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To: chic_hearne who wrote (48913)	12/18/2000 9:20:51 PM
From: Tassi	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 436258

Read this..and get your $$$ of the table. =DJ Options Report: Cisco Options Active As VIX Rises 18 Dec 15:33 By Gaston F. Ceron Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Options traders focused on call options in Cisco Systems Inc. and on the securities that track the Nasdaq 100 index during Monday's session. Out-of-the-money calls in Cisco traded actively at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. With the stock down 10.7%, or $5.17, at $43, traders focused on Cisco's January 50 and January 55 calls. At the Amex, the January 50 calls were recently down $1.88 at $1.88 on volume of 10,336 contracts. Open interest in these calls going into Monday's session stood at 71,417 contracts. An options trader at the CBOE, where 5,994 of Cisco's January 50 calls have traded, said he hasn't seen very many large orders, but that the options activity looks speculatively bullish for the underlying stock. "I think people think the stock looks cheap and they're taking a shot," the trader said. There has also been plenty of action on options on the Nasdaq 100 at the Amex. Most of this has come on out-of-the-money call options. Paul Foster, the options strategist at 1010WallStreet.com, said that some traders seem to be speculating on a Nasdaq rally materializing before year's end. But Foster was less sanguine. "I'm not bullish," he said. The action came as the stock market diverged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining ground while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped. Options traders appeared cautious, as the CBOE's Market Volatility Index, or VIX, which measures certain Standard & Poor's 100 option prices to determine investor sentiment, rose 0.18 to 31.38. Elsewhere in the options market: -The CBOE's equity put/call ratio recently stood at 0.45, with 269,805 puts and 600,295 calls traded so far. The ratio is traditionally interpreted as a contrarian sentiment indicator, which holds that if too many tradersare bullish, then the smart approach is to be bearish. Using this contrarian criteria, the index historically has been considered a bullish sentiment indicator if it is around 0.75 to 1; neutral from 0.40 to 0.75 and bearish if it is below 0.40. -The CBOE's index put/call ratio was recently at 0.90, with 52,266 index puts and 58,099 index calls traded so far. This ratio is also interpreted as a contrarian sentiment indicator. The index is considered bullish if the ratio is 1.5 or higher; neutral from 0.75 to 1.5 and bearish if it is below 0.75. -By Gaston F. Ceron, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5234; gaston.ceron@dowjones.com (END) DOW JONES NEWS 12-18-00 03:33 PM Copyright 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.