Juniper Calls Rise; Stocks Ease

Stocks are slightly lower Monday in a session being led by oil services and
semiconductors. Forest and paper products and gold and silver are the groups
showing the most weakness.

At mid-day, the VIX has decreased .24 to 20.95.

The OEX August 805 calls are down 1/2 to 7.

Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:

Networkers are posting solid gains, with Juniper Networks
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gaining
7 1/4 to 167 3/16. The Juniper September 170 calls have risen 3 7/8 to 15 3/8 on
more than 3000 contracts.

In the semiconductor group, Micron
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has gained 4 1/16 to 79 11/16
while the Micron September 85 calls have added 1 5/8 to 5 3/4 on more than 2000
contracts.

Novellus
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is another strong semi, gaining 4 3/4 to 49 15/64. The
Novellus August 45 calls have risen 2 5/8 to 4 3/8 on triple the average volume.

Red Hat
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is up 2 1/16 to 22 1/8 while the Red Hat August 20 calls
have jumped 1 11/16 to 2 15/16 on double the average volume.

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.