5/20 Almanac

On Friday, May 20: No econ events.

This is the last trading day for May options. There are 29 trading days before June options expire, 57 the July, 92 the August and 120 the September.

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 0.8% in a net move down of 0.1%.

The day's extremes: Open $134.80, high $135.03, low $133.94, close $134.68.

SPY traded entirely within the DeMark pivots. The next DeMark pivots are $133.77-$134.86.

In total, 2.6 billion shares were traded on the three major U.S. stock exchanges, 8% fewer than on the prior trading day.

Five-year bond yields imply inflation at 2.13%, seven basis points lower than the prior trading day.


Econ reports:

There are no U.S. economic releases scheduled for Friday, nor is the Treasury auctioning anything.

One lone Fedster stands in the spotlight.

New York Fed Pres. William Dudley gives a speech. Because he votes on monetary policy, his words could well hold significance for the markets.

Dudley took office under President Barack Obama. His resume shows institutional ties to Goldman Sachs and the Congressional Budget Office under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

The Federal Reserve maintains an archive, where it posts transcripts of speeches and testimony within a few days of the event.


Trading Calendar:

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


Good trading!