Options Recap: Traders Bet S&P Will Fall

OptionMonster co-founder Pete Najarian provides options picks Monday, Wednesday and Friday in TheStreet.com's Deep in the Money Calls newsletter.

David Russell, reporter for OptionMonster.

Below is a compilation of stories that ran yesterday on OptionMonster.com, which uses advanced monitoring systems to detect trading patterns by large institutional traders and retail investors.

VIX futures anticipate S&P 500 Index drop: Higher prices for the volatility index suggest a drop for the broader market.

Russell 2000 draws call spreads: The rally in the Russell 2000 index appears to be stalling out after its 46% rise, and options traders are seizing on the opportunity to earn income.

Bulls charging into Latin banks: Options turned bullish on two Latin banks as investors sought exposure to commodity-rich South American economies.

Options prepare for drop in NRG: Options traders positioned for a pullback in NRG Energy(NRG Quote) as the utility stock struggled to break a resistance level on its chart.

Bearish traders target Cardionet: (BEAT Quote)Put volume soared as investors positioned for downside in the heart-care company.

Wednesday Pre-Market:

Call buying in CIT Group: (CIT Quote)CIT rose more than 6% Tuesday as traders bet the stock would rally past $5 by mid-June.

Options look to Cemex downside: Put activity surged in Cemex(CX Quote) Tuesday as at least one large investor positioned for a potential drop by the Mexican cement giant.

Trades turn negative on retail ETF: Options activity was negative on the industry as traders used put strategies to bet against the SPDR S&P Retail Index(XRT Quote) exchange traded fund.