It was the Dow's highest close since early MayThe Dow cruised to a comfortable win today, its third straight and highest close since May 3. As expected, the Fed left interest rates unchanged, and dovish post-meeting comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell fueled speculation that a rate cut is imminent at the July meeting. Of note, the central bank removed the word "patient" from its statement, and P...Read More
My perspective on the direction of the broader stock markets for the rest of 2019 and 2020 can be summed up as "volatile and unpredictable", a short-term trader's market.The potential news catalysts for the stock market are equally volatile and unpredictable, from Fed rate cut decisions to the twists and turns in the US-China trade dispute.For my money, gold is not only a better but...Read More
Uber stock was turned away at its IPO price earlierUber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) stock is trading up 1.7% at $44.61 this afternoon, heading for its third straight win. However, this rally ran out of steam earlier at $45 -- site of the ride-sharing service's initial public offering (IPO) -- and one options trader today appears to be positioning for a sharper retreat from here in the near term.U...Read More
Options traders are swarming AXTA and JBL stocksStocks are floating above breakeven, with all eyes turned towards the Fed's decision to hold rates steady. Three other stocks capturing investors' attention today arevehicle coating concern Axalta Coating Systems Ltd (NYSE:AXTA), marijuana name CannTrustHoldings Inc (NYSE:CTST), and electronic manufacturer Jabil Inc (NYSE:JBL). Here's a look at what'...Read More
SHOP shares have been on fireShopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) is hosting its investor day today, and the event has sparked a roughly 5% move in the shares, which have hit an all-time high of $320.68. The e-commerce solutions provider unveiled new products, and its stock now sports a year-to-date lead of more than 131%. This price action has been met with accelerated call trading from options players. The t...Read More
Gold prices settled lower Wednesday, easing back from the previous day's settlement at their highest in 14 months, then climbed after the U.S. Federal Reserve left key interest rates unchanged, but shifted away from its "patient" stands on rates. In a statement that followed the gold futures' settlement, the Fed held benchmark interest rates steady between 2.25%-2.50%. However, officials also sai...Read More
Both names tend to struggle in the summer monthsUpbeat U.S.-China trade headlines fueled buying on Wall Street on Tuesday, lifting Chinese stocks Bilibili Inc (NASDAQ:BILI) and IQIYI Inc (NASDAQ:IQ). However, both names are down today, and, unlike cloud concern Twilio (TWLO), seasonality suggests the shares of BILI and IQ could be headed even lower -- a move some speculators have been bracing for....Read More
ENR has been in a long-term downtrendThe shares of Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE:ENR) traded at a three-year low earlier of $38.31, and were last seen down 5.2% at $39.64, Today's move lower is the result of a downgrade to "underweight" from "neutral" at J.P. Morgan Securities, which also cut its price target to $36 from $45. The brokerage firm cited declining sell-through rates following the compa...Read More
What to expect after the quick-and-dirty rally, if past is prologueAs of the close on Monday, June 17, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) had rallied more than 5% in the course of 10 sessions, powered by trade optimism and talk of a Fed rate cut. The last time the index enjoyed such a quick-and-dirty rally was in early January, but the signals that sounded in 2018 preceded bearish stretches for the SPX in th...Read More
Gold rally has attracted far too many bulls for comfort.Gold long positions have dramatically risen while shorts have declined.A pullback or "pause that refreshes" is needed to cool the enthusiasm.Gold has stolen the investment spotlight after a stellar rally which took the continuous contract price to a new 12-month high last week. Consequently, gold is receiving the front-page headline...Read More
The Fed will announce its policy decision at 2 p.m. ETStocks are sticking to a tight trading range ahead of this afternoon's 2 p.m. ET release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy decision, while a subsequent press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell will also be in focus. While the central bank isn't expected to adjust interest rates at this month's meeting, Wall Street will be...Read More
Guggenheim initiated coverage on NETGEAR with a "buy" rating and $40 price targetThe shares of networking hardware specialist NETGEAR Inc (NASDAQ:NTGR) have been struggling on the charts lately. The security has been on a downward spiral since its post-earnings bear gap in April, and hit multi-year lows earlier this month. This recent negative price action hasn't deterred one analyst, though. Gugg...Read More
Southwest Airlines stock is trading near a number of key levels on the chartsSouthwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) just announced an upwardly revised revenue per available seat mile (RASM) forecast for the second quarter, though the shares of the travel concern are slightly lower this morning at $51.07. Meanwhile, options traders will be watching the stock closely, as they have a decidedly put-skewed s...Read More
This is pacing to be ADBE's highest close since AprilThe shares of Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) are up 3.3% to trade at $285.59 this morning, after the software name reported an adjusted fiscal second-quarter earnings beat of $1.83 per share. Adobe also reported quarterly revenue of $2.74 billion, surpassing the $2.70 billion estimate, with the company attributing the blowout report to growth in its...Read More
The brokerage firm also set a lofty price target on the Dow stockAmerican Express Company (NYSE:AXP) stock is trading near record-high territory, after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and $145 price target -- a 17.5% premium to last night's close at $123.43. The brokerage firm called out several potential positive catalysts, including the lower interest rates a...Read More
There's a little bit more uncertainty around the Fed's decision this time than what's normally seenFutures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are pointing to a positive open this morning, trading cautiously above fair value. The trading action likely won't pick up in a major way until after the Fed's policy decision this afternoon, while investors will also be tuning in for the post-meeting...Read More
* 133,769 clients have direct holdings in suspended fund * Number hits 291,520 when indirect stakes added * Combined value of stake in 3.7 bln stg fund is 1.6 bln(Adds detail from Hargreaves letter, separate letter fromGuernsey stock exchange, Woodford response, updates shares)By Simon Jessop, Muvija M and Carolyn CohnLONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - British investment platformHargreaves Lansdown said...Read More
Options traders need to target stocks making fast, aggressive moves in the right directionHere at Schaeffer's Investment Research, we specialize in options trading. Even though an option contract's value is based off the stock price, a successful stock picker is not certain to be a profitable options trader. The main difference is that options have expiration dates. An options trader, therefore, n...Read More
Global demand for corn and soybeans is largely a function of the number of mouths to feed and what those mouths are fed.Corn came close enough to hit our first technical price target of $4.60 per bushel for us to consider our first target reached.Because they require a shorter growing season than corn, soybeans are lagging as farmers plant beans in acres they were unable to plant corn.Gold is maki...Read More
Here Are 3 Hot Things to Know About Stocks Right Now The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 353 points after President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that he and China's President Xi Jinping "will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan." Facebook (FB - Get Report) shares were off slightly after it revealed plans for its "Libra" cryptocurrency. Facebo...Read More