Implied Volatility Mover
Implied volatility in the options market is broadly lower after a big increase the day before. For example, CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), which was up more than 5 points yesterday, has eased back 2.97 to 14.30. Trading in the VIX pit is very active. Not only is the index seeing big swings this week, but today is the last day to trade April options on the index before a settlement value is computed tomorrow morning. 394,000 calls and 152,000 puts have traded in the VIX pit so far. April 14 puts and 17 calls are the most actives.
Volume Signals
Sprint (S) options volume is running 2.5X the (22-day) average, with 199,000 contracts traded and call volume accounting for 68 percent of the volume.
Coca Cola (KO) options volume is 3X, the average daily, with 60,000 contracts traded and call option volume representing 72 percent of the activity.
Nordstrom (JWN) options volume is running 7.5X the average daily, with 13,000 contracts traded and call volume accounting 68 51 percent of the activity.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in Honeywell (HON), Express Scripts (ESRX) and Delphi (DLPH).
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