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

Rite Aid (RAD) is seeing relative strength and call volume is picking up after UBS said CVS, Wal-green’s (WAG), or Wal-mart (WMT) could have interest in RAD. Shares are up 20 cents to $1.59 and 1495 Jul 2.5 calls traded (75 percent Ask). Another 745 Apr 2.5 calls changed hands (88 percent Ask).

MBIA (MBI) opened at $5.09 and hit a high of $5.18, but has been grinding lower throughout most of the morning session and is off 20 cents to $4.91. Options are busy, with some investors likely liquidating positions ahead of the expiration. Blocks of Feb 5 calls traded on the bid price of 10 and 15 cents in morning action. 9743 contracts now traded vs. 12182 in open interest.

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

SPX index option volume is running nearly 25% above normal pace this morning, with nearly 130,000 calls and 150,000 puts trading as the index trades flat at 1101. Most active contract is the March 1225 Call, with a buyer paying 35cents for more than 30,000 contracts. Nearly 25k traded yesterday in closing trades, and today’s volume likely continues to close some of the existing 40k OI outstanding.

Sirius Satellite (SIRI) calls are seeing a second day of action. 39K contracts traded yesterday, but very little of the action was opening. Open interest increased by just 6446. The action continues today. Shares are up 7 cents to $1.12 and Feb 1 calls are among the most actives in the first 15 min of today’s session. 5864 traded (65 percent Ask). Another 2890 Mar 1 calls changed hands (85 percent Ask). The stock set a new 52-week high yesterday. The Wall Street Journal attributes the stock’s strength to diminishing concerns about de-listing, reverse stock split.

Stocks are indicated lower on disappointing economic data Thursday. Thirty minutes before the opening bell on Wall Street, stock index futures indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average might lose about 40 points at the open.

Stock index futures fell after the Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims rose by 41,000 to 473,000 in the week ended February 13. Economists had expected a decline of 4,000.

Separately, the Labor Department said is Producer Price Index [PPI] rose 1.4 percent in January. Economists were expecting the PPI, which gauges inflation at the wholesale level, to increase by .8 percent.

The larger than expected increases in jobless claims and producer prices sent stock index futures lower. Bonds are higher. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is up 5/32nd and now yields 3.71 percent.

The dollar lost .56 to 90.67 against the yen. The euro is off .0027 to 1.3575 against the buck.

Commodities are lower as well. Crude oil fell 38 cents to $76.95 a barrel and gold gave up $11 to $1109 an ounce. Crude oil inventory data is expected at 10:30 eastern time.

But first, attention turns to the list of leading economic indicators and the Philadelphia Fed at 10:00. Economists expect to see a .5 percent increase in the leading indicators. The Philli Fed is expected to improve to 17 in February, up from 15.2 the month before.

Meanwhile, Wal-mart (WMT) will weigh on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in early trading after the world’s largest retailer reported earnings that topped estimates, but issued cautious sales guidance for the first three months of 2010. WMT is down 1.5 percent.

Among the other stocks to watch, Xenoport (XNPT) plunged 60 percent after receiving a disappointing FDA response letter. Hewlett Packard (HPQ) gained .8 percent after reporting better than expected results for the most recent quarter and raising its outlook for the full year. Rival DELL might see increasing options action today ahead of earnings, due out after the closing bell.