U.S. stock futures have turned positive this morning ahead of minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting and President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Energy stocks led yesterday’s meager gains, after natural gas prices hit a two-month high and oil prices rebounded on supply concerns — both are moving higher again this morning.

At last check, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.12%, S&P 500 futures had risen 0.05% and Nasdaq-100 futures were flat.

On the options front, volume was anemic on Tuesday, as only about 11.6 million calls and 10.8 million puts crossed the tape. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio swung lower to 0.62, while the 10-day moving average broke lower to a one-month low of 0.62.

Driving Tuesday’s options volume, Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) saw a resurgence in call options activity despite NVDA stock receiving a downgrade at Pacific Crest securities. Elsewhere, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) also attracted heavy call volume following a bullish report on the PC market from BlueFin Research Partners. Finally, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) jumped nearly 7% after natural gas futures hit a two-month high on supply concerns.

 Nvidia Corporation (NVDA)

Share of leading PC graphics chip maker Nvidia plunged more than 7% yesterday, after Pacific Crest downgraded NVDA stock to “underweight” from “sector weight.” According to the ratings firm, Nvidia is facing heavy market saturation and a potential pause in data-center chip sales.

“Desktop graphics card manufacturers are noting material demand deceleration in sell-through since February … orders to Nvidia are unlikely to meaningfully resume until July given high channel inventory of three months,” Pacific Crest told clients in a report yesterday.

Despite the selloff and the downgrade, NVDA options traders remained in high spirits. Total volume rose to 562,000 contracts, with calls gobbling up 60% of the day’s take. That said, there is a growing trepidation among short-term traders, as the April put/call open interest ratio arrives at 0.93, with puts nearly in parity with calls. What’s more, both peak put and peak call OI rest at the at-the-money $100 strike, hinting that neither call nor put traders are expecting NVDA to stray far from current levels.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK)

CHK stock surged nearly 7% yesterday after natural gas futures rose for the first time in four sessions, tagging a two-month high in the process. Traders are keeping a close watch on weather patterns, as many are expecting an unseasonable cold snap that could push demand for natural gas. The rise bolstered Chesapeake Energy shares, and pushed options traders toward calls.

Total volume on the session rose to 191,000 contracts, which, while light in terms of recent activity, was enough to push CHK onto the top ten most active options listing. More importantly, calls snapped up 68% of the day’s take, pointing toward short-term optimism for CHK stock.

Sentiment among short-term CHK options traders had held firm since late March, with the April put/call OI ratio not straying far from 0.23, with calls nearly quintupling puts among options set to expire this month. Meanwhile, if you managed to get into the April $5.50/$6 bull call spread I noted on March 27, you may want to take profits at this time with CHK closing at $6.32 yesterday.

Intel Corporation (INTC)

Semiconductor giant Intel found a bit of support in yesterday’s lackluster session after BlueFin Research reported strong growth for PCs in the first quarter. The group said that roughly 25.3 million PCs were sold in March, with 65.1 million estimated for the first-quarter. “Ultraportable” laptops and new chip designs, some by INTC competitor Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), helped spur growth.

Shaking off pressure from rival AMD, INTC options traders heavily favored calls on Tuesday following the report. More than 242,000 contracts changed hands on the session, with calls accounting for a near-term high 65% of the day’s take.

INTC briefly flirted with heavy call OI of 31,000 contracts at the $37 strike yesterday, but the shares moderated to close closer to $36, where roughly 27,000 calls are currently open. Peak call OI for the series rests at the in-the-money $35 strike, totaling more than 35,000 contracts. With INTC trending higher premarket, the shares could once again test overhead resistance near $37 in short order.

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.