QQQ Volumes Top Volumes On All Four Option Exchanges
We’ve retaken the 10,000
level (notice my use of the metaphor we, just as the sportswriter does when he
speaks of how “we crushed the competitionâ€), but there has been little
enthusiasm on the trading floors around the country. Volumes are average, but
not spectacular and thus, not pointing towards any substantial institutional
follow-through despite the talking heads’ rhetoric about how oversold the market
may be.
One measure of how little
people care about the rally is that the Nasdaq 100
(
QQQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) leads the volume charts
on all four major option exchanges. Now on the AMEX, which used to be the sole
area the QQQ traded, the leadership position is understandable, but the fact
that a mere 17,000 contracts puts the QQQs atop the PCX leader board indicates
how little folks care about [|ORCLORCL],
(
GE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), which trail the QQQs.
In other words, in the
face of Oracle’s earnings after the close, those brave souls still willing to trade
are seeking diversification of a broad-based index rather than taking a shot on
a fallen angel. ORCL volatilities are sky-high, with March at-the-money 15s
trading 200% vol. April volatilities are likewise high, but “only†trading
100%.
One stock that has again
perked our attention is SEBL, which traded up to 31 1/4 this morning, but
collapsed back to 26 13/16 (as of 1:10 pm CST). Outside of SEBL, we’ve seen
some bearish option action in Boeing (BA) and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index
(OSX). The dollar-weighted money flow indicates significant profit-taking in a
number of energy issues, which is perhaps one positive indicator in an otherwise
lackluster day.
Bullish
$ Weighted Volumes
|
Symbol
|
Volume
|
Volume
|
Call
|
Put
|
|
QQQ
|
102,067
|
39,656
|
244,549
|
122,623
|
|
MSFT
|
13,551
|
5,725
|
47,063
|
17,771
|
Bearish $ Weighted Volumes
|
Symbol
|
Volume
|
Volume
|
Call
|
Put
|
|
BA
|
1,439
|
10,047
|
3,486
|
36,728
|
|
SII
|
1,207
|
5,298
|
3,168
|
35,392
|
|
OSX
|
3,290
|
3,799
|
11,594
|
32,558
|
(1010WallStreet.com
has licensed the use of Hamzei Analytics proprietary options analytics)