Unusual Options Activity – Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA)

Data Source: Barchart

On Friday some institution/fund purchased 6,073 contracts of Dec. 2023 $160.00 strike calls (or the right to buy 607,300 shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) at $160.00). The open interest was just 4,025 prior to this purchase.

Continue reading “Unusual Options Activity – Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA)”

Be in the know. 15 key reads for Good Friday…

  1. US job growth slows in March as economy adds 236,000 new positions. US economy adds 236,000 jobs in March, slowest pace of growth in over 2 years (foxbusiness)
  2. REITs Are Battered. It Could Be Time to Nibble on a Few. (barrons)
  3. Alibaba Touts ChatGPT Challenger Ahead of Main Event (bloomberg)
  4. Amid warnings for the sector, these 11 commercial REIT stocks are loved by analysts, who see upside of up to 47% (marketwatch)
  5. ‘Take a deep breath’: Jamie Dimon says banking crisis raises risk of recession, but it’s not 2008 all over again (marketwatch)
  6. Latest Fed Increase Came Down to the Wire. ‘That Was a Rough Weekend.’ (wsj)
  7. The Sizzling Snooze of Golf Star Scottie Scheffler (wsj)
  8. Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says Search to Include Chat AI (wsj)
  9. Declines in Loan Values Are Widespread Among Banks (wsj)
  10. Bosses Want Hard Workers—So They’re Hiring Older People (wsj)
  11. Schwab Reveals $53 Billion in New Client Assets in March, Seeking to Calm Investors (bloomberg)
  12. Macron Urges Xi to Bring Putin ‘Back to Reason’ Over Ukraine (bloomberg)
  13. Global Food Costs Mark One Year of Drops, at Odds With Inflation (bloomberg)
  14. NFT Sales Collapse As “Crypto Bros” Rein In Luxury Spending (zerohedge)
  15. China’s stocks hit one-month high on rising turnover, policy support (scmp)

Be in the know. 20 key reads for Thursday…

  1. Now Is the Time to Invest Overseas (barrons)
  2. Next Leg Up In Chinese Stocks Hinges On Non-Asian Investors (zerohedge)
  3. These 10 Most Undervalued Stocks Are Unstoppable, Morningstar Says (investors)
  4. How to Invest in China Now (barrons)
  5. ‘It’s dead money’ – Some see systemic risks as money-market funds park trillions with Fed (marketwatch)
  6. El-Erian Says the Fed Should Take a Tip From ‘Hamilton’ (barrons)
  7. China clears path for foreign investors to $5tn swaps market (ft)
  8. China’s Services Activity Surges to More Than Two-Year High (bloomberg)
  9. J&J shares jump as it proposes $9B talc lawsuit settlement (nypost)
  10. Harold Varner blasts fellow LIV golfers ahead of Masters: ‘They’re full of s–t’ (nypost)
  11. US Jobless Claims Beat Estimates After Updated Seasonal Factors (bloomberg)
  12. China Restraint on Taiwan Shows Xi Has Bigger Concerns Right Now (bloomberg)
  13. The Gambler Who Beat Roulette (bloomberg)
  14. Nassim Taleb On What Bitcoiners, Anti-Vaxxers, VCs and Deadlifters Are Getting Wrong (bloomberg)
  15. Xi Jinping Launches a Charm Offensive to Repair China’s Tattered Image (bloomberg)
  16. Hedge Fund Billionaire Chase Coleman Says Buy Big Tech Stocks (bloomberg)
  17. Layoffs are up nearly fivefold so far this year (cnbc)
  18. Powell’s Fed may be remembered not for conquering inflation but for undermining its own credibility, Mohamed El-Erian says (businessinsider)
  19. Tech stocks’ big rally isn’t likely to fizzle out anytime soon, LPL Financial says (businessinsider)
  20. The US dollar could weaken another 15% over the next 18 months as cooling inflation prompts the Fed to cut rates, research firm says (businessinsider)

“Stuck in the Middle with You” Stock Market (and Sentiment Results)…

As you can see in the chart above, there have been no gains for the S&P 500 for 12 months, and there have been no gains in the S&P 500 for 24 months.  It is unchanged!  As the old saying goes, markets can correct in price or in time.  In this case it has been working off its excess post-covid run for two years, while earnings have continued to press forward: Continue reading ““Stuck in the Middle with You” Stock Market (and Sentiment Results)…”