Morgan Stanley Puts Jump; Stocks Head Lower
Stocks continued to show weakness Friday despite a September employment
report that analysts generally felt showed few inflationary pressures. Utilities
and gaming were the top sectors while broker/dealers and Internets were the weakest.
At the close, the VIX had increased 2.04 to 25.67.
The OEX 770 calls finished down 5 7/8 to 5 3/8.
Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:
Broker/dealers were sharply lower, and leading the sector to the downside was
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
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PowerRating), which fell 7 3/4 to 84 1/4. The MWD
October 85 puts gained 3 1/4 to 4 1/8 on more than 1000 contracts.
America Online
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PowerRating) slipped 2.37 to 59.13. The
AOL October 60 calls fell 2.20 to .75 on more than 14,000 contracts.
B2Bs were under pressure, and VerticalNet
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PowerRating) was no exception, as it
fell 6 13/16 to 21 3/4. The VERT November 20 puts gained 2 7/16 to 3 3/8 on
heavier-than-average volume.
Wells Fargo
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PowerRating) fell 1 1/8 to 46 9/16 while the Wells Fargo April 01 45
calls slipped 1 3/4 to 4 7/8 on more than 10,000 contracts.