Real-time equity news
U.S. stock market report
1725 ET 17Nov2010
Wall St ends flat, late selloff in banks
Investors were unable to recoup recent losses in the market on Wednesday, suggesting struggles recently experienced by stocks are far from over.
A late-day selloff did not inspire confidence. Volume was light and early buying faded, as financials led the market downward. The S&P 500 is down nearly 4 percent since Nov. 5 after rallying nearly 13 percent in September and October.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Editing by Andrew Hay
1610 ET 17Nov2010
UAL, Delta draw bullish options plays
United Continental Holdings and Delta Air Lines attracted bullish options plays. United shares rose 16 cents to $27.34 while Delta was steady at $13.21. In United, an investor paid 40 cents to buy about 11,200 Dec $29 calls and sold the same number of Dec $31 strike calls, said Interactive Brokers Group options analyst Caitlin Duffy. The trade would make a profit if shares surpass the break-even point at $29.40 by expiration. Delta had noteworthy trades. A strategist sold 10,000 January $17.5 calls to buy 10,000 March $17.5 calls, said optionsXpress analyst Joe Cusick. The call spread at 22 cents is cheap because the options are deep out-of-the-money. It appears to be a roll -- closing the January position to open a similar bullish trade in March $17.5 calls. The strategist might be buying two additional months of time and extending a bullish outlook on Delta, he said. Another Delta trade involved the purchase of the Dec $13-$15 call spread at 56 cents, 18,000 times, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1554 ET 17Nov2010
Trader rolls S&P 500 ETF put spread ahead of expiration
One trader appeared to have adjusted a put position in the SPDR S&P 500 fund known as the Spyders. The SPY, an exchange-traded fund that holds the same stocks as the S&P 500 index, is an options crowd favorite. In options action, one strategist apparently paid 54 cents for the November $119- December $115 SPY put spread which traded 47,000 times, said optionsXpress senior market analyst Joe Cusick. He figured the trade appeared to be a roll, or a closing a position in the November $119 puts, which are in-the-money heading into the expiration and opening a new position in the December out-of-the-money $115 puts. 'November options expire at the end of the week and this roll is probably a portfolio manager looking to hedge their portfolio an additional month,' he said. The fund's shares rose 16 cents to $118.28 near the close.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1532 ET 17Nov2010
AnnTayler options sentiment turns bullish ahead of earnings
Options sentiment in Women's clothing retailer AnnTaylor Stores Corp turned bullish ahead of its Friday morning third-quarter earnings release. The stock rose 5.30 pecent to $23.85 and its option volume is 4.6 times greater than the average daily levels with calls far outpacing puts. In all, about 7,201 calls versus only 569 puts changed hands in ANN by 3:31 p.m. EST with directional sentiment based on order flow at 86 percent bullish, according to Trade Alert. Earlier trades included a multi-exchange sweep of 4,982 November $25 calls at 30 cents per contract, and it looked like an opening buyer, said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy.
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 17Nov2010
Wall St ends flat, late selloff in banks
Investors were unable to recoup recent losses in the market on Wednesday, suggesting struggles recently experienced by stocks are far from over.
A late-day selloff did not inspire confidence. Volume was light and early buying faded, as financials led the market downward. The S&P 500 is down nearly 4 percent since Nov. 5 after rallying nearly 13 percent in September and October.
Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Editing by Andrew Hay
1610 ET 17Nov2010
UAL, Delta draw bullish options plays
United Continental Holdings and Delta Air Lines attracted bullish options plays. United shares rose 16 cents to $27.34 while Delta was steady at $13.21. In United, an investor paid 40 cents to buy about 11,200 Dec $29 calls and sold the same number of Dec $31 strike calls, said Interactive Brokers Group options analyst Caitlin Duffy. The trade would make a profit if shares surpass the break-even point at $29.40 by expiration. Delta had noteworthy trades. A strategist sold 10,000 January $17.5 calls to buy 10,000 March $17.5 calls, said optionsXpress analyst Joe Cusick. The call spread at 22 cents is cheap because the options are deep out-of-the-money. It appears to be a roll -- closing the January position to open a similar bullish trade in March $17.5 calls. The strategist might be buying two additional months of time and extending a bullish outlook on Delta, he said. Another Delta trade involved the purchase of the Dec $13-$15 call spread at 56 cents, 18,000 times, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1554 ET 17Nov2010
Trader rolls S&P 500 ETF put spread ahead of expiration
One trader appeared to have adjusted a put position in the SPDR S&P 500 fund known as the Spyders. The SPY, an exchange-traded fund that holds the same stocks as the S&P 500 index, is an options crowd favorite. In options action, one strategist apparently paid 54 cents for the November $119- December $115 SPY put spread which traded 47,000 times, said optionsXpress senior market analyst Joe Cusick. He figured the trade appeared to be a roll, or a closing a position in the November $119 puts, which are in-the-money heading into the expiration and opening a new position in the December out-of-the-money $115 puts. 'November options expire at the end of the week and this roll is probably a portfolio manager looking to hedge their portfolio an additional month,' he said. The fund's shares rose 16 cents to $118.28 near the close.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1532 ET 17Nov2010
AnnTayler options sentiment turns bullish ahead of earnings
Options sentiment in Women's clothing retailer AnnTaylor Stores Corp turned bullish ahead of its Friday morning third-quarter earnings release. The stock rose 5.30 pecent to $23.85 and its option volume is 4.6 times greater than the average daily levels with calls far outpacing puts. In all, about 7,201 calls versus only 569 puts changed hands in ANN by 3:31 p.m. EST with directional sentiment based on order flow at 86 percent bullish, according to Trade Alert. Earlier trades included a multi-exchange sweep of 4,982 November $25 calls at 30 cents per contract, and it looked like an opening buyer, said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy.
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.