Let’s check in on this whole volatility matter

The story, from a technical standpoint, this week, was the fact that the Volatility Index (VIX) had dropped below the 10 level and was at one of the lowest readings of all-time. Then of course the comparisons between 20007 and 2017 and the fact that 2007 had some extremely low readings on the VIX just prior to the meltdown in 2008. With today’s weakness there are a few takeaways, with the first being that the bulls are still “buying the dip” as the index dropped over 17 points, only to recover 2/3’s of it before the close. 

The next thing to realize is that the VIX is not dead. It showed some life today as it managed to trade from the 9’s all the way up to the 11’s again, which has been more of its natural trading area over the last few months. 

Finally, yesterday was a shot across the bow that showed that volatility can come back quickly and without warning. Within about an hour of the opening bell, the market was trading in a range nearly equal to what we have see on SPX over the entire last three weeks. 

SPX held the support levels it needed to hold, but today should be a reminder that a dull tape today can quickly become a tape filled with panic tomorrow. 

Which again, is why preparing for a hard sell-off is always important. Despite the lack of overall volatility in this market, you still need to be taking the steps necessary to be moving up your stop-losses on existing positions to insure that you don’t take a beating if a big sell-off does come your way. 

Be prepared… always be prepared. 

S&P 500 Chart

Current Stock Trading Portfolio Balance: 

• 7  Long positions

Recent Stock Trade Notables:

• Broadcom (AVGO): Long at $223.63, Closed at $228.65 for a 2.2% profit. 
• Workday (WDAY): Long at 86.00, closed at 90.32 for a 5% profit. 
• Univar (UNVR): Long at $30.96, closed at $32.20 for a 4% profit.
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $111.91, closed at $115.48 for a 3.2% profit. 
• Redhat (RHT): Long at $85.21, closed at $87.21 foor a 2.4% profit. 
• Darling Ingredients (DAR): Long at $15.19, closed at $14.90 for a 1.9% loss. 
• Apple (AAPL): Long at $143.82, closed at $147.11 for a 2.3% profit.
• Teradyne (TER): Long at $31.16, closed at $33.03 for a 6.0% profit.
• UPRO: Long at $92.75, closed at $94.78 for a 2.2% profit. 
• Murphy Oil (MUR): Long at $28.69, closed at $27.89 for a 2.7% loss.
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Long at $57.24, closed at $56.53 for a 1.2% loss.  
• UPRO: Long at $91.94, closed at $96.54 for a 5.0% profit.
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $105.736, closed at $108.22 for a 2.4% profit. 
• Facebook (FB): Long at $134.27, Closed at $139.23 for a 3.7% profit. 
• CDW Corp (CDW): Long at $58.65, closed at $58.91 for a 2.7% loss. 
• Redhat (RHT): Long at $82.41, Closed at $83.53 for a 1.4% profit. 
• Ambarella (AMBA): Long at $57.15, Closed at $55.52 for a 2.8% loss. 
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $104.73, closed at $106.05 for a 1.3% profit. 
• Broadcom (AVGO): Long at $218.63, Closed at $222.71 for a 1.9% profit. 
• American Airlines (AAL): Short at $44.76, Closed at $44.03 for a 1.6% profit.
• UPRO  (Day-Tade): Long at $95.35, closed at $96.50 for a 1.2% profit.
• OZRK: Long at $56.12, closed at $54.69 for a 2.5% loss. 
• FNSR: Long at $34.25, closed at $34.70 for a 1.3% profit. 
• UPRO  (Day-Tade): Long at $96.92, closed at $98.03 for a 1.2% profit. 
• JP Morgan Chase (JPM): Long at $87.21, closed at $89.67 for a 2.8% profit. 
• Chevron (CVX): Short at $110.03, covered at $111.85 for a 1.6% loss. 
• Flex Technologies (FLEX): Long at $15.62, closed at $16.57 for a 6.1% profit. 
• Baidu (BIDU): Long at $174.70, closed at $187.00 for a 7.0% profit. 
• Ollie’s Bargain Outlet: Long at 33.20, closed at $32.50 for a 2.1% loss. 
• Corning (GLW): Long at $26.98, closed at $27.45 for a 1.7% profit. 
• Illinois Tool Works (ITW): Long at $127.74, closed at $129.86 for a 1.7% profit. 
• Marriott Int’l (MAR): Long at $86.16, closed at $87.51 for a 1.6% profit.