Jon Markman's Trader's Advantage

Daily Issues

Trades Update

June 18, 2013

The market rallied for the second straight day on Tuesday, just as the Fed is getting ready to issue their policy statement and economic forecast at 2 p.m. tomorrow. Equities were broadly higher on relatively light volume, giving the sense that investors are waiting to see what impact the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes will have on the markets before jumping in.

The Dow Jones Industrials and the Nasdaq led the way higher, with each index finishing up 0.9%, while the S&P 500 gained 13 points to end higher by 0.8%. In today's issue of Trader's Advantage, I'm adding one new call recommendation on a stock we already own, and I'll review and make adjustments to some of our current holdings.

New Investing Landscape Emerges Ahead of FOMC Meeting

June 17, 2013

U.S. equities traded modestly but broadly higher today, as better-than-expected housing and manufacturing data lifted sentiment ahead of this week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Tech, energy, and financials led the gainers on Monday. Telecom was the only sector trading lower.

Over the past few weeks, you have seen the character of the U.S. market change from a rather serene uptrend to a much more choppy environment -- up one day, down the next and up again the day after that. This volatility has stemmed from a battle among market participants over how soon and by how much the world's central banks will step back from monetary policy accommodation, otherwise known as quantitative easing (QE), and less politely known as 'money printing.'

In today's issue of Trader's Advantage, I'll explain what is causing some of the market volatility we've seen recently, I have some great analysis from Bespoke Investment Group about the performance of the S&P 500 during periods of rising and falling interest rates, I'm adding one new common and call recommendation and I'll review our current positions.

Trades Update

June 14, 2013

Concern over the future of central bank stimulus measures was stuck in the back of investors' minds as they pushed the major indices down into the red on Friday. The Dow ended the session lower by 106 points, or 0.7%, the S&P 500 finished down by almost 10 points, or 0.6% and the Nasdaq also fell by 0.6%, or 22 points.

With options expiration coming up next week, I am preparing some ideas for calls and puts so we can take advantage of some of the volatility that should be on the way. In today's issue of Trader's Advantage, I have a brief update on one of my recommendations from yesterday that we were able to enter today and I'll review our current trades.