WorldCom Calls Sink; Stocks Mixed

Stocks are mixed Wednesday following Tuesday’s big 5.6% Nasdaq surge. Oil
services and Internets are the day’s top sectors while telecom is the weakest.

At mid-day, the VIX has increased .15 to 26.14.

The OEX 740 calls are up 2 1/2 to 23 3/4.

Among bigger movers on heavier-than-average volume:

WorldCom
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is down 4 1/2 to 19 1/4 following word the company will
restructure. The WCOM November 22 1/2 calls are down 1 15/16 to 7/16 on more
than 15,000 contracts.

Yahoo!
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is leading the Internets back from their lows with a 5 1/2
point gain to 64 1/8. The YHOO November 75 calls have risen 1 1/4 to 2 1/16 on
triple average volume.

Hewlett Packard
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has fallen 1 9/16 to 44 15/16 while the November 45
puts have gained 1 to 3 3/8 on more than 3000 contracts.

Internet incubator ICGE
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has added 2 1/4 to 15 1/2 while the ICGE
November 15 calls have gained 1 1/4 to 2 1/16 on triple the average volume.