Market Summary
Stocks finished the way they started Monday. With European markets on break for holiday, much of the focus on Wall Street early in the day was on last week's disappointing jobs report. Although most financial markets were closed in the US for Good Friday, the Labor Department released its March jobs report and the headline number came in short of economist estimates. The US economy added just 120,000 jobs last month, according to the data. Economists were expecting to see an increase of more than 200,000. The unemployment rate was 8.2 percent and down from 8.3 percent from February. Hourly earnings rose .2 percent and .1 percent mot than expected. Stock market averages fell on the poor headline number when trading resumed Monday, but now earnings come into focus, as Alcoa unofficially kicks off the reporting season with a release after the closing Monday. However, the floodgate on first quarter earnings doesn't open for two more weeks. Instead, it seems that the jobs data and pre-earnings jitters drove the action Monday and, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average had pared its losses in afternoon action, it fell again in the final hour. The Dow lost 130 points on the day. The NASDAQ gave up 33.4 points.

Bullish Trends
Options on Intel (INTC) were actively traded today. Shares lost 31 cents to $27.76 and were among 28 Dow stocks to post losses. Only Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and McDonald's (MCD) ticked higher within the Dow Monday. Meanwhile, options volume in Intel included 86,000 calls and 43,000 puts, a ratio of two-to-one. A bullish July 26 – 29 risk-reversal was initiated on the stock and highlighted in the midday XPOUND. In this trade, the investor sold downside July 26 puts to buy upside July 29 calls. The largest options trades in Intel surfaced later, however, after 20,000 Jul 31 calls traded on the stock for 27 cents and 15,000 for 27 cents. The 35,000 contracts traded on the International Securities Exchange and data indicate the position was bought-to-open. If so, it's a bullish play and seems to express the view that Intel will be trading north of $31 (+11.7%) through the July expiration. Shares of the world's largest chipmaker have gained 14.5 percent so far in 2012.

Bullish trading was also seen in Synta Pharmaceuticals (SNTA), Cisco (CSCO), and AOL.

Bearish Trends
Sara Lee (SLE) slips 34 cents to $21.17 and options volume on the snack food company hit 10X the daily average, with 17,000 calls and 8,825 puts traded on the stock today. The top trades were part of a combination or "risk-reversal" after one strategist apparently sold 3557 May 21 calls on SLE at 72 cents to buy 3557 May 18 puts for a dime. The risk-reversal traded another 3557X at a 63-cent credit and appears to be opening activity. If so, the activity seems to reflect concerns about a possible drop in the stock price. A shareholder might have initiated the trade as a short-term hedge or "collar" on the stock. If so, the position would have a similar dynamic as writing an in-the-money covered call, but the downside puts, for a dime, offer some protection if the stock makes a dramatic move lower through mid-May.

Bearish trading was also seen in Supervalu (SVU), Hercules Offshore (HERO), and AIG.

Market Summary

Trading was cautious early, but market averages staged a late-day rally to finish mixed Thursday. A day of losses across Asia and Europe's equity markets set the stage for weakness on Wall Street after Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 1.3 percent and Germany's DAX paced losses across Europe with a 1.8 percent drop. The domestic economic news didn't help much after data showed filings for jobless benefits falling by 5,000 to multi-year lows of 359K last week. However, economists were expecting to see a greater decline to 350K. Separate data on GDP was up an annual rate of 3 percent in the fourth quarter, which was in-line with expectations. Meanwhile, crude oil lost another $2.14 to $103.27 per barrel, but gold erased early losses and added $3.6 to $1661.50 an ounce. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also staged a late-day rally and added 20 points on the day. The NASDAQ lost 9.6 points.

Bullish Trends

Activity in the coal sector is heating up late-Thursday. Market Vectors Coal Fund (KOL) hit a morning low of $31.22, but then rallied late in the day to finish up 21 cents to $31.97. Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), Pioneer Coal (PCX), and Arch Coal (ACI) saw impressive late day spikes, as did Peabody Energy (BTU). BTU shares gained 79 cents to $29.62 and finished up more than 5 percent off session lows on heavy volume of 12 million shares. Options action picked up as well. 17,000 calls and 10,000 puts traded on Peabody today. It's not clear what drove the late-day turnaround, but the group had been battered in recent months. BTU is down nearly 60 percent from the highs seen a year ago. End-of-quarter short-covering by hedge fund managers might have helped fuel the rally in the coal names Thursday.

Bullish trading was also seen in Tibco Software (TIBX), Rare Element (REE), and On Semiconductor (ONNN).

Bearish Trends

Options action picked up in JDS Uniphase (JDSU) Thursday. Shares of the Milpitas, CA telecomm equipment maker lost 2 cents to $14.57 on relatively light volume of 4.2 million. Typical share volume in JDSU is about 6 million. Meanwhile, 7,650 puts and 1,365 calls traded on the stock, which is about double the normal put volume in the name. The top trade was a 3,515-contract block of June 13 puts for 71 cents per contract, which was a buyer, according to data from one of the exchanges. At the end of the day, more than 5,500 June 13 puts traded on JDSU, as some investors appear to be anticipating a move to $13 or less through mid-June. Shares are up nearly 40 percent year-to-date and some investors are possibly buying the contact, which is 10.8 percent out-of-the-money, to hedge recent gains in the shares.

Bearish trading was also seen in Pulte Group (PHM), Ford (F), and Atmel (ATML).

Market Summary

Stock market averages are broadly higher after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged to help the economy. Speaking to National Association of Business Economics Monday morning, the head of the Fed said the US needs to grow at a faster-rate to bring down levels of unemployment. "Further significant improvements in the unemployment rate will likely require a more rapid expansion of production and demand from consumers and businesses, a process that can be supported by continued accommodative policies," according to Bernanke. Beyond that, it's been a relatively light news day. Trading was quiet overseas and Germany's DAX helped pace an advance across the Eurozone with a 1.2 percent gain. Crude oil prices are flat around $107 per barrel, but gold gained $24 to $1686.5 an ounce. On the economic calendar Monday, data showed Pending Home Sales falling .5 percent in February. Economists were looking for an uptick of .5 percent. The market showed little reaction to the poor number. Instead, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 113 points and the NASDAQ gained 36. CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) edged up .19 to 15.01. Overall options volume is light to start the week. 4.2 million calls and 3.2 million puts traded across all the exchanges through 11:15 Central Time.

Bullish Trends

Lion Gate Entertainment (LGF) hit a high of $15.4 per share after the movie studio's The Hunger Games was a big box office hit over the weekend. However, shares have come off their best levels and are now up 27 cents to $14.80. Meanwhile, options volume on the stock is running 3.5X the daily average. 32,000 calls and 13,000 puts traded on LGF so far. April 15 calls, which are now 20 cents out-of-the-money and expiring in 25 days, are the most actives. 4,480 traded. Similar action is being seen in the April 16 calls. About half of the volume these two contacts has traded on the bid, which indicates that some of the activity is possibly selling and perhaps closing trades. In addition, implied volatility is down 23.5 percent to 55 and also consistent with premium selling. Some investors possibly bought upside calls in anticipation of a strong movie debut and are now liquidating positions in a "buy the rumor, sell the news" reaction to the weekend results.

Akamai Technologies (AKAM) shares are up 98 cents to $37.60 and options on the Cambridge, MA Internet company are actively traded today. 6,690 calls and 710 puts traded on the stock so far. April 37 calls, which are now 60 cents in-the-money, are the most actives. 2,590 traded. April 38, 39 and 40 calls on the stock are busy as well. No headlines on the stock today, but levels of implied volatility in the options on AKAM jumped 20 percent to 30, suggesting that some investors are probably buying premium and expecting the rally in shares to continue in the weeks ahead. AKAM has already rallied 89 percent since September.

Bearish Trends

Electronic Arts (EA) is flat at $16.86 per share through midday Monday and options volume in the video game-maker is picking up today. 7,010 puts and 1,375 calls traded on the stock so far. The flow is heavily concentrated in the May 17 puts on the stock, which are now 14 cents in-the-money and expiring in 17 days. 6,290 traded against 2,062 in open interest. The top trade is a 1,763-contact block for $1.13 per contract on the ISE, which is an opening buyer, according to data from the exchange. Put buying in EA seems to be driving up levels of implied volatility up 4 percent to 34.5. There are no headlines on the stock to explain the bearish activity. Some investors might be buying puts to hedge stock after a period of relative weakness in EA. The stock is down more than 27 percent since October.

PowerShares Bullish Dollar Fund (UUP) is off 8 cents to $21.94 and has lost 2.1 percent since 3/14 following a recent rebound in the euro. UUP is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the dollar against a basket of major currencies, but is heavily weighted towards the EUR/USD pair, which accounts for more than half of the fund's value. One player seems to be anticipating limited upside for UUP and, in morning action Monday, sold 25,000 September 22 puts on the ETF at 56 cents per contract. The position appears to be a new one (volume exceeds open interest) and to express the view that shares will hold below $22 through the September expiration. A shareholder of the fund might have initiated the trade as part of a covered call on UUP.

Market Summary

Stock market averages remain mixed in the final hour of trading Wednesday. It's been a quiet and slow news day thus far. The economic calendar included Existing Homes Sales, which slipped to an annual rate of 4.59 million in February from 4.63 million the month before. The number was in-line with economist estimates and seemed to have little market impact. And there's not much news emerging from overseas. Stock benchmarks finished little changed across the Eurozone and the euro is down less than .2 percent and holding around 1.32 on the dollar. Crude oil gained $1 to $107.07 and gold added $6 to $1651 an ounce.

Bullish Trends

General Electric (GE) closed up 13 cents to $20.20 and one of 17 Dow stocks moving higher on a day of mixed trading Wednesday. Options action in GE is interesting, as 124,000 calls and 31,000 puts traded on the stock, which is a ratio of four-to-one. Midday trades included a buyer of 12,600 May 22 calls on GE for 11 cents per contract on NYSE. A source at the exchange says an investor bought the block. Another 12,500 May 22 calls traded on the AMEX and 10,000 on ISE. Options are multiply listed today and can trade on any one of nine exchanges. All told, more than 45,000 May 22 calls have traded on General Electric across the different exchange, with buyers taking positions and apparently looking for the stock to rally beyond $22 through the May expiration; which represents a 9.2 percent advance over the next 58 days. The stock has performed well in the past two weeks and has already rallied 9 percent since March 6.

Bullish trading was also seen in Linkedin (LNKD), Lulumon Athletica (LULU), and JDS Uniphase (JDSU).

Bearish Trends

Chesapeake (CHK), a Oklahoma City, OK natural gas company, closed down 39 cents to finish $25.19 and options on the stock actively traded Wednesday. 29,000 puts and 9,780 calls traded today. More than half of the put volume was apparently due to one spread trade, in which the investor bought 5,000 April 25 puts on CHK for 87 cents and sold 10,000 April 23 puts at 28 cents. This 1X2 spread traded for 31 cents on the ISE, where data indicate 1 put was bought, 2 sold, and a new position is being opened. If so, the spread is a bearish play that offers its best payout if CHK falls to $23 at the April expiration, or roughly 9 percent drop in 30 days. The debit is at risk if shares stay above the higher strike and the position is held through the expiration. There is additional risk to the downside when opening put ratio spreads because not all of the lower strike puts, which are sold, are covered by the higher strike puts, which are bought.

Bearish trading was also seen in Live Nation (LYV), Assured Guaranty (AGO), and Community Health (CYH).

Market Summary

Market averages have been rangebound on a light news Monday. The only economic stat released today was the NAHB Homebuilder's Sentiment Index, which was unchanged at 28 for March. Economists were expecting an increase to 31. There was little reaction to the data. Instead, stocks seemed to find some support from news that tech behemoth Apple Computer is increasing its dividend and buying back stock. A .5 percent gain in the euro, which is now at 1.324 against the dollar, seems to be getting noticed as well. However, longer-term Treasury bonds are under pressure and yields are rising. The yield on the ten-year is up to 2.4 percent from 1.95 percent two weeks ago. Crude oil prices, which could potentially drag on the economy as well, rose 92 cents to $108.50 per barrel. Yet, so far, the prospects of higher rates and energy prices have failed to derail the bulls. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has added another 10 points. With fifteen minutes left to trade, the tech-heavy NASDAQ is up 25 points.

Bullish Trends

Options on American Eagle Mines (AEM) were actively traded Monday. Shares of the Toronto-based gold miner are off 56 cents to $33.23 and options volume is 4X the daily average. 42,000 calls and 1,500 puts traded on the stock so far. Most of the options activity was due to spread trading. For example, in morning action, one strategist sold 10,000 August 40 calls on AEM, bought 5,000 August 32.5 calls and bought 5,000 August 37.5 calls. Taken together, the three legs of the spread form an August 32.5 – 40 – 47.5 call butterfly spread. A $1.95 net debit was apparently paid to initiate the position and it traded more than once. Volume in the 40s, which represents the sweet spot of the spread, is more than 20,000. AEM is down more than 50% since August 2011 and the spread seems to be targeting a rebound (of about 20 percent) through mid-August 2012.

Bullish trading was also seen in BMC Software (BMC), Moody's (MCO), and Mosaic (MOS).

Bearish Trends

Options action picked up in BB&T (BBT) Monday. Shares of the Winston-Salem, NC regional bank are up 30 cents to $31.33 and notching new 52-week highs after rallying 10.7 percent in less than two weeks. BBT is now up nearly 50 percent from late-November lows. One investor might be looking to protect recent gains in shares, as a 9,000-contract block of April 31 puts traded on the bank for 75 cents per contract when the market was 71 to 76 cents. 10,360 now traded against just 297 contracts of open interest. Implied volatility in the options on the stock moved up 11.5 percent to 22.5, which is also consistent with put buying in BBT on Monday. Total volume is 13,000 puts and 8,000 calls, which is 4X the daily average for the name.

Bearish trading was also seen in Ralph Lauren (RL), Sunpower Tech (SPWR), and Key Bank (KEY).