The markets are closed until Monday. VIX adds 1.80 to 21.76 after a yearend round of profit-taking sends the S&P 500 down 11.3 points in the final trading day of 2009. On behalf of all of us at Trade Alert and WhatsTrading.com, Have a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2010!

*Scanning all single-stocks subject to 2500 contracts minimum call or put volume

Teck Resources (TCK) is up 11 cents to $35.88 and 4710 Feb 38 calls traded. Recent trades include a multi-exchange sweep of 1910 bid-side at $1.50. It looks sellers, possibly opening positions and or over-write strategies.

*Scanning all single-stocks subject to 2500 contracts minimum call or put volume

CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) is up .44 to 20.40 and session highs after December Chicago PMI was revised down to 58.7. The initial report, released yesterday, showed an increase to 60, up from 56.1 in November. Economists had been expecting 55.1. So, even after today’s adjustment, the headline number was significantly better than expected. The revison was due to changes in sasonal adjustment factors.

YRC Worldwide (YRCW) Jan 1 put is the most actively traded equity options contract early Thursday. 17K now traded. Shares hit a low of 91 cents per share, but are flat at 99 cents after the company announced that it reached thresholds in its debt-to-equity exchange offer. Recall that yesterday, Jan and Feb 1 puts saw heavy trading (and increases in open interest of 24.7K and 14.6K, respectively) after the company extended its debt-to-equity swap until midnight. Now, some investors might be liquidating the puts on diminishing bankruptcy fears following today’s news.

Early indications point to modest market gains on the last trading day of 2009. Thirty minutes before the opening bell on Wall Street, stock index futures suggest that the Dow Jones Industrial Average might add 10 or 15 points at the open.

Stock index futures are modestly higher after the latest weekly jobless claims numbers showed improvement. According to the Labor Department, filings for jobless benefits fell by 16,000 to 438,000 last week. Economists were looking for an increase to 460,000. The four week average fell to 15-month lows and continuing claims dipped below 5 million for the first time since February.

With no other economic data to guide the action and no significant stock news to report, there isn’t much else to guide the market action. End-of-year position squaring might be a factor, but trading is expected to be light ahead of the three-day weekend.

Meanwhile, bonds are taking a hit on the better-than-expected jobs data. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is off 10/32nd and yields 3.83 percent.

The dollar added .31 to 92.75 against the Japanese yen. The euro edged up .0042 to 1.4382 against the buck.

Crude oil is flat at $79.30 a barrel. Gold gained $8.50 to $1101 an ounce.

Bearish trading in a trucking company, a homeland security play, weakness in commodities, and a bullish biotech bet.

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