It seems that nothing else matters to the market right now expect the price of oil.
Although the Dow and S&P made only small moves on Wednesday, it’s largely believed the sell-off is far from over.
"We're taking a breather, waiting for the next foot to fall in the oil markets," says Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at the ConvergEx Group in a Reuters interview. "The market is looking 3-4 months out, trying to figure out what these higher oil prices will do to consumer spending."
Broadly, equities have had a strong inverse relationship with oil in the past several weeks. In other words, as one goes higher the other goes lower.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities in the market. Following are a slew of trades that the Fast gang has on their trader radars, despite the energy woes.
------------
UNUSUAL ACTIVITY – AMERICAN EAGLE
Pete Najarian is watching American Eagle.
The volume of April 17 calls has led to Street chatter that the company could be a takeout target.
According to Najarian, “There could be some LBO interest. “There’s definitely speculation coming into this name."
Patty Edwards thinks it makes sense. She thinks the valuations are attractive and the company could benefit from being out of the limelight. “I think it’s a pretty strong probability,” she says.
------------
IPAD 2 RELEASE
The traders also think Apple has generated a slew of trading opportunities due to the release of the new iPad 2 tablet on Wednesday.
The new iPad model will sport the same 10-inch screen but should be lighter, thinner and faster, according to a plethora of analyst and blog reports. Apple is expected to add a camera to enable video chat using the FaceTime application.
Analysts expect Apple to sell more than 30 million iPads this year, as the overall tablet market explodes to more than 50 million units.
What’s the trade?
Brian Kelly thinks the trade is long Apple. Despite a string of new tablets coming onto the market he thinks Apple continues to win, due to its competitive price and because of their extensive app library.
Pete Najarian suggests a few downstream trades. “I’d look at Corning for the gorilla glass or Omnivision for the cameras,” he says.
Both Patty Edwards and Steve Cortes suggest playing the success of the iPad with chip stocks with Cortes advocating a long position in Qualcomm.
------------
CALL OF THE DAY: JPMORGAN UPGRADES SEMI SECTOR
In fact, the traders have the entire chip sector on the radar again not only because of the iPad2 but also because of an upgrade from JPMorgan.
Analyst Christopher Danely raised his view on the sector to "constructive" from "cautious," saying inventory correction is nearing an end and the brokerage’s bearish outlook on the economy was wrong.
The analyst named Texas Instruments as his top pick on expectations of an inventory replenishment in the supply chain during 2011 second half, and also raised its ratings on Xilinx and ON Semiconductor to "overweight," from "neutral."
What's the trade?
Pete Najarian agress that Texas Instruments belongs on the radar. In fact he says, "there’s a lot of reasons to be excited about many of these names." Keep an eye on the SMH , as well.
______________________________________________________
Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment, but not have it published on our Web site, send those e-mails to fastmoney@cnbc.com.
Trader disclosure: On Mar. 2, 2011, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders; Pete Najarian owns (F) bonds. Pete Najarian owns (GM). Pete Najarian owns (MS). Pete Najarian owns (JPM) calls. Pete Najarian owns (C). Pete Najarian owns (BAC) calls. Pete Najarian owns (GE). Pete Najarian owns (MU) calls. Pete Najarian owns (TCK). Steve Cortes owns (EXC), (SDY) and (PM). Steve Cortes is long Crude. Steve Cortes is short (QQQQ).
Comcast Is The Parent Company Of CNBC
Comcast Is The Parent Company Of NBCUniversal
GE Owns 49% Of NBCUniversal
GE Owns 49% Of CNBC
BRIAN KELLY
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own Oil Futures
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own Corn
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own Wheat
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own Soybean Futures
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own US T-Bond Futures
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own Copper Futures
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (TLT)
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (IAU)
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (SPY) puts
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (ATW)
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (RDC)
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (EBAY)
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (GLD) calls
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own (SLV) calls
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Own The Euro
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Are Short US Dollar
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Are Short (XLF)
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Are Short S&P Futures
Accounts Managed By Kanundrum Capital Are Short The Yen
PATTY EDWARDS
Edwards owns (SPY) for clients
Edwards owns (XLB) for clients
Edwards owns (GLD) for clients
Edwards owns (SLV) for clients
Edwards owns (AMZN) for clients
Edwards owns (V) for clients
Edwards owns (JNJ) for clients
Edwards owns (AAPL) for clients
Edwards owns (MSFT) for clients
Edwards owns (GE) for clients
Edwards owns (TGT) for clients
Edwards owns (CME) for clients
Edwards owns (COST) for clients
Edwards owns (FXI) for clients
DENNIS GARTMAN
Funds Managed by Dennis Gartman are long Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars, Swiss Franc, Gold, Corn, Soybeans, Sugar, Crude, Nat. Gas
Funds Managed by Dennis Gartman are short Euros, British Pound Sterling, Yen
CNBC.com with wires.
