This Chart Shows That Options Whales Have Been Beached
Published: 2021-06-15 at 07:45:00 CDT
This call buying accounted for over 9% of all NYSE volume and it's not like these traders are hedging by buying some puts, either. When we look at small traders' call buying volume and subtract their put buying to get a net figure of speculative behavior, it's even more egregious.
This is important because unlike any other period in 20 years, the smallest of traders are the dominant factor in speculative options trading, accounting for 40% - 50% of all call buys to open. https://www.sentimentrader.com/blog/...-been-beached/
“There is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side” Jesse L. Livermore
SPX daily cycle data: We shall see how it plays out the next several days!
Possible ‘Sell The News’
Stocks broke out to new high last week, but have not delivered any bullish follow through. We are starting to see bearish divergences developing on the oscillators. This has me concerned that Wednesday's statement might trigger a 'sell the news' response. A swing high and close below the 4240 breakout level would indicate the daily cycle decline. https://likesmoneycycletrading.wordp...sell-the-news/
“There is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side” Jesse L. Livermore
Is The Crash in the Lumber to Gold Ratio a Good Sell Signal?
Jason Goepfert
Published: 2021-06-16 at 0700 CDT
The ratio of lumber to gold is crashing, and it's raising concerns among some investors.
Lumber is considered a proxy for economic growth since it's an input to many construction projects. Gold is considered a "safe haven" asset that investors flock to in times of duress. Both assertions are questionable, but when the ratio of lumber to gold is rising, the theory is that investors are focused more on growth than safety, and it's a risk-on environment.
Ever since the Optimism Index on lumber hit 90%, lumber has been in a free-fall, surpassing the last couple of post-euphoria crashes in speed, if not magnitude.
Interesting thing about lumber is I don't think retail investors are buying it. I'd bet it was mostly the work of those family type offices registered in the Seychelles using leveraged swaps or something else I don't understand to run up the price. High leverage = margin calls = forced selling for liquidity. So besides lumber, what else is being hit?
Interesting thing about lumber is I don't think retail investors are buying it. I'd bet it was mostly the work of those family type offices registered in the Seychelles using leveraged swaps or something else I don't understand to run up the price. High leverage = margin calls = forced selling for liquidity. So besides lumber, what else is being hit?
I think ( my opinion) the next move for the dollar is going to be up so that should change things related to commodities. Many are still heavy into the inflation trade. It has been unwinding for weeks now. We shall see how that plays out. It just tagged the upper BB, and that pattern has caused the dollar to move back down as traders continue to add short positions for the dollar.
“There is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side” Jesse L. Livermore
With the latest out from Fed we are finally seeing some volatility across assets. Mighty dollar continues squeezing, creating huge p/l pain, as the crowd has reloaded the so popular short trade in the dollar.
Note the negative trend line is gone and the RSI positive divergence worked again.
On June 2 we reminded our readers;
"It would be too perfect if it bounced here, especially as the crowd has been adding to Dollar shorts."
Charts 2, 3 and 4 all show the various dollar shorts having been added lately.
I think this is about to change... (An opinion since I trend trade)
What about the dollar and commodities logic?
Do you still buy commodities because the dollar is weak?
Let's see how BCOM performs going forward, but the weak dollar logic is not in play at the moment, at least not as a short term narrative.
Sell in May didn't work. The only thing that worked in May was to be long gamma/vol going into the May panic (recall the "VIX guy" note here). The VIX collapse that occurred later was not as "sexy", sure protection collapsed post mid May, but you did not want to be short gamma those moves as the initial upside panic was almost as violent as the sell off.
Here we are, waiting for Fed and Powell's "grand" meeting. VIX is up some from "panic must sell lows" last week, but protection remains overall low(er).
Low VIX does not necessarily mean it is cheap. Nobody has missed the low realized vols lately, with SPY realized vols at "depressed" levels.
Add to this that dealers have been stuck in long gamma land, and you understand what has been feeding the vol collapse;
no new macro narratives and dealers stuck in long gamma (basically suppressing vols by selling if markets go up, and buying if markets go down).
Note we are trading slightly below max long gamma levels.
What about the short term seasonality and flow picture?
1, last two weeks in June is the worst two week period of the year
2, pension funds will need to reduce equities more than models predict
3, Black out window started two days ago (outlined here)
4, The big Russell re balancing on June 25
Above points via GS could be some the ingredients for a tactical mini puke as we enter the worst two week period of the year. Imagine the p/l pain if this would sell off quickly, and then rip higher and break out in size...
After all, the worst two week period in June is followed by the first two week period of July, the best period of the year by far.
What about protection?
VIX is up from lows last week, but has come down big. The gap vs VVIX has increased over past sessions and is now rather wide.
We have had boring equities and extremely low realized volatility across indexes. Last chart shows how the long gamma exposure is about to fade post coming expirations. Ceteris paribus, this will make market more "fluid", i.e long gamma dealers will not "suppress" moves in the same way we have seen over past weeks.
Let's see what Powell delivers in a few hours...
“There is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side” Jesse L. Livermore
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