Happy Friday folks, let’s get straight to it. In premarket trading the Nasdaq has slumped by 43 bps, the S&P has fallen by 80 bps, and the Dow is down by 87bps. Considering the Triple Witching, today's trading session is set to be a bumpy one so read on for your daily market insights in our 176th Coachman’s Report!
Markets in Review
This week has been a choppy one for markets, which seemed on track to close up on the week until midday Thursday, but have faltered since. Just this week alone, we’ve seen the Nasdaq fall 2.35%, the S&P trade down by 1.81%, and the Dow Jones lose 1.63%. Moreover, as can be seen within the chart below, most of if not all of the negative price action occurred yesterday after market open. This negative sentiment was in large part caused by yesterday’s rough retail sales data announcement, wherein retail sales fell by 0.6% in November after a forecasted -0.3% print.
SPX, NDX, and DJI throughout the week
Long: Accenture plc (ACN-NYSE) | Timeline: 2 days
Accenture plc (ACN), a professional services company that provides strategy and consulting, interactive, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide, reported earnings this morning before market open. The company managed to beat earnings and revenue estimates by 5.65% and 1.08%, respectively, while also raising their business outlook to expect revenue growth of 8% to 11% in local currency. (Full Story) Referring to the chart, ACN has started to make a comeback through this upward price channel after last quarter's earnings report, as bulls make another attempt to return to the stock’s yearly high in the low $300s. That said, as ACN edges near the channel’s lower end, traders should expect a bounce given the most recent candle being a dragonfly doji, paired with an extremely oversold Stochastic RSI.
Zooming out...
Triple Witching Today is a massive day in the equities market as $4T worth of options are set to expire by end of day. Roughly $2.8T will be settled before noon, while another $1.2T will be settled this afternoon prior to market close. Roughly $705B worth of options are expiring for individual stocks and non-S&P related ETFs, and the other $3.365T are expiring between SPY and SPX options. For context, while SPY and SPX deal with the same underlying asset, the structures of the two products are entirely separate. SPY is an ETF that offers American-style options, while the SPX is a theoretical index that uses European options. American options allow a contract holder to exercise at any point prior to the expiration date, while European options can only be exercised on the expiration date. However, one caveat of the European option is what occurs for those that expire on the third Friday of every month. These options are unable to be traded past the third Thursday of every month, and the settlement price is determined by today’s open. In any case, many traders both retail and institutional have forecasted that the S&P will be able to upwardly break out from its current trading pattern giving the transaction volume slated for the day.
Making headlines...
Fed’s High Inflation Forecast Baffles Wall Street After Soft CPI
The Federal Reserve’s updated economic projections this week appeared to incorporate an assumption that raised eyebrows: inflation would prove resurgent at the end of this year. (Full Story)
Canadian Home Prices Grind Lower as Winter Freeze Grips Market
Canadian home prices fell for a ninth straight month as sharply rising interest rates prompted buyers and sellers to withdraw from the market heading into the traditionally slower winter season. (Full Story)
The Firm That Vetted Binance’s Reserves Halts All Crypto Work
Mazars Group, the accounting firm used by crypto giant Binance Holdings Ltd. and other big players in the industry to vouch for their assets held in reserve, has halted all work for crypto clients, dealing a major blow to an industry seeking to shore up confidence in the wake of FTX’s collapse. (Full Story)
Gold set for weekly fall as central banks step up inflation battle
Gold edged lower on Friday and was on course for its biggest weekly fall since mid-November as several central banks this week signalled that more rate hikes are needed to curb inflationary pressures. (Full Story)
Chart of the Day: France’s Nuclear Successes…
"It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company."
- George Washington
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