MyHappyTrading's  Instablog

The market endured another volatile day with big swings.  We saw some pretty big moves in the past couple of days.  On Monday, IDCC plummeted more than $13 in a matter of 40 minutes on news that buyout offers came at prices much lower than expected; and the weekly puts went soaring:

September 26, 2011 11:09 AM
IDCC
plummeting; they now have weeklies!
   
September 26, 2011 11:10 AM
IDCC
$43 to fill the gap... risky trade, though...
   
September 26, 2011 11:11 AM
IDCC
down $10 in 30 minutes!!
   
September 26, 2011 11:12 AM
IDCC
weekly 50 puts doubled in 30 minutes!
   
September 26, 2011 11:14 AM
IDCC
should at least test $45
   
September 26, 2011 11:17 AM
IDCC
filling that gap! 50 puts from $2.8 to $6.4 in 40 minutes!

IBM was very strong yesterday and had a big jump today, but was unable to go above $180:
September 26, 2011 7:23 AM
some buyers coming in...

IBM
up $2.3

September 27, 2011 7:09 AM
good morning!

IBM
big breakout... picked up some 175 weekly calls yesterday, just took profits... looks like it'll test $180

I picked up some IBM weekly 175 calls yesterday and cashed them out this morning at $4.7 for an overnight +141% gain:

GOOG also had a good intraday run today, and the weekly 545 calls gave us another good trade:
September 27, 2011 7:21 AM
GOOG
looking strong...

September 27, 2011 7:46 AM
GOOG
flying, 545 weekly calls from $4 to $6 in 20 minutes!

September 27, 2011 7:48 AM
GOOG
545 weekly calls at $6.5 now...

September 27, 2011 7:54 AM
GOOG
545 calls at $7

These GOOG weekly 545 calls went all the way to $8 and closed back down at $4!

IOC slumped more than 20% intraday when the company received criticism from the PNG government for its liquefied natural gas project:
September 27, 2011 8:06 AM
IOC
down 10%

September 27, 2011 9:17 AM
IOC
still plummeting

In less than 15 minutes, IOC dropped from $48 to $42!  The Oct 45 puts more than doubled during that time, trading as high as $6.85.  We could see more downside on IOC tomorrow!

Chinese internet stocks were pounded last week.  They finally saw a bit of bounce today:  SINA +5.82%; BIDU +4.21%; YOKU +7.31%.  NOTE:  YOKU traded down to just below $14 last week.  After a 3-day bounce, YOKU is now back above $20!

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After market, ACN popped +3.73%, on top of the +3.33% rise in the regular session.  ACN reported a strong quarter and a bullish forecast for 2012.

The Dow was up +146.83 points; SPX added +12.43 points; Nasdaq gained +30.14 points:

Most sectors were in the green.  XME (metals and mining) bounced +2.7%.  GLD (gold) and SLV (silver) also bounced.  SOXX (semiconductors) and FDN (internet) both pushed higher.  MOO (agriculture), which was pummeled last week, climbed +2.45%.

SPX

SPX added +12.43 points to close at 1175.38.  Its daily MAs and MACD were flat.

Nasdaq

Nasdaq gained +30.14 points to close at 2546.83, just below 2550.  Its daily MAs and MACD were also flat.

In my Market Forecast this weekend, I mentioned that there would be resistance at SPX 1180.  The market gapped up at open today and went above 1195 intraday.  However, by the time the market closed, SPX was back below 1180.  We are still seeing big, volatile swings.  So, what's new?  Last week, we looked at how many times the market has changed direction since early August.  Well, the market is doing it again:

Last week, the market tested SPX 1120 again; and again, it bounced off.  I think the market could soon be ready for a big move that will take us out of the present 100-125 point trading range.  Now, Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) is here.  Many big players could be on holiday for a week.  So, what we could see is another week of tight range trading, then, as the earnings season kicks off next week, we could finally move out of this trading range.  Which way is still difficult to say.  So, keep lots of cash.  One thing to keep in mind is that the commodity sectors are still very vulnerable, if the market turns lower again.

Good night and HappyTrading! ™

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