9:15am (EST)
Futures are pointing towards a slightly lower open this morning as Wall Street prepares for the latest batch of economic reports today. The Dow rallied more than 120 points yesterday as M&A (merger and acquisition) activity took center stage once again.
The rally could be short-lived if today’s economic news is weak. Today, we get consumer spending which is due at 10am and before the bell we get the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index for July.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow futures are lower by 5, to 9,723. S&P 500 futures are down 2, to 1,067, while the Nasdaq 100 futures are off by 7, to 1,715.
In earnings news, Walgreen (WAG, $34.19) is up $3.40, or nearly 10%, in early trading after it reported earnings of $0.47 a share, which was 8 cents better than Wall Street’s estimates. Revenue for the quarter was $16 billion, which easily beat estimates.
Nike (NKE, $59.00) reports after the bell today and there will be plenty of positioning before the closing bell as traders bet on the company’s earnings.
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Nike Options Getting Plenty Of Action
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
12:30pm (EST)
The market got off to a good start this morning but has been weaker after the Consumer Confidence numbers were released. The Conference Board said the consumer confidence index fell to 53.1 in September, down from 54.5 in August and much lower than the magical 57 number that Wall Street had been predicting.
Most people are still worried about their jobs and seem to be cautious about spending. Consumer confidence has been a key focus for the bulls in recent months, and this is something to watch. Most economists believe a ”true turnaround” in the economy can’t occur until people start spending money and employers create more jobs. Makes sense, huh?
Friday’s unemployment report will be a biggie and could give us a clear indication on where the market is headed going into earnings season.
Currently, the Dow is down 30 points to 9,759 while the S&P 500 is off by 2 to 1,060. The Nasdaq is lower by 11 points to 2,120.
Nike (NKE, $59.50, up $0.50) will report earnings after the bell today and there is heavy volume in the option pits. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.97 a share, or 6 cents below what the company earned during the first quarter of last year. The market is pricing in an 8%-10% move in the stock and it looks like the options are confirming that notion. If so, that will place the stock at $54 or $66. A Nike October 60 straddle option trade is currently priced at $5.50 which is a good indication of how much the market is expecting the stock to move.
I think there is an great way to play this action while at the same time being safe.
Current subscribers, check the Members Area for the trade.
Rick@MomentumOptionsTrading.com
1:05pm (EST) UPDATE!
Imax (IMAX, $9.40, up $0.60) is up nearly 7% today. The stock has been building a good base in the $8-$$9 range has traded $10 this month. We currently have an Imax trade on that should rebound strong today.
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