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Midday Update: Financial Stocks Continue Lower

Hello $30’s, goodbye $40’s. That is the story with HSBC Holdings (HBC, $39.00, down $3.19) which is down another 6% today along with many other financial stocks. The Dow managed to start off in positive territory but is currently down 152 points to 8047. The Dow briefly dipped below 8000Read more

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Market Tumbles – More Trouble Ahead For Citigroup?

The Dow had its worst day in 2009 on Wednesday and after what looked like a promising start to the New Year quickly fell apart as the index lost nearly 250 points and closed at 8200. It was an especially rough day for the financial stocks which weighed heavy onRead more

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Apple Halted Temporarily in After-Hours Trading

Don’t shoot the messenger. Unfortunately, the market can be insensitive at times and when news hit the market that Apple’s (AAPL, $85.33, down $2.38) co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs would be taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June, the stock was halted. After-hours trading on AppleRead more

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Planning An Option Trade

I get asked a lot how I come up with ideas for option trades. There is no clear cut way to explain how I do except to say that it comes with experience. When you are an option trader there are things you see in the market that other investorsRead more

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Futures Pointing Towards Lower Open

A lousy U.S. retail sales report before the opening bell this morning is weighing on the futures and it appears we are going to open lower. The Commerce Department said sales plunged a seasonally adjusted 2.7% in December, which was the six month in a row that retail sales haveRead more

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AutoZone Trade Closed, HSBC Update

We are out of the AutoZone (AZO, $129.16, up $0.39) trade. The stock managed to close below $130 and stayed in positive territory for most of the day. Shares hit a high of $131 which triggered our stop of $3.30 for the February 115 puts (AZONC, $3.30, down $0.10). TheRead more

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Bears Eyeing HSBC Holdings

HSBC Holdings (HBC, $46.70, down $0.98) could be on the verge of a major breakdown as the put option pits have been busier than a craps table on payday. The company is a British bank and speculation has been building that it may be the next house of cards thatRead more

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Trade Updates: AZO, DNA, FDO, ISRG

Genentech (DNA, $87.47, up $1.13) got off to a slow start on Monday but got it going in late afternoon trading. About the time Roche presented at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, Wall Street was bracing for some kind of comments concerning the news that Roche is about to make aRead more

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AutoZone Breaks Below $130

We left the AutoZone (AZO, $130.64, down $2.42) trade open over the weekend hoping to get a break below $130 which was achieved 30 minutes into today’s trading session. The stock got a downgrade from “Outperform” to “Market Perform” which has pushed the shares lower. I’m not really sure whatRead more

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Before the Bell – Action in Genentech

Genentech (DNA, $86.34, up $1.94) will be in the headlines a lot this week and there may be an opportunity for a couple of trades. News surfaced late Friday that Switzerland based Roche is preparing a fresh offer for Genentech which it already owns a 56% stake in. The stockRead more

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CFTC Disclosure:

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS REQUIRE DISCLOSURE OF THE FACT THAT WHILE THESE METHODS MAY HAVE WORKED IN THE PAST, PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE. WHILE THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR PROFITS THERE IS ALSO A RISK OF LOSS. A LOSS INCURRED IN CONNECTION WITH Momentum Options Trading, LLC CAN BE SIGNIFICANT. YOU SHOULD THEREFORE CAREFULLY CONSIDER WHETHER TRADING IS SUITABLE FOR YOU IN LIGHT OF YOUR FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCE. THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL RISK IN TRADING. A LOSS INCURRED IN CONNECTION WITH FUTURES TRADING CAN BE SIGNIFICANT. WE MAKE NO CLAIM REGARDING PAST OR FUTURE PERFORMANCE. WE MERELY TRACK EVERY TRADE AND SHOW THE PERFORMANCE OF ALL TRADES THE SYSTEM OR NEWSLETTER PRODUCES. SIMULATED TRADING IS DIFFERENT THAN TRADING REAL MONEY. HYPOTHETICAL RESULTS ARE NOT REAL RESULTS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR BROKER ABOUT THE RISK OR TRADING STOCKS, OPTIONS OR FUTURES. ALL COMMUNICATIONS ARE OPINIONS NOT ADVICE.

CFTC RULE 4.41 – HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.