (PM) CAKE, CTXS, MLNX, PLCM, TSCO, WFT
Thursday:  (AM) AMG, CAT, CELG, CX, DO, LO, NUE, OXY, PCP, RS, LUV, UAL, UA, YNDX; (PM) ALTR, BMRN, CERN, DECK, JNPR, MSFT, QLIK, TPX

Friday:  (AM) CL, F, EDU, PG, SHPG, STT

I think we can see stocks continue to bounce a bit.  SPX has resistance around 1910, while Nasdaq can see resistance around 4370-4380.  AAPL and IBM's earnings on Monday will be very important.  YHOO's earnings comes in on Tuesday.  Then, we have MSFT on Thursday, which could already be traded on SAP's earnings on Monday morning.

Again, financials will be crucial.  It will be interesting to see if energies can start establishing a base.

Sector Watch

BTK (biotech)

BTK actually closed higher for the week.  There are still a lot of buyers in this sector.  It is a better "safe haven" than gold!  CELG, BIIB, and ILMN are all reporting in the coming week.  Both CELG and BIIB still appear weak.

FAS (financial)

FAS has dropped sharply in the past couple of weeks.  GS, JPM, WFC, and BAC are all weak.  Credit cards are not looking strong either:  V, MA, COF, AXP.

SOXX (semiconductor)

SOXX had a positive week.  But, as soon as it touched its 10-day MA on Friday, it went back down again.  This is another sector that the markets cannot do without.  We need to see this sector continue to bounce for the markets to show sustainable strength.  XLNX's report was good on Friday.  We will see how BRCM does on Tuesday.

XLE (energy)

XLE also had a positive week, but, like the semis, it could not close above its 10-day MA.  EOG was particularly strong last week.  HAL is reporting on Monday morning.  DO and OXY are on Thursday.

Although we may be due for a little bounce, I am not overly positive about the markets at this point.  The complacency is certainly gone, which is now replaced by fear.  Let's watch the resistance levels carefully.  I will try to make updates after Monday's close.

Good night and HappyTrading! ™

Posted to Ecstatic Plays on Oct 20, 2014 — 12:10 AM
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