Options Traders Take Wait-and-See Approach Ahead of Several Events Set for This Week
NEW YORK -- A mild sense of optimism emerged in the options market as the stock market rallied.</br></br>But traders didn't make any major commitments ahead of this week's reports that will help Wall Street gauge the health of the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony before a congressional committee, and expiration of September options contracts on Friday.</br></br>What activity there was in the options market was premised on trading options in anticipation that the underlying stocks would move in a specific direction, a senior trader at a major New York securities firm said.</br></br>Bargain hunters, which have maintained a constant presence in the options market, were active in sectors that have been ravaged, including technology, oil, bank and financial companies.</br></br>"People are getting back in the market in all different ways. People are re-establishing their general patterns of behavior," said Leon Gross, Salomon Smith Barney's institutional options strategist.