IBM Puts Soar; Stocks Struggle
Earnings worries continued to weigh on stocks Wednesday as the Dow took a big
early-morning hit after IBM warned of potential revenue problems. Stocks battled
back from early declines, and at the close, the Dow was down 1.1%, the Nasdaq
had lost 1.3%, and the S&P 500 eased 0.6%.
At the close, the VIX had decreased .29 to 32.42.
The OEX October 720 calls closed down 1 3/4 to 2 1/4.
Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:
IBM
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PowerRating) was the day’s big train wreck, falling 17 9/16 to 95 7/16. The
IBM October 110 puts gained 11 1/8 to 14 3/8 on heavier-than-average volume.
AOL
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PowerRating) gained 3.31 to 46.94 ahead of its earnings announcement. The AOL
October 50 calls rose .30 to 1.25 on more than 12,000 contracts.
EMC
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PowerRating) fell 4 15/16 to 90 while the EMC October 90 puts rose 13/16 to
2 7/16 on more than 8000 contracts.
Texas Instruments
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PowerRating) fell 3 5/16 to 36 7/8 and was one of the
weakest-performing semiconductor stocks. The TXN October 40 puts jumped 2 3/4 to
4 7/8 on heavier-than-average volume.