STOCKS NEWS US-ETF major benchmarks get vertical put trades

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

U.S. stock market report [.N] 1227 ET-04Feb2009-Three ETF's tracking key benchmarks draw vertical put trades ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of the S&P Depository Receipts (SPY.P), iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM.P) and PowerShares Nasdaq 100 index (QQQQ.O) rose near noon. All three ETFs had big vertical put trades, said optionmonster analyst Chris McKhann in comments on his firm's website. The SPY has a February $86/$85 put spread with 20,000 lots each. The QQQQ has a February $31/$30 put spread, slightly uneven but with more than 13,000 contracts on each side. And IWM has a March $46/$45 put spread with 15,000 lots on each side. All trades were done within 30 minutes of each other and could be the work of one player. In SPY and QQQ, McKhann surmised it could be arbitrage trades, pieces of a combination butterfly trade or open positions being removed. But he said the IWM trade appears to be a bearish move. The spreads were done for roughly 50 cents on the $1 spread, meaning that the risk and reward potential are basically the same, he said. Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net

1158 ET-04Feb2009 - Rio Tinto options volume pops up, shares rise ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Option volume in global miner Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) surged in morning trade as its U.S. listed shares jumped 7.93 percent to $15.92 helped by strength in metals, said Frederic Ruffy, options strategist at WhatsTrading.com. Brazil's equity markets also posted gains and the iShares Brazil Fund (EWZ.P) rose 4.17 percent to $37.75. In the options market, about 63,000 calls vs. 37,000 puts traded in Rio, according to Trade Alert.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net 1139 ET 04Feb2009-Tobacco co's slide after Philip Morris outlook ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of tobacco companies fell on Wednesday after Philip Morris (PM.N) gave a 2009 earnings outlook that was well below expectations.

"The global economic crisis obviously results in uncertainty, particularly on the currency front, and at current exchange rates we face a steep hurdle," the company's chief executive officer said in a statement. [ID:nN04286410]

Philip Morris shares slid 5.1 percent to $36.37 while the Dow Jones U.S. Tobacco Index .DJUSTB slid 3 percent to 240.70. Among other tobacco companies, Universal (UVV.N) fell 0.6 percent to $31.71 and Lorillard (LO.N) was off 0.2 percent to $61.28.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 1133 ET 04Feb2009-Brink's jumps after results ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of Brink's Co (BCO.N) jumped more than 15 percent to $31.31 on Wednesday after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings of 83 cents a share, excluding items, above the Wall Street estimate of 57 cents a share.

The company also forecast organic revenue growth in the mid-to-high single digit percentage range for 2009. (Reuters Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 1108 ET 04Feb2009-Crude oil, energy index up after EIA data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March crude futures rose on Wednesday, extending earlier gains after the Energy Information Agency released data on stockpiles in the United States, the biggest oil consumer.

The report showed an increase of 7.2 million barrels in crude, which was more than the expectation of 2.8 million barrels, a sign that demand was being hurt by the recession. Despite that, distillate stockpiles fell more than expected while gasoline stockpiles rose more than expected. [ID:nN04287465]

The contract rose 1.8 percent to $41.54 a barrel while the S&P Energy index .GSPE added 1.6 percent to 383.68. Among major oil companies, Chevron (CVX.N) rose 1.4 percent to $72.64, Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) gained 2.9 percent to $56.89 and Holly Corp (HOC.N) rose 3.7 percent to $24.94.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 1100 ET 04Feb2009-Markets rise on data and strength in tech ------------------------------------------------------------------------------