STOCKS NEWS US-Traders favor Intel call options

Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS]

Real-time Equity news [U][E] [RESF/US]

For U.S. stock market report double-click [.N]
1332 ET 19June2009 Traders flock to Intel upside call options
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 10 cents to $15.97 in
afternoon trade but the shares are still trapped in a range
between $15 and $16.50 since mid-March, said Chris McKhann, an
analyst at optionMonster.com.

In the options market, traders were drawn to the October
$18 call strike this morning. Someone is bullish, "as we see
15,000 of the October $18 calls snatched up in a matter of
seconds, all for 60 cents," McKhann said in comments on the Web
site.

It was not immediately clear what was behind the call
action. The implied volatility of those calls earlier stood at
37 percent, ticking up from eight-month lows of three weeks
ago. Historical volatility, on the other hand, is down at 30
percent, its lowest level since last September, he said. The
calls now fetch 58 cents per contract, Reuters data show.

In all, about 38,000 calls traded more than double the
amount of puts, with sentiment based on order flow that is 61
percent bullish, according to Trade Alert.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1324 ET 19June2009-Ambac postpones municipal bond arm, shares
sink
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of Ambac Financial (ABK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) tumbled on Friday, after
the bond insurer again postponed the launch of its municipal
bond arm Everspan after struggling to raise money from outside
investors to fund the unit.

Ambac and other bond insurers had been pinning hopes for a
revival of their business on launching municipal-focused units,
after ratings agencies stripped the insurers of their "triple
A" ratings following heavy credit losses from a foray into
guaranteeing repackaged debt.

For details, see [ID:nN19447607]

The stock dropped 15 percent to $1.06.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1149 ET 19June2009-Option traders pounce on BofA calls
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Option traders appear to be optimistic on Bank of America
Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and a number of them anticipate more gains this
summer, as BofA shares rose 10 cents to $13. The shares fell
6.2 percent for the week, but some options market players
expect strength over the next two months, according to
WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. The BAC
August $14 call option has become one of the top favorites,
with 59,512 contracts traded so far, against an open interest
of 49,818 lots, Reuters data showed. Friday's trades included a
"reverse diagonal spread," where a strategist bought 15,000
August $14 calls and sold 15,000 January 2010 calls at the $20
strike. The trade cost 45 cents on the likely view that shares
would move beyond $14.45 by the August expiration, but not
above $20 by mid-January, he said. In all, 225,000 calls traded
in BofA, compared with 62,000 puts, according to Trade Alert.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1132 ET 19June2009-LUKOIL to buy stake in Total, blocking
Valero
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lukoil (LKOH.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) will buy a stake in a Dutch refinery from
France's Total SA (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), gaining a foothold in northwest
Europe and blocking a bid by Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to
enter the region.

The move was a blow to Valero's efforts to gain a position
in Europe, where it wants to buy refineries and take advantage
of cross-Atlantic trading opportunities with its U.S. plants.

For details, see [ID:nLJ579651]

Shares of Valero rose 1 percent to $17.59 on the NYSE.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1113 ET 19June2009-Citigroup: Anecdotal evidence suggests
market buoyancy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citigroup wrote on Friday that anecdotal evidence suggested
a more buoyant Wall Street, noting that in several instances,
"the very same investors who perceived our bullishness several
months ago as bordering on lunacy now consider our market
outlook (S&P 500 .SPX at 1,000 by year-end) to be too
conservative."

The brokerage firm added that to some degree, "we have been
surprised by the speed of this turn of events, but the equity
market's powerful move since early March most likely explains
this shift."

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net