Puts Purchased on HSBC Holdings (HBC)

Shares of HSBC Holdings HBC are higher on the session by 0.64%, currently trading at $51.97. The stock has been moving largely sideways over the past five months and is currently consolidating around the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Options traders are buying puts on the name today. A short while ago the January 2011 $50.00 put was purchased 3,800 times, on the offer, on open interest of 15,916 contracts. Overall put volume is now running at 2.00x the daily average with 95% of all puts traded being purchases on the offer. HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company. Through its subsidiaries and associates, HSBC provides a range of banking and related financial services. The products and services of the company include personal financial services, commercial banking, global banking and markets, and private banking.