Stocks on the move
Real-time Equity news
U.S. stock market report
1650 ET 16Oct2009
Wall St hit by Bank of America, GE results
U.S. stocks fell on Friday after disappointing results from General Electric Co and Bank of America Corp demonstrated the road to economic recovery will be bumpy.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1421 ET 16Oct2009
BofA draws option plays after Q3 loss
Players flocked to Bank of America Corp options, exchanging about 534,000 contracts by late afternoon after the nation's largest bank posted a $1 billion third-quarter loss amid consumer credit woes. Its shares fell 4.14 percent to $17.35. Options activity in the January 2010 contract indicates investors employed several strategies on the bank.
Interactive Brokers Group options analyst Caitlin Duffy said a so-called risk reversal implemented in the January 2010 contract suggests bullish sentiment on the bank despite disappointing earnings. A block of 15,000 puts were sold at the $14 strike for 46 cents to partially offset the cost of buying 15,000 calls at the $17.50 strike for $1.49. The investor paid a net $1.03 per contract to position for a rebound in BAC shares above $17.50 by expiration, she said.
Other investors initiated volatility plays by selling strangles at the same $17.50 and $14 strikes, suggesting shares could remain range-bound through expiration, Duffy added.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1330 ET 16Oct2009
Nasdaq says trading halted on PHLX
A floor wide trading halt has been instituted on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, The Nasdaq OMX, which owns the exchange, said on Friday.
The trading halt went into effect at 12:36 p.m. (1636 GMT). For details, see
'We have a floor wide outage on Nasdaq OMX PHLX and our team is working on it to determine the cause. We will advise customers on status throughout the day,' Nasdaq said in an email.
The Nasdaq Options Market is not affected.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1317 ET 16Oct2009
Option bulls eye Weatherford before results
Bullish option flow was detected in Weatherford International Ltd ahead of the oil service company's Oct. 19 quarterly results. A total of about 26,000 WFT calls changed hands, more than double the recent average daily volume in afternoon trade. Directional sentiment based on order flow was 53 percent bullish, Trade Alert data show.
Weatherford shares rose 1.37 percent to $20.75. In the options market, some investors took ownership of the Nov $20 calls. The strike had volume of 12,924 contracts and the top trade was a lot of 2,324 contracts for $1.80 in premium on the International Securities Exchange, which is an opening customer buyer, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy.
The demand for options sent the stock's average option implied volatility to 54.8 percent, up from about 52.5 percent the previous session.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1250 ET 16Oct2009
Barclays starts coverage on medical devices group
Barclays Capital on Friday started coverage on the medical supplies and devices group with a 'neutral' rating, saying it didn't expect healthcare reform in the United States to dramatically alter the sector's business model.
'Nonetheless, we do suggest that it will be difficult to expand margins in this environment, especially in the absence of major new product launches,' the firm wrote.
For details, see
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1228 ET 16Oct2009
Interactive Brokers draws bullish option play, analyst
One big investor apparently believes Interactive Brokers Group Inc is heading higher, betting on a 50 percent move in its shares over the next five months, said OptionMonster analyst David Russell in comments on the Web site. Shares of the derivatives-trading company fell 2.27 percent to 20.35 in afternoon trade. OptionMonster's computer model detected the purchase of 2,774 March $30 calls for a premium of 13 cents against open interest of 526 contracts. The trade pushed overall option volume in Interactive to four times greater than average. Trade Alert data show 4,208 calls and 182 puts traded. Interactive is due to report results on Oct 22. 'Today's call buying represents a long-term bet on IBKR, and will turn a profit if the stock rallies above $30.13 by expiration,' Russell said. Interactive Brokers is a competitor of online broker trade MONSTER, a subsidiary of optionMonster Holdings.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Real-time Equity news
U.S. stock market report
1650 ET 16Oct2009
Wall St hit by Bank of America, GE results
U.S. stocks fell on Friday after disappointing results from General Electric Co and Bank of America Corp demonstrated the road to economic recovery will be bumpy.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1421 ET 16Oct2009
BofA draws option plays after Q3 loss
Players flocked to Bank of America Corp options, exchanging about 534,000 contracts by late afternoon after the nation's largest bank posted a $1 billion third-quarter loss amid consumer credit woes. Its shares fell 4.14 percent to $17.35. Options activity in the January 2010 contract indicates investors employed several strategies on the bank.
Interactive Brokers Group options analyst Caitlin Duffy said a so-called risk reversal implemented in the January 2010 contract suggests bullish sentiment on the bank despite disappointing earnings. A block of 15,000 puts were sold at the $14 strike for 46 cents to partially offset the cost of buying 15,000 calls at the $17.50 strike for $1.49. The investor paid a net $1.03 per contract to position for a rebound in BAC shares above $17.50 by expiration, she said.
Other investors initiated volatility plays by selling strangles at the same $17.50 and $14 strikes, suggesting shares could remain range-bound through expiration, Duffy added.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1330 ET 16Oct2009
Nasdaq says trading halted on PHLX
A floor wide trading halt has been instituted on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, The Nasdaq OMX, which owns the exchange, said on Friday.
The trading halt went into effect at 12:36 p.m. (1636 GMT). For details, see
'We have a floor wide outage on Nasdaq OMX PHLX and our team is working on it to determine the cause. We will advise customers on status throughout the day,' Nasdaq said in an email.
The Nasdaq Options Market is not affected.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1317 ET 16Oct2009
Option bulls eye Weatherford before results
Bullish option flow was detected in Weatherford International Ltd ahead of the oil service company's Oct. 19 quarterly results. A total of about 26,000 WFT calls changed hands, more than double the recent average daily volume in afternoon trade. Directional sentiment based on order flow was 53 percent bullish, Trade Alert data show.
Weatherford shares rose 1.37 percent to $20.75. In the options market, some investors took ownership of the Nov $20 calls. The strike had volume of 12,924 contracts and the top trade was a lot of 2,324 contracts for $1.80 in premium on the International Securities Exchange, which is an opening customer buyer, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy.
The demand for options sent the stock's average option implied volatility to 54.8 percent, up from about 52.5 percent the previous session.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1250 ET 16Oct2009
Barclays starts coverage on medical devices group
Barclays Capital on Friday started coverage on the medical supplies and devices group with a 'neutral' rating, saying it didn't expect healthcare reform in the United States to dramatically alter the sector's business model.
'Nonetheless, we do suggest that it will be difficult to expand margins in this environment, especially in the absence of major new product launches,' the firm wrote.
For details, see
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1228 ET 16Oct2009
Interactive Brokers draws bullish option play, analyst
One big investor apparently believes Interactive Brokers Group Inc is heading higher, betting on a 50 percent move in its shares over the next five months, said OptionMonster analyst David Russell in comments on the Web site. Shares of the derivatives-trading company fell 2.27 percent to 20.35 in afternoon trade. OptionMonster's computer model detected the purchase of 2,774 March $30 calls for a premium of 13 cents against open interest of 526 contracts. The trade pushed overall option volume in Interactive to four times greater than average. Trade Alert data show 4,208 calls and 182 puts traded. Interactive is due to report results on Oct 22. 'Today's call buying represents a long-term bet on IBKR, and will turn a profit if the stock rallies above $30.13 by expiration,' Russell said. Interactive Brokers is a competitor of online broker trade MONSTER, a subsidiary of optionMonster Holdings.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
