Some statistics on Q4: https://twitter.com/WayneWhaley1136/status/1708701639836573772

Sign up here for my FREE talk this Saturday, Oct 7th at 11:30AM EST: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/5816954087167/WN_4phTMc8zQDiI9o9fGAOwTw#/registration

Topics covered:
1) 0:00 Announcements
2) 0:40 Market Commentary and Index Review (Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Russell 2000)
3) 6:20 FOCUS LIST: NVDA, MSFT, ADBE, LLY, NOW, UBER, META
4) 9:45 Stock Review – Software: IGV (ETF), ORCL, CRM, CDNS, SNPS, APP, QLYS, AYX, ESTC, VERX, DUOL
5) 12:15 Stock Review – Energy: XLE (ETF), XOP (ETF), OIH (ETF), HAL, SLB, VLO, MPC
6) 14:20 Stock Review – Watch List/General Ideas/Commentary: CELH, NVO, SMH (ETF), ONTO, MTSI, ANET, DELL, CLS, FN, CAMT, QTRX, VRT, TNET, MOD, TSLA
7) 18:45 Conclusion/Summary

Market Summary:
We got through the seasonally weak months of August and September. I am still expecting a strong Q4, but as I’ve mentioned in many recent videos, we need to be patient and let the market prove itself. Specifically, I am looking for more consistent upside volume from the big institutions. I would also like to see a follow through day (or two), the major indexes regain their key moving averages, and see more stocks build stronger bases.

Monday was a decent day for the markets, but it occurred on light volume. Tuesday was a distribution day. I discuss in this video that the volume was below the recent average volume, but I still have to respect the weakness. That led me to email a Market Note in my efforts to remind you to be patient and remain defensive. By defensive, I mean having some cash, using lighter than normal positions, and making sure to stick to a loss cutting discipline. If you have trouble making decisions, please keep in mind that you can reduce exposure via partial positions. In other words, you can sell half to help you gain some clarity and reduce your emotions.

Wednesday was a strong day for the markets, but it was not a follow through day for the Nasdaq Composite because the volume was lighter than Tuesday. Also, it was only Day 1 of a rally attempt for the S&P 500 because Tuesday (10/3) took out the 9/27 low. Again, we have to be patient until we see stronger upside volume from the institutions. One final reminder, I am speaking at an IBD event this Saturday, October 7th. It’s a FREE event and you can register using the link above. Thank you and good luck for the remainder of the week.

Unusual Option Activity:
10/4/23 Nike (NKE) opening sale 500 Dec. 100 puts $6.10
10/4/23 Disney (DIS) with 500 January 2026 $70 puts sold to open 7.30
10/4/23 DraftKings (DKNG) opening sale 1400 January 2025 $42 calls $3.85 bid
10/4/23 Exxon (XOM) buyer 2000 June $97.50 calls 20.10 spread vs. the $130 calls
10/4/23 Exxon (XOM) also 20,000 Dec. $100 puts sell to open 1.57
10/4/23 Devon Energy (DVN) opening sale 1000 April $40 puts for 3.15
10/4/23 Occidental (OXY) opening sale 1000 April $60 puts $5.25
10/4/23 Morgan Stanley (MS) opening seller 2000 December 77.50 puts for $3.40
10/4/23 Bank America (BAC) with 2500 January 2026 $27 puts sold to open $4.40
10/4/23 Pfizer (PFE) block of 10,000 October $33 puts sold to open 0.66
10/4/23 Immunovant (IMVT) buyer 1000 January $40 calls for $3.60
10/4/23 Dell (DELL) spread sells 2000 June $57.5 puts $3.40 and buys 1600 June $75 calls $5.50
10/4/23 Marvell Tech (MRVL) with 3400 June $42.50 puts sold to open $3.09 to $3
10/4/23 Apple (AAPL) opening sale 5000 Sept 2024 $115 puts for 2.02
10/4/23 Google (GOOGL) buyer 1000 Jan 2025 $145 calls 18.65 to 18.95
10/4/23 Meta (META) buyer 2000 Jan 2025 $420 calls $26.23 as the $320 adjust
10/3/23 Semiconductors ETF (SMH) buyers active for 8250 January $160 calls near $4.25
10/3/23 Ultra Russell ETF (URTY) buyer 3500 Oct. $30/$37 call spreads looking for a small cap rally
10/3/23 Biotech ETF (XBI) buyers 5500 January $66 puts $2.63
10/3/23 Silver ETF (SLV) buyer 10,000 Sep. 30th (Q) 2024 $22/$35 call spreads
10/3/23 Financials ETF (XLF) with 20,000 January 2026 26/20 bull put spreads opening $0.79 credit
10/3/23 Lululemon (LULU) with 1000 January $350 puts sold to open $16.62
10/3/23 Hershey (HSY) opening sale 3000 Oct. 205 calls for 1.15
10/3/23 Las Vegas Sands (LVS) buyer 28,000 Dec. $45 calls $3.10 adjusts the $50 calls
10/3/23 Diamond Offshore (DO) ITM Jan. 2025 $10 calls bought 840X for $5.90
10/3/23 Schlumberger (SLB) with 600 Sep. 2024 $50 puts sold to open $4.05
10/3/23 Diamondback Energy (FANG) with 2000 November $155 calls sold to open 4.05
10/3/23 Diamondback Energy (FANG) also 1800 Dec. 160 calls sold to open 3.70
10/3/23 Range Resources (RRC) with 3500 Dec $32/$28 bull risk reversals opening at $0.85 debits
10/3/23 Morgan Stanley (MS) seeing 1500 November $80 calls bought 2.67 to 2.80
10/3/23 Bank America (BAC) with 4000 May $25 puts sold to open $1.70 as Nov. 25 short puts adjust
10/3/23 Visa (V) with 1500 Nov $240 calls bought $3.50, also 1000 Oct. $225 calls bought $7.45
10/3/23 Guardant Health (GH) buyer 500 April $30 calls for $5.20
10/3/23 Boeing (BA) buyers 1550 November $190/$205 call spreads
10/3/23 Boeing (BA) also 2,385 Dec. $175 puts sell to open $4.40
10/3/23 Meta (META) buyer 2000 January 2025 300/400 call spreads for $36
10/3/23 Twilio (TWLO) opening sales 3500 November $45 puts for 0.78
10/3/23 Google (GOOG) opening sale 1000 Sep. 2024 $120 puts 7.95
10/2/23 Gold ETF (GLD) opening sale 3000 March $171 puts for 4.70
10/2/23 Consumer Staples ETF (XLP) opening sale 7500 January $69 calls for $1.91
10/2/23 Biotech ETF (XBI) buyer of 5000 November $70/$65 put spreads
10/2/23 Healthcare ETF (XLV) with 14,000 January $120 puts bought $1.52 as Nov. 127 adjust
10/2/23 Etsy (ETSY) opening sale 1350 November $60 puts at $3.15
10/2/23 Schlumberger (SLB) with 4450 Nov. 10th (W) $50 puts sold to open 0.55
10/2/23 Marathon Oil (MRO) opening sale 1000 January 2025 $25 puts $3.58
10/2/23 Eli Lilly (LLY) with 875 Jan 2025 $530 puts sold to open $54.75 with $590 and $580 strikes adjusting
10/2/23 J&J (JNJ) with 2,725 June 2025 $155 puts sold to open 12.35
10/2/23 FedEx (FDX) opening sale 1000 October $265 calls for $6.10
10/2/23 Nvidia (NVDA) early action buying 2000 Nov. 3rd (W) $490 calls up to $7.45
10/2/23 Nvidia (NVDA) also size buy 1000 Nov. 10th (W) $445 calls $27.45 to $28.15
10/2/23 Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) buyer 400 November $40 calls 10.50 to open
10/2/23 Advanced Micro (AMD) with 1350 Nov. 10th (W) $100 calls bought to open 8.16 to 8.20
10/2/23 Microsoft (MSFT) buyer 2000 Sep. 2024 $195 puts $2.39
10/2/23 Unity (U) large opening sale 1250 June $25 puts for $3
10/2/23 Meta (META) with 2000 November $315 calls bought $14.70 to $14.75