Juniper Calls Jump; Market Ends Mixed

A resurgent SOX helped spur the Nasdaq on to a 2.6% gain Wednesday, but the
Dow and S&P drifted the opposite direction as blue chips took a breather.

At the close, the VIX was down .40 to 24.22.

The OEX February 690 calls lost 2.00 to 1.70.

Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:

Juniper
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jumped 10 1/2 to 89 3/8 as select techs soared. The
Juniper February 85 calls added 4 1/4 to 5 3/4 on more than 1400 contracts.

Veritas Software
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rose 6 3/4 to 76 3/8 while the VRTS February 80
puts fell 5 1/4 to 4 7/8 on more than 10,000 contracts.

Lucent
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lost .84 to 12.70 as telecom remained under pressure. The
Lucent April 10 puts added .25 to .70 on more than 27,000 contracts.

Mercury Interactive
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jumped 10 3/16 to 77 1/16 while the MERQ
February 80 calls added 1 1/2 to 2 on heavier-than-average volume.