Tail wagging action and more of the same ol' less surprising corporate beats and slightly bid "Redback" keep the bulls in profit-taking mode in Wednesday's intraday humper. As of 11:05 ET the SP-500 (SPY) is shedding 1.00% but finally giving traders something to nosh on besides green shoots.

Overseas pressure and a barrage of less and less influential earnings beats from American titans of industry are weighing in the broader averages for a fourth straight session-and a likely eternity for perma bulls.

Housing data this morning hasn't helped either. New home sales fell by a worse-than-expected 402,000 annualized units. And then there's the US Dollar (UUP). Traders' favorite cause for celebration of the past several months continues to turn into a "sell-e-bration" of sorts.

A fourth session of gains after hitting year-to-date trend lows finds bulls increasingly agitated by the prospects of the popular carry or funding trade from risky currencies and optimistic asset classes, getting unwound further. Intraday, UUP is up 0.27% at 22.70 and hitting levels last seen, well umm, not that long ago.

In passing or under-the-carpet with Wednesday's less secure bulls, stronger-than-expected durable orders failed to make an impression. In the pre-market, came in with an increase of 1.0% for September. Axing the volatile transportation component and orders rose by 0.9%, beating views by two-tenths of a percent. Net, net "selling the news" as to be in sync with investor action regarding Q3 earnings reports appears to be par for the more bumpy market ride these days.

On the option front, traders are gearing up for an earnings related sizzle or fizzle in shares of First Solar (FSLR). The largest of the alternative energy upstarts and NASDAQ 100 component reports after the bell. Analysts expect profits of $1.74 per share versus $1.20 from a year ago.

Technically speaking, shares of FSLR have been consolidating tightly within a symmetrical triangle pattern. The price action resembles April's pre-report pattern development, which winded up netting a substantial 23.50% jump in shares from the non-directional formation. In saying that, the "at" but ever slightly "out-of-money" November 155 calls are the most popular contract by a fairly large margin on volume of 1,600 contracts.

Aggressive, but typically worth the bid type premium, finds the November contract priced in the low to mid 70s. That's well above a SV range of 36% to 54%. However, a small backtest of strangles discussed in today's Option Watch column shows FSLR's post earnings stock movement has produced profits in three of the past five events and net profitability. One caveat though, a somewhat large variance in the individual results is also part of the package deal, as is the "small" sample size that was considered.

Finally, the assault on perma bulls may find a short-term reprieve. Continued weakness in the SP-500 has brought the market proxy down to a test of its 50-SMA. At the same time, the VIX has stretched to slightly more than 15% above its 10-SMA. The last time the two events lined up was back on October 2, which turned out to be a darned good "Monbacky!" for both short and longer-minded bulls.

Chris Tyler
Senior Staff Writer & Options Strategist
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site
Visit Chris Tyler's Forum

The information offered here is based upon Christopher Tyler's observations and strictly intended for educational purposes only, the use of which is the responsibility of the individual.