Last week was a volatile and negative one for stocks, but given the type of week it was – it wasn’t overly surprising.
Every third Friday of every month we have a ton of options that expire. They call that week options expiration week, and for August it was this past week.
Options expiration weeks tend to be more volatile and, in 2021 so far, 7 out of these 8 weeks have been negative for the S&P 500. So based off 2021 history, last week being volatile and a negative one for stocks shouldn’t be that surprising
For the week ahead – So, how does the S&P 500 respond following these volatile weeks of options expiration? Well, based off what has happened thus far in 2021, these weeks tend to be positive for stocks. Let’s see if August follows the pattern. There is one wild card this week, however, and that is the gathering of Fed officials to close out the week in Jackson Hole. Of course, the focus here will be on any talk concerning the tapering of the bond buying program.
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