STOCKS NEWS US-U.S. economic diary for Thursday

Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS] Real-time Equity news [U E] [RESF/US]

U.S. stock market report [.N]
1730 ET 28May2009- U.S. economic diary for Thursday
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The day's economic agenda includes data on first-time claims for jobless
benefits for the week ended March 23 at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT), on April durable
goods orders at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) and on new home sales for April at 10 a.m.
(1400 GMT).

For more please double click [ECI/US]

Reuters Messaging rm://caroline.valetkevitch.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
1700 ET 27May2009-Wall St falls as rising bond yields worry investors
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U.S. stocks dropped on Wednesday as rising yields on U.S. government debt
fueled concern that businesses and consumers could face higher borrowing costs,
which could hamper an economic recovery.

For more please double click [.N]

Reuters Messaging rm://caroline.valetkevitch.reuters.com@reuters.net
1530 ET 27May2009 Bullish option play in State Street despite share decline
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Shares of custodial bank and asset manager State Street Corp (STT.N) fell
1.96 percent to $43.48 in late trade. But the decline has not deterred one
investor from enacting a bullish 1x2 ratio call spread in the July contract,
said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a
note to clients. Hoping for a nearer-term rally in the stock, the trader bought
5,000 calls at the July $44 strike price for a premium of $4.70 each and sold
10,000 calls at the higher July $50 strike for an average premium of $2.20
apiece. The spread fetched 30 cents and yields a maximum potential profit of
$5.70 if shares were to climb to $50 by expiration, he said. The stock need
only rise about 55 cents from a reference share price of $43.75 to surpass the
trade's break even point at $44.30, Wilkinson added.

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

1457 ET 27May2009 Russell ETF draws option volatility trade
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Shares of the ishares Russell 2000 Index (IWM.P) exchange-traded fund fell
39 cents to $49.66 in late afternoon trade. In the options market, 30,000 IQX
June $45 puts traded, quarter ending. They were bought with stock, Delta
neutral and was a volatility trade, said Stifel Nicolaus option market
strategist Elliot Spar in his daily Market Scan report. The ETF is currently
trapped between $51 and $46.40. This trader expects a break above or below
those key levels one way or the other by the end of June, he said.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1406 ET 27May2009-Dow, S&P 500 down 1 pct, Nasdaq turns negative
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The Dow and S&P 500 indexes each fell more than 1 percent, led by materials
and industrial shares, in afternoon trading on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq
turned negative. U.S. Treasuries also fell. [ID:nN27139762]

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 1.2 percent to 8,366.69 while
the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.1 percent to 900.22 and the Nasdaq .IXIC was off
0.5 percent to 1,741.28.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1354 ET 27May2009-Sequenom rallies after Lazard upgrade
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Shares of Sequenom Inc (SQNM.O) rallied on Wednesday, after the company was
upgraded to hold from sell at Lazard Capital Markets, though it was also called
an "extremely risky investment" by the firm.

"While the potential reward may outweigh the risk, we move to 'hold' rather
than 'buy' as we are concerned about a lack of firm timelines for the
investigation or commercialization," the analyst wrote.

In April, the maker of genetic analysis products said it would delay the
launch of its prenatal Down Syndrome test -- that was initially planned for
June this year -- due to mishandling of data by some employees.

For details, see [ID:nBNG368044]

Shares gained 14 percent to $3.40.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1330 ET 27May2009 Goldman:Volatility is tied to business cycle
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The S&P 500 options market is pricing realized volatility over 2010 to be
30.75, a Depression era scenario. The only period where realized vol has spent
multiple years above the 30 level was during the Great Depression in the years
from 1931 to 1933. "We disagree," said Goldman Sachs derivative strategists.
The S&P 500 Dec-09/Dec-10 forward variance level of 30.75 implies an average
daily index move of 1.9 percent over 2010, up from the 1.8 percent average move
in 2008. The strategists believe it is unlikely that 2010 experiences a higher
average daily move than 2008. "Just as the low volatility of 2004-2007 was not
permanent, neither is today's high volatility regime," the note said.
Volatility has been closely tied to the business cycle, tending to rise during
periods of recession, rising jobless claims, and contraction in industrial
activity. Conversely, it tends to fall when these factors stabilize and this
cycle should be no different. In their view, volatility reached elevated levels
in 2008 through a perfect storm of extreme cyclical deterioration and extreme
financial stress. Goldman's Global ECS Research team expects economic
stabilization in the 2009 second half and longer-dated volatility to decline
over the next few months.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1318 ET 27May2009-BioMed Realty slides after UBS downgrade
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BioMed Realty Trust Inc (BMR.N) shares tumbled on Wednesday after the real
estate investment trust was downgraded to "neutral" from "buy" at UBS, which
also cut the stock's price target to $11 from $14.

The firm said that investors remained concerned at a recent non-deal
roadshow with tenant risk at the company, which specializes in acquiring
laboratory and office space for the life science industry, given capital
concerns to fund biotechnology research.

UBS also said it expects lease-up of the REIT's assets to remain difficult
due to the capital concerns in the biotech industry as well as the weak
economic backdrop overall.

Shares fell more than 11 percent to $9.68.

Reuters Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net
1217 ET 27May2009-Big Lots falls after JPMorgan downgrade
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Shares of Big Lots Inc (BIG.N) fell on Wednesday, after JPMorgan downgraded
the company to neutral from overweight, saying "any first-quarter upside could
be trumped by cautious commentary on second-quarter sales."

It added that though it expects the retailer to "handily exceed our
estimate/Street consensus for first-quarter earnings per share," this was
likely priced into the stock.

For details, see [ID:nBNG464148]

Shares of Big Lots fell 6.2 percent to $23.71.

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