Real-time equity news
U.S. stock market report
1730 ET 12July2010
Alcoa beats estimates, shares rise
Alcoa's shares rose more than 3 percent after the closing bell as the aluminum producer reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its estimate for global aluminum consumption.
Alcoa was up 3.3 percent at $11.23.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1715 ET 12July2010
Wall Street ekes out gain as caution rules before results
Caution prevailed in the U.S. stock market on Monday, with indexes edging higher as investors kept bets to a minimum in front of earnings.
Volume was among the lightest of the year with investors wanting to see if corporate outlooks validate last week's surge, the strongest week in a year.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1704 ET 12July2010
Option bear buys Casey's General put spread
Casey's General Stores Inc rose 13 cents to $35.97 after the U.S. convenience store chain reiterated its recommendation to shareholders to reject a takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Couche-Tard said on Monday it has extended its takeover bid for Casey's by nearly a month. Terms of the $36 per share offer were unchanged. In the options market, one investor is positioning for the bottom to fall out, said optionMonster analyst David Russell in comments on the website. OptionMonster's tracking system detected the purchase of about 3,400 Nov $35 puts for $1.90 and the sale of a matching number of Nov $30 puts for 60 cents, resulting in a debit of $1.30. The trade pushed total option volume to four times open interest in both strikes.
Casey's had been a steady growth stock for years, consistently improving earnings and book value while flying below the radar of many investors and analysts, he said. Casey's shares fell to $39.56 in early afternoon trade and the bearish put spread will earn a maximum profit of 285 percent if shares close at or below $30 on expiration. It never traded over $33.10 before the takeover bid, Russell said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1636 ET 12July2010
Intel option action heats up ahead of earnings
Option action is starting to heat up ahead of Intel Corp's quarterly results as traders exchanged about 176,000 contracts or 2.2 times the usual volume in the chipmaker. The earnings season kicks off on Tuesday with Intel's earnings after the close. According to Trade Alert, Intel's options volume was led by the trading of 121,000 call contracts with the July 2010 $21 call being the most popular In all, 33,150 contracts traded in the strike with 41 percent on the Bid and 36 percent on the Ask. The July $20 puts and calls were busy as well, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy.
'There seems to be a mix of buyers and sellers initiating today's trades,' he said. Monday's top trades included the longer-term January 2012 series and appear to be driven by a strangle writer, collecting $3.10 on the January $15-$25 strangle, which traded 5,000 times. Ruffy surmised the trade might be closing an existing position. It could also be an investor willing to buy the stock at $15 or sell it at $25 should Intel trade down or up to that level by the January 2012 expiration. The stock's option implied volatility, a barometer of anxiety, rose 3 percent to 34.5 percent.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1504 ET 12July2010
Projected earns moves based on straddle, volatility data
The following are projected moves in several stocks with quarterly earnings due today and Tuesday:
Data includes the stock's front-month July at-the-money (ATM) option implied volatility vs 30-day average (pct), the ATM straddle option price or percentage moves from optionMonster website:
Alcoa Volatility 80 vs 54 $0.78 straddle, or 7.3 percent move CSX Corp Volatility 70 vs 36, $3.48 straddle, or 6.8 percent move Novellus Systems Volatility 54 vs. 40, $1.30 straddle, or 4.5 percent move Fastenal Co Volatility 56 vs 38, $3.10 straddle, or 6 percent move Infosys Tech Volatility 54 vs 36, $3.00 straddle, or 4.8 percent move AAR Corp Volatility 92 vs 61, $1.40 straddle, or 8 percent move Intel Volatility 55 vs 36, $1.05 straddle, or 5.1 percent move YUM Brands Volatility 52 vs 31, $1.72 straddle, or 4.3 percent move
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
1730 ET 12July2010
Alcoa beats estimates, shares rise
Alcoa's shares rose more than 3 percent after the closing bell as the aluminum producer reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its estimate for global aluminum consumption.
Alcoa was up 3.3 percent at $11.23.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1715 ET 12July2010
Wall Street ekes out gain as caution rules before results
Caution prevailed in the U.S. stock market on Monday, with indexes edging higher as investors kept bets to a minimum in front of earnings.
Volume was among the lightest of the year with investors wanting to see if corporate outlooks validate last week's surge, the strongest week in a year.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1704 ET 12July2010
Option bear buys Casey's General put spread
Casey's General Stores Inc rose 13 cents to $35.97 after the U.S. convenience store chain reiterated its recommendation to shareholders to reject a takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Couche-Tard said on Monday it has extended its takeover bid for Casey's by nearly a month. Terms of the $36 per share offer were unchanged. In the options market, one investor is positioning for the bottom to fall out, said optionMonster analyst David Russell in comments on the website. OptionMonster's tracking system detected the purchase of about 3,400 Nov $35 puts for $1.90 and the sale of a matching number of Nov $30 puts for 60 cents, resulting in a debit of $1.30. The trade pushed total option volume to four times open interest in both strikes.
Casey's had been a steady growth stock for years, consistently improving earnings and book value while flying below the radar of many investors and analysts, he said. Casey's shares fell to $39.56 in early afternoon trade and the bearish put spread will earn a maximum profit of 285 percent if shares close at or below $30 on expiration. It never traded over $33.10 before the takeover bid, Russell said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1636 ET 12July2010
Intel option action heats up ahead of earnings
Option action is starting to heat up ahead of Intel Corp's quarterly results as traders exchanged about 176,000 contracts or 2.2 times the usual volume in the chipmaker. The earnings season kicks off on Tuesday with Intel's earnings after the close. According to Trade Alert, Intel's options volume was led by the trading of 121,000 call contracts with the July 2010 $21 call being the most popular In all, 33,150 contracts traded in the strike with 41 percent on the Bid and 36 percent on the Ask. The July $20 puts and calls were busy as well, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy.
'There seems to be a mix of buyers and sellers initiating today's trades,' he said. Monday's top trades included the longer-term January 2012 series and appear to be driven by a strangle writer, collecting $3.10 on the January $15-$25 strangle, which traded 5,000 times. Ruffy surmised the trade might be closing an existing position. It could also be an investor willing to buy the stock at $15 or sell it at $25 should Intel trade down or up to that level by the January 2012 expiration. The stock's option implied volatility, a barometer of anxiety, rose 3 percent to 34.5 percent.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1504 ET 12July2010
Projected earns moves based on straddle, volatility data
The following are projected moves in several stocks with quarterly earnings due today and Tuesday:
Data includes the stock's front-month July at-the-money (ATM) option implied volatility vs 30-day average (pct), the ATM straddle option price or percentage moves from optionMonster website:
Alcoa Volatility 80 vs 54 $0.78 straddle, or 7.3 percent move CSX Corp Volatility 70 vs 36, $3.48 straddle, or 6.8 percent move Novellus Systems Volatility 54 vs. 40, $1.30 straddle, or 4.5 percent move Fastenal Co Volatility 56 vs 38, $3.10 straddle, or 6 percent move Infosys Tech Volatility 54 vs 36, $3.00 straddle, or 4.8 percent move AAR Corp Volatility 92 vs 61, $1.40 straddle, or 8 percent move Intel Volatility 55 vs 36, $1.05 straddle, or 5.1 percent move YUM Brands Volatility 52 vs 31, $1.72 straddle, or 4.3 percent move
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.