The Option Block

Trading Block: A mild market rally today. VIX cash back below the 14-handle. TSLA recovering from some recent losses; was up over 2% at mid-day. Yellen says Fed might hike interest rates relatively soon. Jobless claims in U.S. declined to lowest level in four decades. Odd Block: Size calls trade in Financial Select SPDR (XLF), calls trade in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and puts trade in Freeport...

Trading Block: U.S. stock market Trump rally loses steam. Oil gets left behind in post-Trump rally. Trump presidency raises questions on the future of Wall St. regulation. Odd Block: Calls trade in Canadian Natural Resources LTD (CNQ), calls trade in Financial Select SPDR (XLF) and calls trade in Square Inc (SQ) Mail Block/Options #Question of the Week: $TSLA ($182.50, down 3%, IV30:41, HV30:31) S...

Trading Block: Volume in non-U.S. trading hours sets a new daily record. Pharma pop on Hillary loss. Earnings After the Bell: DIS - $95.72, ATM Straddle = $2.70, approx. 3% NVDA - $68, ATM Straddle = $5.40, approx. 8% JWN - $57.10, ATM Straddle = $4.85, approx. 8.5% Odd Block: Calls roll in YRC Worldwide Inc (YRC), calls trade in Huntington Bankshares Inc. (HBAN) and calls trade in Financial Selec...

Trading Block: Dow soars 300 points after FBI clears Clinton again. Are certain volatility funds raising election risk for the stock market? Earnings today after the bell Fogo de Chao Hertz Global Holdings Marriott International - ATM Straddle = $2.75, approx. 4% The Priceline Group - ATM Straddle = $82, approx. 5.5% Odd Block: Calls trade in SPDR KBW Bank ETF (KBE), calls and puts trade in iShare...

Trading Block: Wrapping up the week in options Earnings this Week: Alibaba (Wednesday before the bell). Close: $101.15, ATM Straddle: $5.46. Open up: $2.65, Traded up: $2.95. Facebook (Wednesday after the bell). Close: $127.17, ATM Straddle: $6.68. Open down: $5.17, Traded down: $7.56. Starbucks. Close: $52, ATM Straddle: $2.45 - 4.7% OCC cleared contract volume down 13% in October. Options #Quest...

Trading Block: The tumultuous presidential election could peak the VIX today. Emotional uncertain about the election? Stick to your investing plan . Odd Block: Calls trade in Metlife Inc. (MET), calls and puts trade in Holly Frontier Corp (HFC) and puts trade in Encana Corp (ECA). Mail Block/ Options #QuestionOfTheWeek: Special #Earnings, #Election, #WorldSeries edition $FB ATM strd=$7.30 $VIX=17....

Trading Block/Earnings Palooza! Before the Bell: TSLA: stock up 1.5%, $12.30 (6%) AAPL: stock closed $118.25, but dropped nearly $5 the next trading day - now trading around $115, straddle $5.25 (4.5%) TWTR: ATM straddle - $2.10, approx. 12% - stock nearly unchanged today. After the Bell: GOOG: ATM straddle - $39.45, approx. 5% AMZN: ATM straddle - $50 - approx. 6% Odd Block: Calls trade in Gilead...

Trading Block: Earnings today before the bell: T-Mobile USA, Inc. Earnings today after the bell: Visa Inc. S&P 500 Skew Unwind Shows Complacency Over Clinton Win: Analysis . TD Ameritrade to buy Scottrade in two-step deal with TD Bank: Read more . Odd Block: Calls trade in Fiat Chrysler Auto (FCAU), puts trade in Time Warner Inc. (TWX), calls and puts trade in CBS Corp. (CBS). Mail Block/QuestionO...

TRADING BLOCK Earnings highlights today: Before the bell: American Airlines, Dunkin Brands, Verizon Communications, Textron (TXT), Illinois Tool Works (ITW) and Union Pacific (UNP) After the bell: E*Trade Financial Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, PayPal Holdings The return of pit trading? CFTCs Massad wants access to automated trader source code. A Nasdaq speed upgrade is threatening IEX. Reso...

Trading Block: Earnings today before the bell: Bank of America (BAC) leading off before the market opened Monday with a positive result. Earnings today after the bell: IBM: $154.50, ADV 23K; Today over 50k, ATM Straddle: $6.50, approx. 4% Resources mentioned in the show: OptionsHouse blog Options market sees Netflix as a coiled spring ahead of earnings CEO sold millions in Wells Fargo stock before...

Trading Block: Dow drops amid weak China data and rate fears. Will it be a cold winter? Will that spike energy prices? WTF Fed? Airline earnings Odd Block: Calls and puts trade in Johnson Controls Intl (JCI), call buyers in Blackstone Group LP (BX), calls trade in Tenet Healthcare Inc (THC) Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw discusses income strategies. Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question...

Trading Block: Deutsche Bank says derivatives exposure fears overblown. Twitter shares plunge on report bidders are scarce. TWTR off 11% - back around $17.50. Dow soars as traders await earnings season; Nasdaq near record high. Odd Block: Calls trade in Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETE), calls trade in Boston Scientific Corp (BSX), and calls trade in Nabors Industries LTD (NBR). Mail Block/Options...

Trading Block: An anemic day in the market. Deutsche Bank does not need a bailout for now, IMF says. DB-$13.50; normal ADV is around 30k, today it was over 65k. Twitter shares plunge on report bidders are scarce. TWTR off 20%. Odd Block: Puts trade in JP MorganChase and Co. (JPM), calls trade in Wal-mart Stores, Inc (WMT), puts trade in Lowes Companies, Inc (LOW). Strategy Block: Mike discusses we...

Trading Block: It is that time of the month: OCC Cleared Contract volume up 2% in September. Exchange-listed options volume reached 357,041,027 contracts in September, up one percent from September 2015 volume of 354,782,668 contracts. TSLA: Quarterly sales numbers are strong. 70% increase in delivered cars over Q2. Production up 35%. Odd Block: Puts trade in Deutsche Bank AG (DB), alls roll out i...

Today we have a very special guest co-host, Benjamin Londergan, Executive Managing Director and Head of Options Trading and Technology, Convergex. Trading Block: Most indices closed sharply lower. That means the VIX closed higher. Was Deutsche Bank the biggest story of the day? The media dropped the dreaded "D" word. Crude is up again. Revisiting the CBOE/BATS deal. Odd Block: Size PFE time spread...

Trading Block: Vol begins to head north again after a big selloff in VIX on Friday. The debates are coming! Merkel has no love for Deutsche Bank. Golf loses a king, Arnold Palmer. What can investors learn from his endorsements? Are you seeing Trump in the rearview mirror? CBOE agrees to buy market operator Bats for $3.2 Billion. With a B. Interesting turn into exchange consolidation rather than fr...

Trading Block: VIX apocalypse post-Fed. It looks like we were not pessimistic enough on Vol Views last week! How will next weeks first Presidential debate effect vol? Wall Street extends rally after Fed rate decision. Fed is perilously close to losing its credibility, says economist. Odd Block: Calls trade in ETSY Inc (ETSY), from Monday, calls trade in Bank of America Corp (BAC), calls trade in E...

Trading Block: AAPL! It is no longer the Feds market, it is now Apple's market. Last week Apple essentially carried the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ, having one of its best weeks ever climbing 12% in only 5 days, or more than $75B in market cap! NASDAQ: The NASDAQ is now less than 1% away from hitting fresh all-time highs - The current all-time high is 5,287.61. Odd Block: Calls trade in Infoblox Inc...

Trading Block: Volatility is coming back! Wall Street gains on Apple, dimmer chances of rate hike. Odd Block: Calls trade in Lending Club Corp (LC), calls trade in Infoblox Inc (BLOX), and calls trade in Technology SPDR (XLK) Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from Yukoner: Do you ever do spreads in LEAPS? Why and how? So I used trade the LEAPS rather than guy the stock. Is that...

Trading Block: Dow rebounds 130 points amid rate hike debate. Vol explodes higher and the bulls' confidence is tested. TSLA: Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. fell in pre-market trading but was slightly higher after the open. SSNLF: Shares of the world's biggest smartphone maker plunged 7% Monday. Odd Block: Calls trade in Gold Fields Ltd (GFI), calls trade in Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN), puts trade i...

Trading Block: August this year was the lowest average daily volume for puts and calls since October 2012. Stocks to Watch: TWTR - Stock off over 5% AAPL - World not enthused with new iPhone, stock off nearly 3% TSLA - Stock back below $200 - With the combined weight of SCTY deal controversy, cash squeeze and SpaceX explosion. SBUX - CEO endorses Hilary, stock off nearly 2%. Crude stock drop spark...

Trading Block: OCC Cleared Contract volume down 24% in August. Earnings today: (before the bell) Campbell Soup Co., Lands End, Vera Bradley; (after the bell) Lululemon Athletica Inc. Bill Gross says Janet Yellen has "Mastered the art of market manipulation." U.S. stocks turn lower to start September on unsteady footing as energy sinks. Odd Block: Puts trade in Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM), c...

Trading Block: Stocks to Watch: Mylan, Herbalife, and Caesars Entertainment. Mylan on Monday said it would launch a generic alternative to EpiPen at a 50% discount after being criticized for dramatically raising the price of the lifesaving drug. Shares gained 2.4% to $44.05 in premarket trading. Carl Icahn bought more shares in Herbalife on Friday, just days after he weighed selling his stake in t...

Trading Block: Earnings today include: Gamestop, Ulta Salon, Cosmetics and Fragrance. Gamestop (GME) is at $32.21, ATM straddle: $1.50, or approx. 4.6%. Stocks to Watch: Mylan, Medtronic, Signet Jewelers, Sears, Guess. Mylan NV responded Thursday to backlash over price increases for its EpiPen emergency allergy treatment by promising to reduce the costs that some patients pay, though the drugmaker...

Trading Block: The one- year anniversary of the 8/24 flash crash looms near. Yellen speech at Jackson Hole set to dominate mood on Wall Street. VRX continues its roller coaster ride. Up another 8% today - volume 1.5 ADV by 12PM. Calls 1.5 /1 over puts, IV 30 61. Sep. ATM straddle approx. $4, approx. 13%. Confirmed Monday that it has hired Zoetis executive Paul Herendeen as its new chief financial...