I’m back! Karpel’s Corner is Back and Better than Ever

I took some time away from the blog but now I am back and eager to resume posting my daily update on the markets.

This first report sounds more like a lumberjack update with the way that the market continues to chop around. Stocks were firmly flat on the open but began to slide into the Midday. Staying true to script, the market bounced with the major indices still finishing down on the day. But the declines were off their lows. The S&P 500 ($SPY) has been trading in a 5 percent range since March. This has been a good market for credit spreaders and covered writers.

Not to say there has not been some challenges in the market, most notably the Energy ($XLE/$USO) sector. Oil ($USO) has weighed on the market and yesterday fell sharply. The utilities ($XLU) and consumer staples ($XLP) bucked the selling pressure and closed fractionally higher. This drop in crude has benefited the Airline, bucking the selling pressure as the Airline ($JETS) gained over 2 percent and the Leisure and Entertainment ($PEJ) advanced over 1 percent.

I look to expand this blog with taking a deeper look in the unusual volume and implied volatility activity, so stay tuned.

Have a great trading day.