Monday, September 22, 2008

Friday options told story

Last Friday when the fed announced their "bailout" plan it may have been a sign that we may begin to have some improvement with the market. However, the options traded for October might have told a better short term story. The options for September were expiring and trading had increased as expected but as prices of some stocks jumped up 5 and even 10 % the November in the money and close to the money options did virtually nothing. The Mosiac company had a nearly 10$ gain for the day but the November 100 and 105 calls barely moved. It appeared to be a clear sign that investors were very leery of the fed plan and still not yet ready to bet on an improving stock market for the short term. I would guess that is was just a lot of short covering and profit taking after the ban on short selling was being instated. It was time to get out, cover the shorts and wait for the market to settle before jumping back into the November and December options. I had never seen action quite like this where the next months calls moved so little while the stock price was ramped higher Monday finished the tale as the market sold off big making most investors a little woozy from the roller coaster ride. I was hoping after stomaching last weeks wicked fluctuations that a few day reprieve would give everyone a chance to take a breath but that obviously didn't happen.

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