AMAT Calls Rise; Stocks Post Gains
Semiconductors rallied sharply Monday and led a broad rally in stocks that
sent the Nasdaq up 1.6% and the Dow and S&P 500 up 1.3%. Retailers and oil
services joined semis as the day’s top sectors while forest and paper products and
airlines were the weakest.
By the close, the VIX had decreased .94 to 20.25.
The OEX August 805 calls finished up 5 1/8 to 12 5/8.
Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:
Helping pace the semis was Applied Materials
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PowerRating), which added 5 5/8
to 74 13/16. The AMAT August 75 calls rose 1 3/8 to 2 1/16 on triple average
volume.
Also strong among the chip makers was Intel
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PowerRating), which gained 3 1/8
to 66 15/16. The Intel August 60 calls rose 2 5/8 to 6 7/8 on nearly 7000
contracts.
In the Dow, IBM
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PowerRating) gained 2 5/8 to 123 1/4 while the IBM August 120
calls lifted 1 1/2 to 4 on triple the average volume.
Networking company Novell
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PowerRating) jumped 1 13/16 to 11 on takeover
rumors. The Novell August 10 calls gained 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 on more than 6000
contracts.
Looking ahead, the July industrial production numbers are due out on Tuesday
at 9:15 AM ET, and analysts look for a 0.4% increase.