STOCKS NEWS US-ICE gets call action on Obama OTC clearing push

Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS] Real-time Equity news [U E] [RESF/US]
U.S. stock market report [.N]
1535 ET 13May2009 ICE shares, call options move ahead of OTC announcement
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Investors appear to be loading up bullish call options in the
Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE.N) ahead of an announcement on OTC
derivative regulation, traders and analysts said. Bullish flow has been
prevalent in the May $95, $100, $105 and $110 calls, said Scott Larison, senior
vice president of Compass Point Research & Trading. Options volume is four
times the combined daily norm as about 24,000 calls and 5,344 puts traded in
ICE, according to Trade Alert. ICE shares rose 40 cents to $96.90. Derivatives
exchange CME Group Inc (CME.O) shares also moved up more than 5 percent to
$273.23 ahead of the news.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1500 ET 13May2009-Wall St falls after weak retail data
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U.S. stocks tumbled on Wednesday as worse-than-expected retail sales hurt
shares in the sector, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), and dampened
recent enthusiasm over the economic outlook.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 157.06 points, or 1.85
percent, to 8,312.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 20.18
points, or 2.22 percent, to 888.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped
41.91 points, or 2.44 percent, to 1,674.01.

Reuters Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net
1430 ET 13May2009 American Express put buyer likely betting on losses
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A big put option buyer in American Express Co (AXP.N) may be looking for a
pullback in the credit card company's shares that have more than doubled since
touching a 52-week low of $9.71 on March 6, said Trade Alert president Henry
Schwartz.

He said that in the morning session a buyer paid a premium of $2.70 a
contract for 15,000 June $25 put options on the old Philadelphia Stock
Exchange. The trade was executed along with a hedge of 750,000 shares bought at
$24.50 to open a new position, he said. American Express shares fell 4.28
percent to $24.36 in late afternoon trade.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1406 ET 13May2009-Protective Life plunges after stock offer
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Protective Life Corp (PL.N) shares plunged on Wednesday after the company
announced plans to offer 12.5 million shares of common stock, with proceeds to
be used for general corporate purposes.

Shares of the insurer fell 22 percent to $9.09. The SPDR KBW Insurance ETF
(KIE.P) dropped 4.6 percent.

Reuters Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net)
1334 ET 13May2009-Earnings continue to surprise to the upside
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With 90 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported
first-quarter earnings, the majority have posted results that topped Wall
Street expectations, according to the Thomson Reuters Director's Report.

Of the 447 companies that have posted results, 65 percent have beat
analysts' expectations, 8 percent matched estimates and 27 percent fell shy of
analysts' forecasts.

The best-performing sectors were healthcare stocks, with 79 percent of
companies topping expectations, and materials, with 75 percent of companies
reporting better-than-expected results.

Among the worst-performing groups were financial stocks, with only 47
percent of companies topping estimates, and industrials, with 59 percent
reporting earnings that were above Wall Street estimates.

Reuters Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net
1316 ET 13May2009 UnitedHealth draws bullish option players
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Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) rose 20 cents to $27.52 in
afternoon trade. But in the options market, players appear to be showing a high
degree of optimism on the largest U.S. health insurer.

"Options traders are taking bullish positions, especially in the June
contracts where there were large blocks of June $28 and $29 calls purchased and
20,000 June $24 puts sold," said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic
Ruffy. There was no apparent catalyst for the unusual activity. In all, about
42,000 calls and 29,000 puts traded in UNH, five times the typical combined
volume, according to Trade Alert.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net