5/2 Almanac

On Monday, May 2: Manufacturing.

There are 19 days before May options expire, 47 the June, 75 the July and 110 the August.

On the jump, market stats, econ reports, and the trading calendar . . .


Stats

Blue chip stocks (SPY) closed the latest regular session up 0.2% from the prior close. During the day SPY traversed 0.4% in a net move up of 0.2%.

The day's extremes: Open $136.16, high $136.57, low $135.98, close $136.43.

SPY closed above the DeMark pivots after trading within their range. The next DeMark pivots are $136.21-$136.80.

In total, 3.4 billion shares were traded on the three major U.S. stock exchanges, 13% more than on the prior trading day.

Five-year bond yields imply inflation at 2.50%, four basis points higher than the prior trading day.


Econ reports:

The Institute of Supply Management releases its index of manufacturing activity at 10 a.m. Eastern, simultaneously with the Commerce Department's construction spending report.

Manufacturing tends to trump construction as a market-mover. (Disclaimer: The use of the word "trump" implies no endorsement of the Donald's presidential aspirations or his totally strange obsession with Hawaiian birth certificates. Or his hair.)

Treasury auctions 3- and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m.

No Fedsters have scheduled public appearances. For text from past appearances, the Federal Reserve maintains an archive where it posts transcripts of speeches and testimony within a few days of the event.

The week will rise to a crescendo on Friday with the Labor Department's monthly unemployment report, generally the biggest headliner of the economic reporting cycle. Weekly jobless claims the day before, on Thursday, will be looked at closely as a hint of the shape of things to come and may cause an early market reaction, as might Wednesday's employment report from the payroll dudes at ADP.


Trading Calendar:

By my rules, at this point in the cycle I can trade May vertical and calendar spreads, as well as August or later straddles, strangles, calls and puts. And of course, shares are good at any time.


Enjoy the weekend!