This week, $SPX did break down a little bit, violating the 2175 level, which had been the bottom of the tight 2175-2195 trading range that had contained prices for most of this month. But the piercing of minor support at 2175 was not significant. However, a breach of the 2160 support area would be more damaging, in my opinion.
This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 11, No. 05 on March 14, 2002.
No, this isn’t an expose, despite the article’s title. Rather, it is an attempt to set the record straight about how volatility levels can be used as a predictive market tool. So much has been written and said about volatility in the last few weeks – in main-stream publications and on national television outlets. Much of it is erroneous. These errors are not really attempts to mislead the public, but are rather outgrowths of conventional misconceptions. The misconceptions may have arisen out of an over-reliance on near-term trends, while ignoring or being ignorant of what a longer-term volatility picture actually means.
Stocks continue to trade in a tight, sideways range. This is a situation which will eventually lead to a breakout. Most analysts are bearish because of the low volatility and because of the fact that $SPX is near or at all-time highs. But the important part of that sentence is "Most analysts are bearish." Forget the reasons. If they are mostly bearish, the market is unlikely to accommodate them.
This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 19, No. 18 on October 1, 2010.
Most of the time, we look at index options in order to make general observations about volatility. These observations, which evolve into opinions, often involve $VIX, $VIX futures, or $VIX options, all of which are based on the $SPX options. This is a reasonable approach, of course, since $SPX options are heavily traded, as are the $VIX derivatives, and therefore they reflect the greed, fear, and anticipations of literally millions of traders.
New all-time intraday and closing highs were registered yesterday for $SPX, the NASDAQ Composite, and the Dow- Jones Industrials. Thus the $SPX chart remains bullish as it is clearly in an uptrend, and the moving averages are all rising as well.
This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 14, No. 12 on June 22, 2005.
Before you declare me insane for even mentioning the words “volatility” and “increase” in the same sentence, let me point out that I am not saying that volatility will increase immediately. However, it will certainly increase sometime and that could happen as soon as the second half of this year. Remember, July 1st is the traditional low point for $VIX for the year. So, after that, $VIX generally increases – albeit in fits and starts – until October.
This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 18, No. 18 on September 24, 2009.
This is a question that has always intrigued me. We all see situations, for example, where stocks make a large gap move on earnings. Is it justified? Does the stock continue on in the same direction a week, month, or quarter later? Or does the knee-jerk reaction to news just provide a place for a reversal? These are all good questions, and so we have been working on a study to answer them.
It is becoming commonplace to hear commentators on the business channels say something like “You need to buy protection now, for it is extremely cheap.” That is a very misleading statement. Yes, $VIX is low, but you can’t buy $VIX.
The market tried to break down this week, as $SPX finally pushed through the lower end of the very tight 2160-2175 trading range that had held it in check since mid-July. However, that feint downward was short-lived, and $SPX crawled right back up into the trading range once again. As a result, the $SPX chart remains bullish.
The major support area is 2120-2135, the top of the trading range that had held $SPX back from making new highs for over a year.
This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 14, No. 5 on March 10, 2005.
One of the recurring themes in option-oriented media articles is that the $VIX Index is “too low.” Since many observers – media and traders alike – view $VIX as solely a contrarian indicator, this is a danger sign for the market. These observers figure that such a low $VIX implies that traders are, in general, too complacent, and thus the market is ripe for a beating. There are a lot of errors in these observations and opinions, and so we’d like to set the record straight. We have written articles about similar topics in the past, but with $VIX hovering near nineyear lows for such a long time (at least three months now), it is perhaps more timely now than ever.
