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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lucretius who wrote (236113)	4/17/2003 8:07:29 AM
From: Secret_Agent_Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

right on sheddule, let's see if he takes the bananna or slips on it...again-sssss

To: Lucretius who wrote (236113)	4/17/2003 8:16:20 AM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

yep but today is the last of this nonsense. Next week that monkey becomes ground meat.

To: Lucretius who wrote (236113)	4/17/2003 8:29:41 AM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Option Traders Expect Volatility to Be Muted By KOPIN TAN DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK -- As April options trade their final session Thursday, traders looking to May and the summer months generally expect volatility to stay subdued compared with pronounced levels earlier this year. Implied volatility in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index has declined substantially during the past month, a sign options traders see less risk in the market. The Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index has fallen about 28% to a 10-month low. In the technology sector, the CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index has declined 19% and hovers just above its lowest reading in about four years. "We anticipate that both realized and implied volatility will continue their decline as option traders shift their attention to economic fundamentals and seasonaility," said Mika Toikka, Credit Suisse First Boston's head of options strategy. "Typically, the April/May time frame sees a significant decline in volatility as traders sell volatility in anticipation of summer doldrums." Already, several large companies have reported sound first-quarter results, but have offered guarded forecasts. "It looks almost like we have to wait for the next earnings period to get a better economic picture," said Peter Dunay, chief market strategist at Wall Street Access. "A lot of traders probably think the early part of the summer isn't going to be very active. So they rather sell some option premium, and that could keep volatility levels down." Another sign of investor confidence: The skew, or differential, between out-of-the-money puts and calls typically shows a slope as investors bid up downside protection. But that skew has remained flat for some time as investors keep up demand for calls to position for rallies. "However, if the market fails to rally in the near term, look for a rapid normalization of the volatility skew," Mr. Toikka said. "The flat skew also suggests that if there is a negative shock in the market, we are likely to sell off significantly as downside risk gets repriced." Given the signs of complacency in the tech sector, some investors played it safe and bought downside protection, taking advantage of the recent declines in premiums. In the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock, or QQQ, an investor bought thousands of June 24 puts. The QQQ closed down four cents at $26.24. Its June 24 puts traded more than 93,500 contracts, compared with open interest of 73,309 contracts, and fell five cents to 55 cents at the American Stock Exchange. Texas Instruments' calls saw active trade. More than 40,000 calls traded, compared with about 7,000 puts, said Jon Najarian, a CBOE trader. "With strong earnings from companies" such as International Business Machines and Intel, "people may believe we are so close to the market bottom, if not already at it, that they are positioning for a rebound," he said. In 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading Wednesday, Texas Instruments rose $1.78 to $19. The May 17.50 calls traded nearly 13,000 contracts, compared with open interest of 14,528 contracts, and gained 95 cents to $1.95 at the CBOE. Write to Kopin Tan at kopin.tan@dowjones.com1