Lucent Calls Gain; Stocks Finish Higher
A strong performance from Microsoft helped the Nasdaq post its fifth-straight
gain Wednesday, while the Dow and S&P 500 also moved higher in a quiet day
of trading. Oil services and biotechs were the top performing groups of the day,
while banks and broker/dealers ewere the weakest.
At the close, the VIX had decreased .20 to 23.45.
The OEX July 820 calls finished down 1/8 to10 3/4.
Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:
Helping the telecoms Wednesday was Lucent
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PowerRating), which gained 1 11/16 to 61
9/16. The Lucent July 60 calls rose 1 1/8 to 4 1/8 on quadruple average volume.
Microsoft
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PowerRating) added to early gains and closed up 5 3/4 to 80 11/16.
The Microsoft July 75 calls rose 4 3/4 to 8 on more than 10,000 contracts.
In the biotech arena, Geron
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PowerRating) rose 5 5/8 to 35 following the
granting of two patents in the United Kingdom for nuclear transfer technology.
The Geron July 35 calls rose 2 11/16 to 4 1/8 on triple average volume.
Internet content distributor Akamai
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PowerRating) rose 21 3/8 to 115 3/8 while
the Akamai August 110 calls gained 12 5/8 to 20 1/2 on triple average volume.
Looking ahead, the weekly unemployment numbers at 8:30 AM ET on Thursday.