Real-time equity news
U.S. stock market report
1725 ET 21May2010
Wall St lifted by banks after dismal week
U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday as investors picked up beaten down shares, including banks, on bets the final financial reform bill won't be as onerous as some had feared.
Nonetheless, the S&P was still down 10.6 percent from its April 23 high, in what is traditionally considered a correction, as investors fled risky asserts on fears the euro zone's debt crisis will crimp global growth.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1637 ET 21May2010-Put-to
call ratio ends at extreme reading on Friday
A popular options gauge finished at an extreme reading even as U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday. The put-to-call ratio stood at 1.56 late on Friday, said Stifel Nicolaus option market strategist Elliot Spar. Spar calculates the ratio from the ISEE sentiment index, which measures the daily amount of opening call option purchases compared with opening put option purchases by International Securities Exchange customers. To arrive at the ratio, the ISEE sentiment gauge is inverted. That means 156 puts were bought to open for every 100 calls bought to open, Spar said. Importantly, when the market is rallying, a put-to-call ratio this high means that there are many non-believers of this rally, Spar said. On Thursday, when stocks declined, the ratio was at 1.44, he said. The CBOE Voatility Index or VIX ended at 40.10. For the VIX, it was a bearish key reversal day meaning that the VIX exceeded Thursday's high of 46.36 and closed below Thursday's low of 40.29. 'This suggests a short term positive for stocks,' he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1521 ET 21May2010
SPDR Gold Trust gets large put purchase on Thursday
The SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund, attracted a put transaction at the closing bell on Thursday, according to Patrick Mortimer, director of option trading at Pipeline Trading Systems. An investor purchased 100,000 July $93 puts for 42 cents per contract. This large opening trade carries an implied volatility of 36.5 percent, a 4 percent increase from the previous session, and a 5 delta, Mortimer said. The fund's shares closed at $115.84 on Thursday. The ETF fell 64 cents to $115.20 late on Friday. 'The GLD set a new 52-week high of $122.23 on May 12 but has seen a 5 percent decline since then as investors have been unloading long positions,' Mortimer said. 'Worries over the global economy and uncertainty over the impact of the new financial reform bill have led investors to liquidate positions, including holdings in gold, during the recent market correction.'
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1514 ET 21May2010
Google gets antitrust OK on AdMob buy
U.S. antitrust regulators gave Google Inc approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that Google was headed for a court fight with government officials over the $750 million transaction.
For details, see
Google shares slid 0.9 percent to $470.50.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1354 ET 21May2010
Ciena bullish option action suggests play on rebound
Shares of telecommunications network equipment maker Ciena Corp are down 23 percent from the start of May, but the option action is bullish, said Chris McKhann in comments on the firm's website. Its shares rose 4.6 percent to $15.71 by late afternoon. Ciena hit a 52-week high of $19.48 on May 3 but has since erased the gains of March and April. The shares saw a spike earlier 'amid increasing interest in October $15 calls,' said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. Overall option activity was double the usual levels with about 25,000 calls and 4,116 puts traded by late afternoon, according to Trade Alert. The Oct $15 calls traded 10,425 times vs. open interest of 1,325 contracts, Reuters data show. Many of those calls were bought. A block of 4,860 was purchased at $2.15 per contract. 'These calls are now in-the-money and may be seen as a lower-risk way of playing a rebound,' McKhann said. Jud Pyle, chief investment strategist at Options News Network, a division of PEAK6 Investments, echoed that view. First, they have earnings due during the second week of June, he said. The stock has pulled back from the $19 level during the market sell-off, so anybody who thought the stock might bounce would be using these calls to put on a bullish bet on a rebound.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. 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.
U.S. stock market report
1725 ET 21May2010
Wall St lifted by banks after dismal week
U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday as investors picked up beaten down shares, including banks, on bets the final financial reform bill won't be as onerous as some had feared.
Nonetheless, the S&P was still down 10.6 percent from its April 23 high, in what is traditionally considered a correction, as investors fled risky asserts on fears the euro zone's debt crisis will crimp global growth.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1637 ET 21May2010-Put-to
call ratio ends at extreme reading on Friday
A popular options gauge finished at an extreme reading even as U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday. The put-to-call ratio stood at 1.56 late on Friday, said Stifel Nicolaus option market strategist Elliot Spar. Spar calculates the ratio from the ISEE sentiment index, which measures the daily amount of opening call option purchases compared with opening put option purchases by International Securities Exchange customers. To arrive at the ratio, the ISEE sentiment gauge is inverted. That means 156 puts were bought to open for every 100 calls bought to open, Spar said. Importantly, when the market is rallying, a put-to-call ratio this high means that there are many non-believers of this rally, Spar said. On Thursday, when stocks declined, the ratio was at 1.44, he said. The CBOE Voatility Index or VIX ended at 40.10. For the VIX, it was a bearish key reversal day meaning that the VIX exceeded Thursday's high of 46.36 and closed below Thursday's low of 40.29. 'This suggests a short term positive for stocks,' he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1521 ET 21May2010
SPDR Gold Trust gets large put purchase on Thursday
The SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund, attracted a put transaction at the closing bell on Thursday, according to Patrick Mortimer, director of option trading at Pipeline Trading Systems. An investor purchased 100,000 July $93 puts for 42 cents per contract. This large opening trade carries an implied volatility of 36.5 percent, a 4 percent increase from the previous session, and a 5 delta, Mortimer said. The fund's shares closed at $115.84 on Thursday. The ETF fell 64 cents to $115.20 late on Friday. 'The GLD set a new 52-week high of $122.23 on May 12 but has seen a 5 percent decline since then as investors have been unloading long positions,' Mortimer said. 'Worries over the global economy and uncertainty over the impact of the new financial reform bill have led investors to liquidate positions, including holdings in gold, during the recent market correction.'
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1514 ET 21May2010
Google gets antitrust OK on AdMob buy
U.S. antitrust regulators gave Google Inc approval to buy mobile advertising rival AdMob, after months of delay and rumor that Google was headed for a court fight with government officials over the $750 million transaction.
For details, see
Google shares slid 0.9 percent to $470.50.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1354 ET 21May2010
Ciena bullish option action suggests play on rebound
Shares of telecommunications network equipment maker Ciena Corp are down 23 percent from the start of May, but the option action is bullish, said Chris McKhann in comments on the firm's website. Its shares rose 4.6 percent to $15.71 by late afternoon. Ciena hit a 52-week high of $19.48 on May 3 but has since erased the gains of March and April. The shares saw a spike earlier 'amid increasing interest in October $15 calls,' said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. Overall option activity was double the usual levels with about 25,000 calls and 4,116 puts traded by late afternoon, according to Trade Alert. The Oct $15 calls traded 10,425 times vs. open interest of 1,325 contracts, Reuters data show. Many of those calls were bought. A block of 4,860 was purchased at $2.15 per contract. 'These calls are now in-the-money and may be seen as a lower-risk way of playing a rebound,' McKhann said. Jud Pyle, chief investment strategist at Options News Network, a division of PEAK6 Investments, echoed that view. First, they have earnings due during the second week of June, he said. The stock has pulled back from the $19 level during the market sell-off, so anybody who thought the stock might bounce would be using these calls to put on a bullish bet on a rebound.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. 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.