EMC Puts Jump; Techs Tank

Techs tanked Wednesday following a slew of downgrades, and that handed the
Nasdaq a 7.1% loss. Gold and silver was the strongest sector while Internets were
the weakest.

At the close, the VIX had increased 4.29 to 35.02.

The OEX January 700 calls finished down 6 to 9.

Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:

Bellwether EMC
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fell 7 3/8 to 55 5/8 along with the rest of the tech
sector. The EMC January 75 puts soared 6 3/8 to 21 on more than 15,000
contracts.

Cisco
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lost 5 1/4 to 36 1/2 while the Cisco January 35 puts calls
jumped 1 5/8 to 3 5/8 on more than 14,000 contracts.

Goldman Sachs
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was one of the few winners of the day, rising 5/8 to
90. The Goldman Sachs January 90 calls added 7/8 to 7 3/8 on more than 9000
contracts.