Daily Market Update – December 23, 2014

Daily Market Update – December 23, 2014 (8:30 AM)

This morning’s GDP report, plus any revisions, may give us a glimpse into what lower energy prices can do for the economy.

At best, it will only be a glimpse, as those lower energy prices haven’t been around for too long, but all you have to do is speak to anyone and you know that they feel as if they have more money in their pockets.

Americans like to spend money that’s in their pockets, so hopefully that sensation of feeling better off will translate into something tangible.

If the parking lots at the malls are any indication, they are doing just that, but we haven’t heard too much from retailers, as everyone has been talking about nothing but fuel prices, but in a good way..

That lack of retail in the conversation will end soon, just as Christmas Day is now just a couple of days away.

The real fun may start next moth, as the next scheduled GDP comes the morning after the FOMC Statement release. Of course, if today’s report shows too much growth, there’s always a chance that a data driven FOMC would see that kind of accelerating growth as a reason to begin to move interest rates higher in an effort to prevent over-heating off the economy.

But that’s an issue for another day.

This morning, in anticipation of the GDP the futures market seems as if it is willing to add to yesterday’s record closing high.

With oil headed lower yesterday it was another example of the de-coupling that started last week, as stocks went very nicely higher, although this time they left the energy sector behind.

Another nice day today, maybe fueled by the GDP could give some opportunity to sell some calls on those uncovered positions and that would be more important to me today than adding another new position or two, or three.

With trading for the week rapidly coming to an end there’s even more reason to begin looking at expanded weekly options or those ending at the month’s conclusion.

This morning will probably be a morning to watch and see where the news leads us and hopefully be able to sit passively for a while as they move higher.

The continuing challenge, as it has been for the past week, has been to wonder whether any climb higher is just part of the dead cat and should be taken advantage of, or part of a concerted climb higher.

So far, it has been good to resist
some of the moves higher, although energy sector prices have been going back and forth. But what may have been a full correction in the making looks as if it was just another of those regular mini-corrections that come along every two months.

For the moment it looks good not having committed to strike prices, especially of a longer term nature, as there may be even more recovery ahead.

But time will tell soon enough.