Apr 25 Options Trades Update

Japan's Nikkei benchmark rose 2.4 percent to hit a two-month closing high on Friday. This is after Wall Street's see-saw performance on Thu which saw selling pressure initially keeping the stock market in negative territory for the majority of the morning, but sentiment turned positive when buyers returned to the fold to lift stocks into the green for a healthy gain. I wrote additional but limited N225 Jul 16500 Call Options for 25 pts. The covered calls plays which I wrote for May against UBS, HPQ, C appears that they will turn out alright....since this strategy works for sideways to up market conditions & this appears to be what the market is exhibiting right now.

Apr 24 Options Trades Update

U.S. stocks ended Wednesday's session in positive territory but off session highs, which tempered the Asian equity markets, where Tokyo's Nikkei eased 0.2 percent. The Shanghai index, China's most-watched stock index surged 9.3 percent Thursday, its biggest percentage gain ever, after the government cut tax on stock transactions in a move widely seen as an effort to boost slumping markets. I wrote limited N225 Jul 16500 call options for 20 pts.

Apr 23 Options Trades Update

Although the Nikkei ended overall higher last week as with other major indices, the 1st 3 days of trading this week suggests that the bearish to at most cautiously optimistic undertone remains. I am looking to shore up on N225 Jul's calls & Jun's puts when opportunity arises this week. You probably noticed that I am taking my time especially on the Jul calls & the reason is because my Jun calls position are currently trading at higher premiums Vs when they were sold, against me. I need to watch those closely for stop-loss triggers. Usually by now, I would have sold the Jul options had it not been for the recent stronger than expected surge.

Apr 17 Options Trades Update

Following Wednesday's Wall Street surged after investor sentiment was lifted by positive earnings surprises from several major corporations, Asian markets also rosed to a one week high. Having a bearish to at most cautiously bullish bias, I am eyeing the N225 Jul 17000 Calls next to add to the positions. Of course I can be wrong with my market reading & thats why I do what I do....sell options.

Apr 16 Options Trades Update

Wall Street managed to end on a positive note. Some earning reports that surpassed analyst's expectation provided the positive bias against a backdrop of negtive inflationary data but perhaps met with relief by traders that it wasn't worse. Has the market bottom out? Something interesting to note is that Lehman Bros's CEO made a remark that the worst of the crdit market crises is behind us. Is it time to get back into Financials? In any case, I am activating some selective purchase of Unit-Trusts buy from my SRS account. After the close of trading, Intel announced 1Q earnings there were in line with forecasts on higher than expected sales. It also provided positve guidance for Q2 higer than current expectations, leading to a jump in the share price in after hours trading. This bodes well for Technology sector for sure. Anyway, more earning announcements to come for the rest of the week with the likes of Coca-Cola, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo. CPI report will also be out Wednesday & will be closely watched.

Apr 15 Options Trades Update

Following last night's lackluster performance on Wall Street, Asian markets are trading upwards perhaps due to a technical rebound or that Wall Street Monday's performance was not too bad or as some chartist has indicated, stock markets have found a bottom & are poise to go up from here. Who knows? As option sellers, we don't have to be 100% correct which way the market will go and no one can consistently time the market. For that matter, we can be wrong & still end up make money. Tuesday is poised to be an interesting day as major companies are set to report earnings. In addition, the market will get the latest read on inflation with the release of March's Producer Price Index (PPI). FTSE is trading up some 0.8% as we speak, snapping a 5 session losing run.

Apr 14 Options Trades Update

Shares across Asia fell sharply following last Friday's slump on Wall Street. The Japan Nikkei fell 3.1%. I was queing to write limited N225 May 10000 Puts for 20 points but never got filled. Highest was 15 pts towards the close. The market has been extremely volatile & we have seen it turned on the dime. So anything can happen although the general bias is still bearish to at most cautiously bullish. Being an option seller, we are looking at where the market won't go rather than where the market will go & selling far out-of-the-money Call or Put options 2-3 mths out, allowing for greater margin of error with certain strict cut loss rules which pretty much sums up the strategy.

Apr 13 Options Trades Update

Next week is set to be a busy one on Wall Street, as earnings season will kick into full gear, with 200 companies set to report. Financial firms will be in focus, with reports coming from US Bancorp (USB), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Merrill Lynch (MER) and Citigroup (C) to name a few.
There will be several market moving economic reports. Traders will be taking note of the latest read on inflation with the release of the March PPI and CPI indexes. March retail sales, and March housing starts & building permits will also garner added attention from the market.

Apr 12 Options Trades Update

Due to General Electric’s (GE 32.05, -4.70) massive 2.8% S&P 500 weighting and wide-range of businesses, the market pays attention when it provides a disappointing outlook. Then it should come as no surprise that stocks got clipped on Friday after GE--the second largest U.S. company by market cap behind Exxon Mobil (XOM 88.62, -0.93)--reported earnings that missed estimates and provided a disappointing outlook. I am expecting some -ve impact to Asian markets in the week ahead given the intertwiness of the economies . I am eyeing the N225 May Puts options (10000 & lower) to add to the write positions.

Apr 11 Option Trades Update

Japanese stocks snapped a 3 day losing streak to close up 2.92% Friday after last night's better than expected performance on Wall Street. I wrote additional but limited N225 Jun 16000 calls for 15-20 pts.
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Apr 10 Option Trades Update

Asian markets mostly traded lower Thurday. The Japan Benchmark Nikkei slid another 1.27% extending its losses. The Nikkei 225 futures slid further during evening trading hours pointing to a possible lower start tommorrow. I am eyeing the May N225 9750 & 10000 Put options to add to my positions...to complete the May set ups.

Apr 9 Option Trades Update

Wall Street retreated modestly Tuesday after aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. and chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. issued disappointing reports and the Federal Reserve voiced concerns about the slumping economy. Asian markets on Wednesday are following suit & trading in mainly negative territories albeit modest declines. The Nikkei benchmark is down by some 1.6% as we speak. I wrote limited N225 May 10000 Puts for 15 pts. Tommorrow is expiration day for the April N225 options freeing up capital for July's Call & June's Put options set up.

Apr 8 Option Trades Update

The Nikkei fell 1.5% Tuesday. I have my eyes on the N225 May 10000 puts. I did a covered call play on UBS last Friday. Bought the stocks at $33.39 & sold the April 35 Call @ $1.00 for a called return of 7.8%, a 2 weeks play.

Apr 4 Option Trades Update

After choppy action on Thursday on Wall Street, the US market eventually finished the day with a slight gain. A better than expected ISM services report, and reassuring comments by a major financial firm’s CEO helped offset disappointment over a worse than expected unemployment claims reading. Some Asian markets are closed today for the Ching Ming Festival & for the rest that are opened, they are trading lower after the few days of rise. Japan's Nikkei slid 0.72 percent on Friday.

Apr 3 Option Trades Update

Nikkei edges up further by 1.52% Thurday. Premiums of the Jun Call options are trading higher against me. US Futures are pointing to a lower start Thu. US jobs data & services data are scheduled to report today & these may decide the tone for the trading session for the day & Asian markets Friday.

Apr 2 Option Trades Update

Wall Street began the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday as investors rushed back into stocks, optimistic that the worst of the credit crisis has passed and that the economy is faring better than expected. Asian stocks jumped and bonds fell on Wednesday after a Lehman Brothers securities offering met strong demand, raising hopes that the worst of the credit crisis might be over. The Japan Nikkei benchmark is up some 4.2% as we speak. I wrote some limited N225 Jun 16000 call for 25 pts. Is it Time to get back into equities? Your guess is at good as mine. My take is that no one can successfully time the market 100%. I suppose one can opt to pick up some good stocks now that their prices has fallen so much & with a longer term investment horizon.

Apr 1 Option Trades Update

Someone must be playing a joke on me on April Fools Day. Trades were executed when I closed the pop up window after checking for the margins on the OSE N225 May 9250 puts during the evening trading session(started last Sep). I called up IB to check on the erroneous trades but they did not notice anything unusual & deemed the trades valid. (4 contracts at 10 pts). I am not sure if it was my mouse or I clicked the wrong button on the screen but this is indeed a bad experience. The only change recently is that the TWS software is the lastest version. This is a first for me.