Friday's Market Minute: Calm After the Storm?

After making slight gains yesterday, stocks opened higher again on Friday.

Today is Quadruple Witching, which means the contracts of four different asset classes expire on the same day and can result in increased trading volume. Yesterday also included a lot of analyst activity.

Firms upgraded a handful of well-known names, including Tesla Inc. TSLA, Roku Inc. ROKU, and Domino’s Pizza, Inc. DPZ. Big tech also made headway with the Semiconductor Index (SOX) gaining nearly 5 percent on the day.

Volatility also continued to drop off this morning after making massive spikes earlier in the week. On Wednesday, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) reached above 85, its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

Crude Oil futures saw their best trading day ever Thursday. Shares climbed 23 percent as President Trump suggested he could intervene in the current price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has rocked crude markets. While turbulent markets seem to be calming in some areas, there’s still the uncertainty of how COVID-19 will continue to affect both the U.S. and global economy which has traders on edge.

Be sure to watch the TD Ameritrade Network to stay abreast of volatile market moves going into the weekend.