Market Closes Lower Ahead of July 4th Holiday (SPY, AA, VIX, BIIB, SNY, GENZ)

The S&P 500 SPY closed lower once again today, ending at 1,022. Stocks came off there lows and went positive just a touch before the close, but traders used the opportunity to unload any market risk heading into the long weekend. Stocks have been very, very weak as of late, though volume has not exactly been high. This signals that large, institutional traders are staying on the sidelines as of late. One would expect for these players to come back next week to begin to position for the beginning of earnings season. Alcoa AA will kick off the festivities on the 12th of July. One notable mover today was the CBOE Volatility Index VIX, which shed 10.59% by the end of the day to close at 29.38. VIX futures also sold off today with the front month contract off 4.64%, at $31.80. Action in the VIX pits was favoring the call side today with large institutions buying upside calls in out months as volatility oozed from the market in the near-term. Transport stocks were notably weak on the session as well, with the Dow Jones Transportation Index (DJT) ending the session lower by 2.24%. Dow Theory followers will note that this is a huge negative for the future of the overall market. Biotech stock notably outperformed, with the Merrill Lynch Biotech Fund BBD ending the session higher by 1.94%, at $87.87. Much of the upside is due to takeover chatter erupting in the space with Biogen Idec. BIIB, Allergan AGN, and Genzyme GENZ all rumored to be being shopped by Sanofi-Aventis SNY.