Two weeks ago, as the market turned downward, a strong sell signal was generated by the “modified Bollinger Band” system. Last week, when there was a strong reflex rally, we received a $VIX “spike peak” buy signal. That system, too, is a powerful system usually. So which one is right? This article will explore the answer to that question.
We continue to get questions regarding why the $VIX futures are priced as they are, and how one should interpret that information. This is a subject that we have discussed many times in the past, but it is probably worthwhile to review it again.
There are two significant pieces of data that one should always be aware of, when evaluating $VIX futures: 1) the relationship of the futures to $VIX itself,
The market action in the last 10 days has been a complete whipsaw. Now, the chart of the Standard & Poors 500 Index ($SPX) shows the index to be in a trading range -- bounded by resistance at 1880+ (the all-time highs) and support at 1840 (last Friday's lows).
Equity-only put-call ratios remain on sell signals, even though the market has bounced back this week.
There will be a very slight alteration of our publishing schedule. The second issue in March will be published one day early, on Wednesday, March 26th. This is because of the AAPTA Conference in Austin, to which I will be traveling on Thursday, March 27th (the usual publishing day).
We are proud to announce the release of Option Workbench 3.0. This upgrade to Option Workbench puts even more power in your hands with these new features:
- FREE delayed market quotes for equities, ETFs and options with the ability to upgrade to real-time for a modest price
- Execute trades with select brokers or in your Option Workbench Virtual Account
- Manage your option strategies the way option traders think
- Monitor your positions' P&L, risk and expected value in real time.
This stock market has been able to ward off even a modest correction
since the fall of 2012. However, we are now seeing a chart breakdown
accompanied by sell signals from some of our most trusted indicators.
If the bears can't make some hay with this environment, I would be
surprised.
Equity-only put-call ratios have rolled over to sell signals.
And so it begins. Sell signals have been registered, and it is possible that more will follow. $SPX closed off nearly 10 points yesterday, as attempts to rally all afternoon eventually failed, and the index closed near its lows. S&P futures have traded another 5 points lower overnight. This activated the “modified Bollinger Band” sell signal.
Often at expiration, an option trader will have in-the-money options that need to be either exited or rolled. Market makers know this and purposely widen the spreads in the market so that the bid for the option is below parity. On expiration day, the option has a value of at least parity so the astute trader must always make sure he exits the position at parity or higher. For a put, parity is the strike price minus the underlying price.
We are proud to announce the release of Option Workbench 3.0! This upgrade to Option Workbench puts even more power in your hands with these new features:
