Oracle Calls Jump; Stocks Sag

Warnings from Gateway and Altera spooked stocks Thursday, and at the close
the Nasdaq was down 4%. Gold and silver was the top sector of the day while
semiconductors were the weakest.

At the close, the VIX had increased 2.36 to 32.56.

The OEX 730 calls finished down 2 1/4 to 5 1/4.

Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:

Oracle
(
ORCL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
built on early gains to finish up 3 5/8 to 26 1/2. The
Oracle December 22 1/2 calls ended up 2 1/2 to 5 1/8 on more than 21000
contracts.

Gateway
(
GTW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was the disaster of the day, falling 10.50 to 19.00
following an earnings warning. The Gateway December 25 puts soared 5.75 to 6.90
on heavier-than-average volume.

Microsoft
(
MSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell 7 11/16 to 57 3/8 and was one of the weakest Dow
performers. The MSFT December 60 calls fell 4 to 2 1/2 on more than 14,000
contracts.

McData
(
MCDT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
rose 11 to 54 3/4 while the McData December 60 calls
jumped 2 13/16 to 3 3/4 on more than 1000 contracts.