What a surprise, oil gets clobbered again! Oil and related ETF's have started the first week in February with an all out melt down. The United States Oil fund ETF (USO ) has fallen over 11% in just the first 2 days of February. Although it has remained above last weeks low, volume has been heavy on this sell off leading many to wonder if it will attempt new lows yet again. The explorers haven't been hit as bad, though its not pretty. SPDR Oil Exploration ETF (XOP ) has lost over 7% so far this week but seems to have found support in the $26 area. As for the broad markets we start the week with some pressure to the downside. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY ) has been unable to get anything positive going as oil continues to be a drag on the overall markets. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ ) finds itself over 3.5% off its high set on Monday as the big tech names like Netflix (NFLX ) and Amazon (AMZN ) continue to find selling pressure.
Biotech weakness continues as the iShares biotech ETF (IBB ) makes new 52 week lows today. The selling pressure comes on the heels of continued selling in names like Regeneron (REGN ), down 4% today alone.
Lastly, Gold refuses to pullback as traders flock to the safe haven trade. SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD ) prints new yearly highs today and is now up over 7% for 2016. Technical traders will note a consistent uptrend with very little in the way of resistance. The gold miners (GDX ) have seen a much needed rally thanks to the precious metal. Technical traders will note the possibility of a breakout in the short term if gold continues its strength.
It continues to be a stock pickers market as volatility remains high. Short term traders benefit from this volatility and long term traders have to question weather they wish to ride out the storm or raise cash for lower prices.
