Real-time equity news
U.S. stock market report 1725 EST 20Jan2011 BofA options turn active before earnings
Bank of America is attracting heavy options trading as players take positions ahead of earnings, said OptionsXpress senior market analyst Joe Cusick. The bank is one of two Dow components due to release results Friday morning. General Electric Co is also expected to announce earnings on Friday. BofA shares close up 1.18 percent to $14.54.
In the U.S. options market, about 497,000 puts and 545,000 calls changed hands in BofA, or double the usual volume, according to Trade Alert. Sentiment appears to be even. Some investors are probably liquidating put positions ahead of the news and before the contracts come off the board on Friday after the close, Cusick said. The soon-to-expire January $15 calls, which were also busy on Wednesday, have traded another 142,136 times, with 48 percent of the volume trading at the ask, as some investors appear to be buying premium ahead of the news. The January $15 calls would need to move above $15.00 for those calls to be in-the-money by Friday's close, Cusick said. Right now, Cusick noted the at-the-money January straddle is pricing in about a 1.3 percent plus or minus move for Bofa post earnings.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1650 EST 20Jan2011
Google shares rise as profit beats, Page becomes CEO
Shares of Google Inc advanced 2.7 percent to $643.53 in extended trading after the world's No. 1 search engine released better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit estimates.
Google also announced the firm's co-founder Larry Page will become the new chief executive officer, overseeing day-to-day operations, while current CEO Eric Schmidt will assume the role of executive chairman.
For details, see For Instant View, see
Reuters Messaging: alina.selyukh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
1640 EST 20Jan2011
Dow, S&P edge lower; F5 earnings hurt Nasdaq
Stocks fell on Thursday as lackluster tech and materials earnings failed to live up to heightened expectations, threatening to short-circuit a seven-week run.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 2.49 points, or 0.02 percent, to 11,822.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.66 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,280.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 21.07 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,704.29.
For details, see
Reuters Messaging: alina.selyukh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
1550 EST 20Jan2011
Players circle GE April calls ahead of earnings
Traders are snapping up April calls in General Electric Co ahead of its earnings report on Thursday morning, said optionMonster co-founder Pete Najarian in comments on the web site. Shares of GE, the largest U.S. conglomerate, rose 10 cents to $18.43 near the close. 'GE has been on a rocket ship since Dec. 1, moving from $16 to touch $19, though it has settled back to trade $18.49 this afternoon,' he said. 'The company has spent more than $6 billion in acquisitions in recent months, and investors have been attracted to its 3 percent dividend yield as well as its growth prospects.'
OptionMonster tracking systems show option trading is generally mixed at various strikes, but it has detected some sizable blocks of April $21 calls that began trading this morning and throughout the day. About 13,300 calls have changed hands in a strong buying pattern for 12 to 15 cents per contract against open interest of 3,732 contracts. For those calls to turn a profit, the stock would need to gain more than 14 percent by expiration in mid-April, Najarian said, who also owns GE shares. GE has not been above $21 since early November 2008.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1550 EST 20Jan2011-Options investors see Google moving 5 pct post
earnings
Options investors are pricing in a potential move of about 5 percent for Google's stock after the company reports earnings after the bell on Thursday.
For details, see
Google Inc, the world's No.1 Internet search engine, is expected to report a 22 percent jump in fourth-quarter revenue, thanks to a strong holiday season.
Shortly before the bell, Google shares were muted, up 0.9 percent at $626.20.
Reuters Messaging: alina.selyukh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
1539 EST 20Jan2011 Option bears scoop up Yingli Green puts
It appears some investors are taking out some disaster insurance in China's Yingli Green Energy, said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy. The U.S.-listed shares of Yingli, one of the world's largest makers of solar equipment, rose 0.02 percent to $11.37. In the options market, the focus is on the out-of-the-money June $6 strike puts, which have traded 4,613 times, according to Trade Alert. The top trade is 500 contracts at a premium of 15 cents on the International Securities Exchange and an opening buyer, according to ISEE data. The total of 4,200 puts or 98 percent of the volume in Yingli on the ISE, are opening buyers, he said. In all, 6,106 puts and 1,197 calls traded in Yingli, or 2.4 times the usual volume by late afternoon and directional sentiment based on order flow was 64 percent bearish, Trade Alert data showed. The demand for options helped lift the stock's option implied volatility up 4.5 percent to 47.5 percent, suggesting uncertainty.
There was no apparent news on the stock.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. 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 EST 20Jan2011 BofA options turn active before earnings
Bank of America is attracting heavy options trading as players take positions ahead of earnings, said OptionsXpress senior market analyst Joe Cusick. The bank is one of two Dow components due to release results Friday morning. General Electric Co is also expected to announce earnings on Friday. BofA shares close up 1.18 percent to $14.54.
In the U.S. options market, about 497,000 puts and 545,000 calls changed hands in BofA, or double the usual volume, according to Trade Alert. Sentiment appears to be even. Some investors are probably liquidating put positions ahead of the news and before the contracts come off the board on Friday after the close, Cusick said. The soon-to-expire January $15 calls, which were also busy on Wednesday, have traded another 142,136 times, with 48 percent of the volume trading at the ask, as some investors appear to be buying premium ahead of the news. The January $15 calls would need to move above $15.00 for those calls to be in-the-money by Friday's close, Cusick said. Right now, Cusick noted the at-the-money January straddle is pricing in about a 1.3 percent plus or minus move for Bofa post earnings.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1650 EST 20Jan2011
Google shares rise as profit beats, Page becomes CEO
Shares of Google Inc advanced 2.7 percent to $643.53 in extended trading after the world's No. 1 search engine released better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit estimates.
Google also announced the firm's co-founder Larry Page will become the new chief executive officer, overseeing day-to-day operations, while current CEO Eric Schmidt will assume the role of executive chairman.
For details, see For Instant View, see
Reuters Messaging: alina.selyukh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
1640 EST 20Jan2011
Dow, S&P edge lower; F5 earnings hurt Nasdaq
Stocks fell on Thursday as lackluster tech and materials earnings failed to live up to heightened expectations, threatening to short-circuit a seven-week run.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 2.49 points, or 0.02 percent, to 11,822.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.66 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,280.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 21.07 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,704.29.
For details, see
Reuters Messaging: alina.selyukh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
1550 EST 20Jan2011
Players circle GE April calls ahead of earnings
Traders are snapping up April calls in General Electric Co ahead of its earnings report on Thursday morning, said optionMonster co-founder Pete Najarian in comments on the web site. Shares of GE, the largest U.S. conglomerate, rose 10 cents to $18.43 near the close. 'GE has been on a rocket ship since Dec. 1, moving from $16 to touch $19, though it has settled back to trade $18.49 this afternoon,' he said. 'The company has spent more than $6 billion in acquisitions in recent months, and investors have been attracted to its 3 percent dividend yield as well as its growth prospects.'
OptionMonster tracking systems show option trading is generally mixed at various strikes, but it has detected some sizable blocks of April $21 calls that began trading this morning and throughout the day. About 13,300 calls have changed hands in a strong buying pattern for 12 to 15 cents per contract against open interest of 3,732 contracts. For those calls to turn a profit, the stock would need to gain more than 14 percent by expiration in mid-April, Najarian said, who also owns GE shares. GE has not been above $21 since early November 2008.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1550 EST 20Jan2011-Options investors see Google moving 5 pct post
earnings
Options investors are pricing in a potential move of about 5 percent for Google's stock after the company reports earnings after the bell on Thursday.
For details, see
Google Inc, the world's No.1 Internet search engine, is expected to report a 22 percent jump in fourth-quarter revenue, thanks to a strong holiday season.
Shortly before the bell, Google shares were muted, up 0.9 percent at $626.20.
Reuters Messaging: alina.selyukh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
1539 EST 20Jan2011 Option bears scoop up Yingli Green puts
It appears some investors are taking out some disaster insurance in China's Yingli Green Energy, said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy. The U.S.-listed shares of Yingli, one of the world's largest makers of solar equipment, rose 0.02 percent to $11.37. In the options market, the focus is on the out-of-the-money June $6 strike puts, which have traded 4,613 times, according to Trade Alert. The top trade is 500 contracts at a premium of 15 cents on the International Securities Exchange and an opening buyer, according to ISEE data. The total of 4,200 puts or 98 percent of the volume in Yingli on the ISE, are opening buyers, he said. In all, 6,106 puts and 1,197 calls traded in Yingli, or 2.4 times the usual volume by late afternoon and directional sentiment based on order flow was 64 percent bearish, Trade Alert data showed. The demand for options helped lift the stock's option implied volatility up 4.5 percent to 47.5 percent, suggesting uncertainty.
There was no apparent news on the stock.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. 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.