Stocks finish mixed, as commodities fall, bonds rally. VIX unchanged. Read More.

Volatility continues in Sequenom (SQNM). Shares of the San Diego-based biotech company surged nearly 60 percent Tuesday. The move was attributed to talk of a possible resolution of an anticipated launch of SEQureDX DS, which was delayed in April due to mishandling of test results. No new information surfaced Wednesday and SQNM fell back to $4.09. However, the stock moved up yesterday and added another 46 cents to $4.71 today. SQNM is up 40.6 percent since Monday and some players are looking for additional upside, with active trading in June and July 5 calls. 12.5K traded so far. Implied volatility remains elevated around 150.

Put buyers zoomed in on Eastman Kodak (EK) Friday. Shares are unchanged at $2.89 and July 2.5 puts are the most actives. 2,846 traded and more than 70 percent traded ask-side of the bid-ask spread. ISEE sentiment data, which tracks whether orders are opening buyers or sellers, is consistent with opening customer put purchasing. Looks like buyers in Oct 2.5 puts as well. The demand for options premiums is sending implied volatility towards 100, from about 94 the day before.

Houston-based oil driller Smith International (SII) is down $1.41 to $30.50, as a pullback in crude oil weighs on the drillers Friday. Crude was recently down 79 cents to $71.89. The action in the options market hints at some deeper underlying concerns about the outlook for SII. 4,350 June 30 puts traded on the day, compared to open interest of only 365. Sentiment numbers indicate that customer are buying to open, which seems unusual because June options come off the board a week from today. Implied vols are little changed at 56 percent.

Reuters reporting EMC “plans to raise bid for Data Domain (DDUP) to compete with NetApp”. “Has room to offer $34 to $35″–Link to story. Not much reaction in the options market yet, as call volume running 50 percent the expected. Yesterday, however, 22K calls traded on DDUP or about 3X normal. Implied vols steady at 26 percent.

iShares Long-Term Bond Fund (TLT) is up $1.17 to $90.34 and up 3.2 percent since poor results at an auction of ten-year Treasurys and talk of overseas selling (Russia) sent the fund to 52-week low of $87.56 per share. Bonds were bolstered Thursday after an auction of 30-years went well and the advance is being extended today on diminishing concerns over bond demand. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is up 17/32nd and its yield is falling below 3.8 percent, down from the 4 percent “psyche” level Wednesday


In the options market, the smart money is betting on bonds. 48,000 TLT calls traded, including a buyer of 2,000 Sep 92 – 99 call spreads on the CBOE. On the ISE, where about two-thirds of the calls traded, sentiment data point to 93 percent (30,000 contracts) opening customer purchases.

eTrade is up 24.3% this week and players in the options market are looking for additional upside. Call options on the online broker have been busy for the past four days. Today, shares of the online broker are up 18 cents to $1.84. Another 10,000 calls traded (compared 1,300 puts) in the first 90 minutes of Friday’s session.

What’s the reason for the strong interest in Etrade? Well, the online broker disclosed yesterday that it believes Citadel owns more than 70 percent of ETFC’s senior debt securities. As of May 13, Citadel also owned 89.1 million eTrade shares, making it the broker’s largest shareholder. The large investment by Citadel might be helping to ease fears about eTrade’s financial stability and or raising expectations about an outright buyout. ETFC is up 24.3 percent on the week. Implied volatility is elevated, at 163 (unchanged today, up 20 on the week).

Clorox (CLX) is seeing relative strength and increasing call volume. Shares are up $1.86 to $55.51 and heading to session highs after Oppenheimer upgraded CLX to Outperform from Underperform. Oppenheimer also raised its price target to $70 after Clorox announced an increase to its quarterly dividend and confirmed its 2010 outlook Thursday. CLX June 55 and July 60 calls are seeing some interest as shares move higher. Implied volatility is low, to 22.5 from 23 yesterday. (SV is only 18).

BofA (BAC) June 13 and 14 calls are the most actives in the first minutes of trading Friday. Shares are up 4.5 percent to $13.55 and the best percentage gainers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for a second day. BAC is rallying Friday after Stifel analysts raised earnings estimates and a price target. The firm cites success in capital raising efforts, which they believe will approach $40 billion. Stifel also thinks BAC will pay back $25 billion in TARP funds in 2009 and the rest in 2010. The firm raises its price target to $22 from $18.

Stocks are indicated lower, as investors assess the broader macroeconomic outlook to decide if another round of buying in the equity market is really justified. Forty-five minutes before the opening bell, stock index futures indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average might slide 40 points at the open.

There has been very little company-specific news of broad market significance over recent days and, as a result, the focus has been on economic data, action in the bond pits, and commodities prices.

Shares of energy-related companies are likely to see early weakness after crude oil pulled back from its best levels of 2009. Crude oil is down $1.78 to $70.90.

Metals and mining names might fall after gold lost $20 to $942 an ounce.

Meanwhile, investors await a report on consumer confidence, due out around 9:45 eastern time. Economists expect the University of Michigan’s sentiment index to improve to 69.5, from 68.7 the month before.

Steady action in the bond market might help keep a floor under stock prices. The yield on the ten-year Treasury note reached 4 percent Wednesday following poor results at an auction of ten-year Treasurys. However, bonds bounced back Thursday after an auction of 30-years went well. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is up another 7/32nd this morning and yields 3.83 percent.

The dollar gained .65 to 98.15 on the yen. The euro slumped to 1.3962 on the buck.