This market continues to whipsaw stocks intra-day. Two days in a row where we start out with positive gains in the indexes and just before noon the sell-off begins. Today a repeat. That’s why we are waiting through the noon hour before issue trade management alerts.

TRADE

Philip Morris (PM):  102.55

Philip Morris once again is starting to move higher against a struggling stock market. The stock is up over 3% today and is holding off against the market sell-off. Let’s get back into PM.

ACTION:  Sell to open PM 20 May 100 put for around 1.00 – 1.02 and a 1% return.

TRADE

IBM (IBM):  130.89

We earned our 1.65 dividend on Monday and with elevated volatility, we can sell a covered call close to our entry price for a reasonable credit.

ACTION:  Sell to open IBM 20 May 135 call for a credit of around 0.90 and a .7% return.