Traders remain worried about further downside in European stocks.
optionMONSTER's Depth Charge monitoring program detected the purchase of 3,000 February 41 puts in the iShares Europe Fund for $0.55. An equal number of February 39 puts were sold at the same time for $0.20. There was no open interest at either strike, so this was a new bearish put spread .
The strategy will leverage a move between two levels, in this case returning $2 if IEV drops from $41 to $39. Based on the $0.35 entry cost, that would be a profit of 471 percent. If it climbs, they'll only lose the initial outlay. (See our Education section for more on the leveraging power of options.)
IEV declined 0.48 percent to $43.40 in late morning trading, following European equities lower as worries continue to swirl around elections in Greece. The fund jot resistance around $45 in the early month and found support around $42 two weeks ago. Its big holdings include Novartis, Nestle and Roche.
Total option volume is triple the daily average, with calls outnumbering puts by more than 300 to 1.
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