Traders are buying protection across the board this morning, and that is what they are apparently doing in the SPDR Consumer Staples Fund.
optionMONSTER's Depth Charge system shows that 6,000 July 44.50 puts have been purchased for $0.20. This is clearly a new position, as previous open interest in the strike was just 348 contracts.
The put buying isn't tied to any stock trading identified by our scanners, so it could be an outright bearish trade looking for the XLP to fall by expiration at the end of next week. But given today's market selloff, the puts were more likely bought to protect either shares of the fund or a portfolio of its component stocks. (See our Education section)
The XLP is down fractionally to $45.20, bouncing off the lows of the morning. The exchange-traded fund reached a high of $45.71 just about a month ago but was down at support around $44 two weeks ago.
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