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| INTEL |
At the halfway point... Stocks jumped in early trading on the heels of a number of strong earnings reports out of the tech sector. At midday, the Dow and S&P 500 are each up 1.5% while the Nasdaq is up 2.0%. Intel (INTC), IBM(IBM), and Yahoo (YHOO) were among the tech giants posting better-than-expected earnings. The major indices have now regained all ground lost Monday after S&P's warnings on US government debt, and are back near the multiyear highs set two weeks ago. Additionally, the Commerce Department reported this morning that sales of existing homes rose 3.7% in March to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.1 million. That is still well below the level indicative of a healthy housing market (6 million). Strong industries today include Semiconductors, Casinos, and Aerospace & Defense, while Grocers are weaker. Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is up 7%. Intel is up 6%. Freeport McMoran (FCX) and United Technologies (UTX) are up 4%. CSX (CSX) and Kroger (KR) are down 2%. United Continental (UAL) is down 3%. The VIX is down 0.71 to 15.12 after opening at 14.31. Earlier today it hit a low of 14.30 and a high of 15.39. Options on Bank of America (BAC) have appeared on the most active list today, with over 43,000 contracts of the July 14 Call changing hands. The Put/Call Volume Ratio is at 0.72 (3,844,897/5,352,663) while the Put/Call Open Interest Ratio is at 0.88 (123,014,054/139,418,970). NYSE Adv/Dec 3,216/625. Nasdaq Adv/Dec 2,046/489.
