Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:
Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:
- In Asia 7 out of 11 markets closed higher: Shanghai Comp +0.66%, Hang Seng +0.60%, Nikkei +0.31%
- In Europe 9 out of 13 markets are trading higher: CAC +0.48%, DAX UNCH, FTSE +0.60%
- Fair Value: S&P -0.21, NASDAQ +5.17, Dow -9.54
- Total Volume: 1.01mil ESM & 686 SPM traded in the pit
Today’s Economic Calendar:
Today’s economic calendar includes Chicago Fed National Activity Index 8:30 AM ET, Raphael Bostic Speaks 12:15 PM ET, Patrick Harker Speaks 2:15 PM ET, and Neel Kashkari Speaks 5:30 PM ET.
S&P 500 Futures: #ES May Expo Chop Shop
Friday’s trade in the S&P 500 futures started with an overnight Globex trading range of 2727.00 to 2712.00, with 170,000 contracts traded. The ES jumped 10 handles early Thursday night, and then went on to drop 17 handles.
On Friday morings 8:30 open the futures traded 2716.00, rallied up to 2719.25, and then dropped down to 2712.00. The ES then rallied up to make a new high by 1 tick at 2719.50, flunked down to 2708.75, and then went back up to make a new high by 1 tick at 2719.75. After the new high the futures pulled back, went up and made a lower high at 2719.25, and then dumped back down to 2712.50.
The end of the day continued to be choppy with the ES rallying back up to another lower high at 2717.25, followed by another selloff down to 2712.25 at 1:10 CT. After ther, the futures rallied up to the vwap at 2716.50, and then sold back off down to 2712.75 as the MiM sent from $263 million to sell to $912 million on the 2:45 cash imbalance reveal. On the 3:00 cash close the ES traded 2713.50, and went on to settle at 2713.50, down -5 handles, or -0.13% on the day.
In the end the May options expiration went pretty much as planned. A little busy in the morning, dead in the middle of the day, and a little busy in the last half hour. That’s all we can say about that.
Disclaimer: Trading Futures, Options on Futures, and retail off-exchange foreign currency transactions involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. You should carefully consider whether trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances, knowledge, and financial resources. Any decision to purchase or sell as a result of the opinions expressed in the forum will be the full responsibility of the person(s) authorizing such transaction(s). BE ADVISED TO ALWAYS USE PROTECTIVE STOP LOSSES AND ALLOW FOR SLIPPAGE TO MANAGE YOUR TRADE(S) AS AN INVESTOR COULD LOSE ALL OR MORE THAN THEIR INITIAL INVESTMENT. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.