For more news, visit us at JohnLothianNews.com and follow us on Twitter at @JLNOptions
   
JLN Options
October 17, 2018  
 
Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News
Email
LinkedIn
MarketsWiki
 
Lead Stories
 
Options Market Quality Hovers at Best Levels in Five Years
TABB Forum Options LiquidityMatrix
Year-to-date options volumes remain strong, with September 2018 volume up almost 44% year over year. For the first nine months of 2018, more than 3.6 billion contracts have traded, an increase of 18.7% versus the first nine months of 2017.
/goo.gl/8g3D5Z

****SD: Due to the record setting pace in 2018, all exchanges are experiencing growth in volumes, however, market share is shifting a bit. "Cboe year-to-date market share has dropped, from 41.8% to 37.7%, and Nasdaq's share is down, to 35.4% from 36.8%. NYSE share is up, from 13.8% to 16.5%, and MIAX share jumped to 8.2%, compared to 5.6% through the first nine months of 2018. BOX also has gained share, up 0.1% from 2.1% last year to 2.2% in 2018."

SEC Ruling Takes Aim at Stock-Exchange Profits
Alexander Osipovich, Dave Michaels and Gretchen Morgenson - WSJ (SUBSCRIPTION)
In recent years, U.S. stock exchanges thought they had a guaranteed profit machine that could revive their sagging businesses: selling market data at ever-higher prices to a captive audience of Wall Street banks and traders.
/on.wsj.com/2Ero2S9

World Volatility Gauges Drop as Bulls Attempt Fight Back
Sid Verma - Bloomberg
After the storm comes the calm: Volatility gauges across currencies, stocks and bonds around the world are signalling a return to tranquility as option traders seek to shrug off recent market turmoil.
Expansive corporate earnings have given money managers a counterpoint to the lingering trade and late-cycle risks that helped fuel the rout. Even as U.S. stocks swung from a loss to a gain on Wednesday, volatility measures were well on the way to recovering from last week's blowout, signalling a potential return to range-band trading in the months ahead.
/bloom.bg/2EuAJM2

Stock market volatility: Traders doubling down on ill-advised shorts
Joe Ciolli - Business Insider
Sometimes old habits die hard.
That's definitely the case when it comes to one hot-button trade that still has legions of participants despite an ugly blowup earlier this year.
We're referring, of course, to volatility short selling. After a market shock in early February caught traders off guard and forced them to cover positions, billions of dollars were erased from popular investment products. Some even dissolved entirely.
/read.bi/2EvPRIT

****JB: We had a similar Bloomberg article on this yesterday.

Start Worrying if There's Another Stock Market Correction
Howard Gold - Barron's
Over the weekend friends and family members asked me what was going on with the stock market. My answer was: How should I know?
As of Thursday's (Oct. 11) close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 6.6% from its Oct. 3 record high, the S&P 500 Index had slid 6.9% and the Nasdaq Composite Index had lost 9.6% from its Aug. 31 peak, near the 10% decline pundits usually define as a correction. (Stocks recovered Friday, but trading was mixed Monday before markets rallied on Tuesday.)
bit.ly/2EnH1Ng

It Only Took 24 Hours for Colossal Sentiment Shift: Taking Stock
Arie Shapira - Bloomberg
You might be raising an eyebrow after checking your mobile this morning only to see the futures down.
Many would have guessed that "Netflix" was reason enough to think that the 59-handle melt-up in the S&P 500 on Tuesday would see a bit of follow through today (granted the QQQs are up 0.6%, naturally). And it's true that the Netflix blowout was important for general market vibes -- I previously called this report the most crucial company-specific catalyst for the week and perhaps all of third-quarter earnings season -- but the company stands on its own a bit when it comes to true read-across to the rest of the FAANGs or the tech complex.
/bloom.bg/2EvQ9zt

Cramer's charts of the fear gauge suggest sell-off pain isn't over yet
Elizabeth Gurdus - CNBC
As strong as Tuesday's rally was, it may not mark the end of the sell-off that ravaged stocks in last week's trading, CNBC's Jim Cramer said.
Looking at the Cboe Volatility Index, also known as the market's "fear gauge" or the VIX, Cramer and volatility expert Mark Sebastian determined that stocks could see another leg of pain even after Tuesday's surge.
/cnb.cx/2Eq5scP

Oil rises on surprise draw in U.S. crude stockpiles By Reuters
Christopher Johnson - Investing.com
Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Wednesday after industry data showed a surprise decline in U.S. crude inventories and tension over the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist stoked supply worries.
bit.ly/2EsPgrk

 
 
Exchanges and Clearing
 
Shares of US exchanges slip as data fees battle intensifies
Philip Stafford, Nicole Bullock and Kadhim Shubber - Financial Times
Shares of US stock exchanges fell after regulators sided with banks and took aim at the fees the exchanges charge for valuable data on the world's biggest equity market.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday gave a highly unusual rebuke to the New York Stock Exchange, a unit of ICE, and Nasdaq, saying they could not justify previous increases in fees for lucrative streams of market data — an increasingly contentious resource.
/on.ft.com/2EsNeYs

NYSE Responds to SEC Decision on Certain Market Data Fees
Intercontinental Exchange
Following the SEC decision regarding market data fees relating to NYSE Arca book, as published on October 16, the NYSE has put forward its official statement on the matter:
This decision represents a troubling shift by the SEC from its core mission of ensuring the long-term health of our financial markets to an agenda of regulatory overreach, prioritizing the interests of powerful Wall Street interests over those of retail investors and listed companies. We believe the Commission's decision will not withstand our challenge.
Based on our initial analysis of the SEC's decision, we do not believe there will be any immediate change to the products that we deliver to customers or their associated fees.
bit.ly/2EBy3Mm

 
 
Strategy
 
What's Wrong With Buying The Dip?
Steve Sears - OCCAM (SUBSCRIPTION)
Of all the commentary generated by the stock market's recent turbulence, one short comment that was recently made on Twitter sums up the greatest risk facing investors. Last week, when equities were broadly lower, an investor tweeted that he wondered how long until the stock market recouped its recent losses.
bit.ly/2EpBfL9

GOLDMAN SACHS: Investors are making extraordinary bets that these 15 stocks will explode higher before the end of the year
Akin Oyedele - Business Insider
If the past few days have demonstrated anything, it's that volatility is back in the stock market and could remain through the end of 2018.
This makes it important for investors to gain exposure to stocks that could experience an end-of-year surge, coupled with strong hedges.
/read.bi/2Eqlvrj

Pound Option Traders Are Not as Short as Risk Reversals Suggest
Vassilis Karamanis - Bloomberg
While the option market is the most bearish on the pound in two years amid Brexit anxiety, it's by no means a one-way street.
Demand for sterling calls has been almost as strong as that for puts since mid-June, data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation show, even as risk reversals showed faster increases in the cost of contracts to bet on pound weakness.
/bloom.bg/2EBLjRw

 
 
Events
 
Webinar: Managing Risk With Listed Options - Thursday, October 18, 2018
OIC Webinar
The versatility of listed options is well-documented. While they can be used for generating income or as a way to acquire stock, there's another important role options can perform for investors - risk management. On Oct. 18, join OIC for an engaging webinar focusing on risk management techniques that can only be found with listed options. Register now, and get ready to learn about strategies, time frames, volatility and much more.
/goo.gl/emqu5v

 
 
 
JLN Options is sponsored by:
       
OCC OIC Russell Investments
       
TradeAlert Trading Technologies ADM Investor Services    

OCC


OIC


Russell Investments


TradeAlert


Trading Technologies


ADM


-
 
John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals.
 
-
 
John Lothian News Editorial Staff:
 
John Lothian
Publisher
 
Sarah Rudolph
Managing Editor
 
Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
 
Spencer Doar
Editor
 


Disclaimer: All John Lothian Newsletters, JohnLothianNews.com, MarketsWiki.com and MarketsReformWiki.com are products of John Lothian News, a division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. The opinions expressed in all John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. publications are strictly those of their respective editors. They are intended solely for informative purposes and are not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or trade in any commodities or securities herein named. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is in no way guaranteed. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted. Security futures are not suitable for all customers. Futures and options trading involve risk. Past results are no indication of future performance. Nothing on any John J. Lothian & Company site should be considered an endorsement by any sponsor of any website or newsletter content.

© 2017 John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
John J. Lothian & Company, Inc., 141 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 1602, Chicago, IL 60604
Sent by johnlothian@johnlothian.com in collaboration with
Constant Contact