After having peaked at $28.70 in October, the price of shares in Air Canada (AC) seems to have slipped into a short-term trough at the $22 support level. Since then, the price rallied to $26 and, as of this writing, has settled in at around $24. Prices from $22 to $28 now represent a trading range that could contain price...
Investors have had a good run over the last two months as we have seen the Canadian TSX 60 index roar higher 9% from a September low of 877.00 to its highs near 955.00. The question on everyone’s mind – is it over or is there more room to go? Is it too late to buy or should an investor wait on the sidelines for a...
As you can see in the chart below, the price of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) stock is beginning to show the signs of what looks very much like the early stages of a correction. It is clear that the MACD and RSI indicators and the stochastic oscillator are all in marked decline. If this is the case, the price may fall...
As the following graph shows, the price of shares in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) appears to be on the verge of an upswing of unknown vigour. This new trend is confirmed by three indicators – the MACD, the RSI and the stochastic oscillator (%K) – that are giving clear signs of strength. Daily chart for AEM ($59.06 on...
In my last article, entitled Understanding Vega, we examined how Vega measures the changes in option pricing relative to changes in implied volatility. In today’s article I will delve a little deeper into volatility and its impact across the options chain. There are actually two types of volatility that option traders need to...
As you can see in the following graph, the price of shares in Royal Bank of Canada (RY), much like the financial sector in general, have shot up over 10% in just six weeks. Even though it is always risky to expect a trend to reverse, such growth cannot continue indefinitely. However, considering that RY just closed at $100.07...
Prior to understanding Vega, we need to quickly review option-pricing models. The options pricing models are mathematical formulas that help investors and traders remove the guesswork from determining an options price. The models make some assumptions, primarily that stock prices are random and that only one of the option...
Daily graph of L ($67.11 on Tuesday, September 26, 2017) As you can see in the above graph, the price of Loblaws Companies Limited (L) shares fell 18% from a peak of $78.85 on May 8, 2017, and then bottomed out at $64.65 on September 8, 2017. Since then, we have witnessed a tentative rebound that could suggest the worst is...
Daily graph of IFC ($100.37 on Wednesday, September 13, 2017) As you can see in the above graph, the price of shares in Intact Financial Corporation (IFC) fell $3.96 from a peak of $103.03 on September 1, 2017 and then bottomed out at $99.07 on September 12, 2017. We can also see that the RSI indicator (5) (the...
This is a fairly consistent rule in listed options markets: As assets rise in value, option pricing tends to pull back on a relative basis. As markets push higher, investors are deemed to be less fearful and therefore the cost to insure a portfolio against a market drops. We see this rule routinely play out in the VIXC (the...