Options Report: Caution Is Order of the Day in Options Market, As a Mix of Factors Makes Mood a Bit Bearish
NEW YORK -- Be cautious. Be smart.</br></br>This is the options market's advice to stock investors. With few people interested in adding to, or opening, positions, sentiment was slightly bearish, representing a shift from the previous week's listless mood when most traders watched everything from the safety of the sidelines.</br></br>"As traders say, 'It's a heavy market.' It's for sale," a specialist at the American Stock Exchange said.</br></br>The change in confidence was caused by a confluence of events including another sell-off in the technology and Internet sectors, an analysts' downgrade to sell from hold for bank stocks and lingering concerns about interest rates and inflation.</br></br>"No one's making money-long or short," the head of a major options-trading desk said.