The markets saw mild gains Wednesday, taking back some of yesterday's losses. The NYSE had volume of 2.6 billion shares with 1,783 shares advancing while 1,490 declined for a gain of 61.12 points to close at 10,014.69. On the NASDAQ, 1.9 billion shares traded, 1,629 advanced and 1,400 declined for a gain of 12.63 to 2,651.79.

Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR) crashed $2.47 (-20%) to $9.70 after falling on earnings. Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) rose $1.61 (5%) to $34.41. Rock-Tenn Company (NYSE: RKT) rose $4.02 (12%) to $36.60. InterContinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) rose $11.34 (7%) to $167.07.

Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) saw very heavy volume on the July 75 calls (FCXGO) with over 347,000. This unusual volume is likely dividend arbitrage as FCX pays a 31 cent dividend tomorrow. Mirant (NYSE: MIR) saw heavy volume on the January 45 calls (LGVAI) with over 75,000 options trading. This looks like a long term heavy bet that the stock is going to continue to rise. Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) saw heavy volume on the July 40 calls (FMQGH) with over 29,000 options trading. In options, there were 4.3 million puts and 5.4 million calls traded for a put/call open interest ratio of 0.79


Kevin Kersten is an Options Analyst with InvestorsObserver.com. Do you have any deadwood in your portfolio? Check out the 18 Warning Signs That Tell You To Dump A Stock. Disclosure note: Mr. Kersten owns and or controls a diversified portfolio of long and short positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about.

Wednesday Option Rap: YUM, CPWR, WFMI and FCX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.