Stocks Week Ahead: Jobs Data, Volatility Gap, and Tech Momentum in FocusView all comments (0)0This week will be short but busy, packed with economic data and potential surprises. The JPM collar, expiring on Monday, initially seemed like a magnet pulling the market lower, but ultimately failed—though it might still have an impact.Markets are strange animals: just when everything seems perfectly aligned for a particular outcome, they have a way of knocking you down, which is exactly what happened to me last week.SOFR climbed to 4.4% by last-to-last Friday morning and could move even higher by Wednesday. Meanwhile, the repo facility expanded to $285 billion and might increase further by last Monday. Yet, despite liquidity draining from the market and rising overnight rates, it hasn’t mattered.The strength of Nvidia’s rally overcame everything, perhaps due to the Russell rebalance, though I’m not sure. Regardless, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is now officially overbought, with an RSI above 76 and trading above its upper Bollinger Band for three consecutive days.At the very least, this suggests Nvidia may trade sideways, and at best, pull back toward its 20-day moving average. It isn’t easy to imagine it becoming even more overextended from here.If Nvidia stops leading, things will become more complicated for the S&P 500. So, it’s no surprise that the S&P 500 itself is now overbought, with an RSI above 70 and two consecutive days trading above its upper Bollinger Band.The NASDAQ has now traded above its upper Bollinger Band for four consecutive days and also has an RSI above 70, placing it firmly in overbought territory.In some ways, it seems unbelievable to me that implied volatility is this low, given the heavy economic calendar next week, especially considering Friday’s White House commentary on Powell and trade. Monday’s IV stands at just 9.1%, and the only thing remotely normal in the term structure is the modest bump to 11.9% for July 3, coinciding with the jobs report. I’d be shocked if July 3 IV remains at 11.9% by the close on July 2; realistically, it should rise closer to 20%.(BARCHART)This reveals a lot about what’s currently driving the market higher: volatility suppression. Whether it’s from pure Vol Funds or volatility dispersion trades ahead of earnings season, both strategies have a limited lifespan. Typically, implied volatility (IV) for individual stocks begins rising a few weeks ahead of earnings and collapses after results are reported.The dispersion trade involves owning the IV of individual stocks while shorting the IV of the S&P 500. Currently, individual stock IVs are rising as expected, while SPX IV continues to decline. This dynamic likely explains much of the volatility suppression we’ve seen and why mega-cap stocks have surged.However, this isn’t a typical quiet period devoid of news—quite the opposite. We’re set for a heavy flow of economic data this week. Additionally, I’m willing to bet that talk around trade deals will intensify, especially given that the S&P 500 hitting all-time highs likely emboldens President Trump. This scenario probably explains why we saw VVIX rise on Friday: volatility feels far too low, given these factors.Additionally, the yield curve will likely come into sharp focus this week, given the data set to be released. The 2s/10s curve looks positioned for an upside breakout, and I believe we might finally see that move toward 90 bps I’ve been anticipating for several weeks.Finally, gold broke through support on Friday and now faces the threat of a potential triple-top formation. To confirm this triple-top, gold would need to break below the neckline support at $3,170. If that happens, it could fall back to roughly $2,890.Silver has a potential diamond top that has formed, implying a return to $33.Original PostStocks Week Ahead: Jobs Data, Volatility Gap, and Tech Momentum in FocusView all comments (0)0