Tuesday’s Vital Data: Bank of America Corp (BAC), Facebook Inc (FB) and General Electric Company (GE)

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U.S. stock futures are turning higher this morning, as tech stocks rebound from two sessions of heavy selling and Wall Street turns its attention to the Federal Reserve. Tomorrow afternoon, the Federal Open Market Committee will conclude its two-day meeting, with fed funds futures pricing in a 95.8% likelihood of a 1.0 to 1.25 point rate hike.

Tuesday’s Vital Data: Bank of America Corp (BAC), Facebook Inc (FB) and General Electric Company (GE)Heading into the open, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.09%, with Nasdaq-100 futures rallying 0.20% and S&P 500 futures rising 0.15%.

On the options front, volume remained brisk on Monday, with about 16.9 million calls and 15.6 million puts changing hands on the session. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio pulled back to rest at 0.68, while the 10-day moving average held at 0.62.

Diving into Monday’s options activity, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) was flooded with call volume after the U.S. Treasury Department suggested major revisions to Wall Street regulations put in place after the 2008 crash. Meanwhile, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) mitigated damage from the tech crash by finding key technical support. Finally, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) stockholders cheered as CEO Jeff Immelt said he would be stepping down on Aug. 1.

Tuesday’s Vital Options Data: Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Facebook Inc (FB) and General Electric Company (GE)

Bank of America Corp (BAC)

Banking stocks had been plagued by uncertainty in recent weeks, with the growing crisis surrounding President Donald Trump calling into question many of the administration’s pro-business initiatives.

But the House passed a bill to gut Dodd-Frank regulations last week, and the U.S. Treasury Department offered up a list of 100 possible regulation changes, including expanding the reach of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, easing the Volcker rule and scaling back the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Add to this mix the near certainty that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates tomorrow, and banking stocks are in rally mode, with BAC stock gaining nearly 7% since Tuesday last week. BAC options traders have certainly taken note, piling into call options en mass.

On Monday, BAC options volume swelled to 898,000 contracts with calls snapping up an impressive 72% of the day’s take. What’s more, the July put/call open interest ratio has picked up where the June series left off. The influx of call volume had pushed the June ratio down to 0.49 by the end of May, and the July ratio has taken things a step further, dropping to 0.37 as calls continue to be added at a faster rate than puts.

That said, much of this optimism depends on Washington, and regulations have been stalling in the Senate, so it remains to be seen if this regulatory easing so many are betting on will come to fruition.

Facebook Inc (FB)

The tech flash-crash took quite a toll on FANG stocks, especially after Goldman Sachs called into question the group’s valuation. FB stock, however, weathered the selloff rather well, shedding only about 4.2% in the process. Despite giving up the $150 level, FB stock’s technicals offer hope, as the shares’ decline was halted at their 50-day moving average — a trendline FB has not closed a session below since January. What’s more, FB stock is set to rebound from that support heading into the open this morning, making the shares a buy at these levels.

FB options traders are aware of the current value play and the emergence of technical support. Volume on Monday was heavily call oriented, with these typically bullish bets accounting for 60% of the more than 836,000 contracts traded on FB stock.

What’s more, even FB’s July put/call OI ratio has ticked lower amid the heavy tech selling, and currently rests at 0.83. Peak call OI for the series currently rests at $155, with more than 35,000 contracts in residence, as options traders look for FB to more than make up for recent losses.

General Electric Company (GE)

After 16 years in the CEO role, GE investors are apparently happy to see Jeff Immelt go.

GE stock has fallen roughly 30% with Immelt at the helm, even though he helped the company refocus on its industrial businesses, divesting the home appliances and media units and has struck a major oil-and-gas deal with Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) — for which GE just won Department of Justice approval.

In response to the news, GE stock surged more than 3.5% and was flooded with call activity. Total volume topped 570,000 contracts, with calls snapping up some 73% of the day’s take — totals not typically seen outside of ex-dividend trading (which, by the way, GE trades ex-dividend this coming Monday).

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/06/tuesday-vital-data-bank-of-america-corp-bac-facebook-inc-fb-and-general-electric-company-ge/.

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