A Pause to Honor Sept. 11 Victims, Then Bulls Lead
NEW YORK -- There were commemorative speeches, moments of silence and a song. Then 93-year-old Michael Pascuma, the American Stock Exchange's oldest trader, stepped up to the podium overlooking the exchange floor.</br></br>Raising a gavel, Mr. Pascuma struck the opening bell 10 times, once for every Amex member lost during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- including his son.</br></br>Then Mr. Pascuma, a trader since 1927, and his colleagues got to work, as the nation's stock and options exchanges began trading after an opening delayed by ceremonies marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Two blocks north at Ground Zero, a memorial service worked its way through a reading of victims' names. On the exchange floor, it was the start of another trading day.</br></br>"I think it's important for us to stay open today, to come to work," said Joseph Stefanelli, Amex's executive vice president for derivatives. An Amex options trader said, "It's just September but I almost feel like it's the beginning of a new year after today."</br></br>Some investors seemed to agree, as bullish calls traded actively on hopes of a rally, as well as the covering of short positions ahead of economic addresses from President Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. At the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the ratio of equity puts traded to calls fell to 0.49, compared with 0.57 Tuesday and 0.67 Monday. A put is an option to sell a security at a specified price, and a call is an option to buy a security at a specific price.