Stock and option traders have had a roller-coaster month of September. Volatility in the market and sector movements have made quite a number of stocks very much in the options trading ambit. Here let us look at the two most important indices and mention some of the stocks people have been discussing most recently.

Tech Titans Leading the Charge

It should not come as a shock that giants in the industry, such as Apple and Microsoft, have been leading the pack. Given that new products are being launched and quarterly earnings are being released, the trade in the market with such stocks have gotten a bit busier. I happen to recall a conversation with a friend with whom recollected is the same kind of operation whereby he was holding out Apple calls only; he was quite confident of making a lot of money as there was an important event – new iPhone announcement. Warning ahead: they did make the money.

Healthcare Stocks in the Spotlight

Healthcare has also been a hotbed of activity. Companies like Pfizer and Moderna have seen increased options trading, especially with ongoing developments in vaccines and treatments. A colleague of mine, who’s a bit of a biotech enthusiast, was thrilled to see his Pfizer puts gain value as the stock dipped on some mixed trial results.

Financials Making a Comeback

Financial stocks have been interesting to watch. Banks like JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have experienced high options volume, driven by interest rate changes and economic data releases. I had a hunch about JP Morgan and bought some calls just before their earnings report. It was a nail-biter, but the stock jumped, and those calls were golden!

Energy Sector Heating Up

The energy sector has been buzzing too. Due to the volatility of the oil market, trading options on companies shares such as Exxon and Chevron has also doubled up. I have a buddy who plays the oil market which by the way also happens to be his occupation. He capitalized too heavily on call options that he purchased Chevron after the surprise jump in oil prices.

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Big Bank Earnings: The Week Ahead Could Be Make Or Break

With five of six of the largest banks in the nation scheduled to report earning results for the fourth quarter, for the financial sector it is a make or break week. On Wednesday morning Goldman Sachs (GS) and JP Morgan (JPM) report. On Thursday it will be Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) while Friday it is Morgan Stanley (MS).

There have been strong gains for bank stocks ahead of these critical earnings reports. The Financial SPDR ETF (XLF) which carefully follows more than 80 diversified financials has shown a gain of over 4% since the beginning of the year and from one year ago 23%.

Markets Move Higher Looking Forward to Earnings Season

According to an article today by the NY Times, the American recovery is in full affect for US corporations and the upcoming earnings season should display some of this good news throughout business sectors. Profits among businesses in America will be some of the best numbers ever seen according to the news source. This positive feeling about corporate profits has already has brought the major indexes out of a downward movement and into a short-term rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has bounced off a nine month low of 9595 up to 10225 over the past week.