Holding Our Breath
With the U.S. Supreme Court decision expected this morning, both the nation and the
options market can at last, perhaps, begin to establish a “life” outside of
politics, come this afternoon. Yesterday’s tech rally, spawned by the expectation of a
pro-Bush ruling, has been placed in abeyance early today, as market players cautiously
watch from the sidelines. We still have a few twists in front of us. A Seminole/Martin
County decision could send the markets spiraling south and SCOTUS remanding to the Florida
Supreme Court will place this election in the hands of the legislature, which will cause a
hiccup, too.
We’re sitting tight.
Our data shows call sellers coming out in force this morning, especially in the tech
sector.
Pre-open order volume was moderate again today. Overall, call sellers led buyers 3:2,
and put sellers led buyers 3:2. The top five order volume leaders were as follows:
(
SUNW |
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PowerRating),
(
INTC |
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PowerRating),
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CSCO |
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MSFT |
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(
AMAT |
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PowerRating). In pre-bell activity, INTC call sellers outnumber
buyers 3:1. CSCO call sellers outnumber buyers 3:1 as well, while put sellers are coming
out in force. SUNW put buyers outnumber sellers 4:1. AMAT call sellers dominate buyers
2:1. MSFT call sellers led buyers at 4:1.
First hour volume remained moderate. Overall, call sellers were even with buyers at
1:1, and put sellers led buyers 3:2. The top five order volume leaders were as
follows: INTC,
(
LU |
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PowerRating), SUNW,
(
QCOM |
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PowerRating), and CSCO. INTC put sellers outnumber buyers 5:2.
(
WCOM |
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PowerRating) put
buyers outgun sellers 7:1, while call sellers lead buyers 2:1. LU call sellers outpace
buyers 5:2. MSFT call buyers have come out now, leading sellers 2:1.
(
WMT |
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PowerRating) put sellers
preponderate 4:1.
We’re still going to wait until we get a consecutive set of moves
to enter into a directional spread. Volatility might drift, so we’ll be looking for
any better-than-average opportunities.