New book by Larry Connors Click here Improve your trading - See how
Trading was choppy on this pre-holiday session. A better-than-expected durable goods report and lower initial jobless claims sparked an early morning rally, but that didn't last too long, however the averages made another dramatic turnaround to close near the highs of the day. April durable goods rose 1.1%, beating the 0.8% rise that economists were expecting. Excluding transportation, durables rose 2.9%. vs. consensus expectations of 1%. Strongest sectors were biotechs, gold, airline, and select Internet issues, while weakest sectors included drugs and semiconductors. For more information on today's action, please refer to the market recap.
The VIX ($VIX.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) opened near the top third of its range and closed near the lows of the day. This shift in intraday sentiment again suggests a decrease in fear. No CVR signals were triggered today. The VXN ($VXN.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) also opened near the top third of its range and close near the lows of the day. Today's action in the VXN triggered a CVR I buy signal today.
Points of Significance:
Haliburton (HAL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) jumped over 7% on triple its average volume. The shares rose today after a cheery presentation about the company's new products/technologies, cost savings, and asbestos liabilities. Shares of Haliburton did break out of a three month base and rose to a near six-month high. The stock does have resistance at its 200-day moving average up ahead. Haliburton's implied volatility is trading near a 50% discount to its historical volatility.
Activitison (ATVI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) gained 7% on double its average volume. Activision shares broke out to a new 52 week high. The company announced yesterday that they purchased Z-Axis, maker of Dave Mirra extreme sports series. However there is a negative divergence showing on its MACD and RSI.
Biotech HOLDRs (BBH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) rallied over 7% on over double its average volume. Biotech stock ran up on the news that Biogen received FDA approval for its psoriasis drug, Amevive. However the BBH is still clearly in a downtrend. There is also a confluence of resistance levels at the 104.83 area. There is heavy activity in the July 95 puts.
| Volatility Index | Close | Net Change | Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average | Significance |
| VIX | 20.35 | DOWN 1.24 | NONE | 7.58 % Below | Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 43.20 | DOWN 1.50 | CVR I BUY | 3.87 % Below | Not At Extreme |
Abnormal Options Volume With Price Movement -- Abnormal options volume (calls and puts) with stock price movement
| Name | Symbol | Net % Change | Volume | Avg. Volume |
| Medimmune | MEDI | + 12.82 | 3001 | 600 |
| Haliburton | HAL | + 7.77 | 21415 | 2445 |
| Biotech HOLDRs | BBH | + 7.57 | 14283 | 3019 |
| 4Kids Entertainment | KDE | - 7.18 | 659 | 223 |
| Activision | ATVI | + 7.10 | 520 | 174 |
| Amgen | AMGN | + 6.61 | 15884 | 7228 |
Stocks With Biggest Spikes in Implied Volatility -- Stocks with biggest increases or decreases in implied volatility compared to previous day
Spike Up
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV | High IV | Low IV |
| Financial Sector SPDRs | XLF | 24 | 18.4 | 26.3 | 13.6 |
| Pacific Centry Finance | BOH | 26.3 | 22 | 32.1 | 25.5 |
| Nisource | NI | 36.5 | 30.7 | 31.5 | 22.7 |
| Glaxosmithkline | GSK | 26.3 | 23.2 | 28.8 | 21.1 |
| Coach Inc. | COH | 50.8 | 44.9 | 56.3 | 40.6 |
| Allied Capital Corp. | ALD | 51.4 | 46 | 41.1 | 21.5 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV | High IV | Low IV |
| Merck | MRK | 17.9 | 22.6 | 30.9 | 21.2 |
| Biogen | BGEN | 56.4 | 69 | 61.7 | 35.8 |
| Basic Industries SPDRs | XLB | 17.6 | 20.9 | 42 | 16.8 |
| Woolworth | Z | 43.7 | 51.1 | 54.4 | 39.6 |
| Reliant Energy | REI | 64.5 | 74 | 71.6 | 28.1 |
| Allied Capital | ALD | 51.4 | 46 | 41.1 | 21.5 |
Please use stops on every trade!
About TradingMarkets | Contact | Advertise | Careers | Link to Us | Site Map | Help | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Return Policy | Testimonials | Feedback
