Commodity concern Arch Coal (ACI: sentiment, chart, options) is broadly higher today, with the shares catching a lift from a widespread rally on Wall Street and some upbeat commentary from chairman and CEO Steven Leer. At an event in Hong Kong yesterday, Leer told Reuters that coal prices appear to be stabilizing, and he expects overall production in the coal sector to be slightly higher at the end of 2008. While he predicted that 2009 production will be flat, he observed that there's a "tremendous opportunity to acquire assets" in the current market environment. "Arch's balance sheet is stronger than it has ever been in the history of the company, and that really prepares us to make acquisitions if it makes sense for our shareholders," asserted Leer.

At midday, ACI shares are up nearly 13%. The equity's intraday high was capped by resistance from its 20-day moving average, which has highlighted its decline since July.

Option traders have recently taken a bearish stance on the stock, with the International Securities Exchange (ISE) reporting a 10-day put/call ratio of 1.13. This reading is just 8 percentage points from an annual peak of pessimism, which indicates that ACI's buy-to-open volume on the ISE has rarely been more skewed toward puts.

However, in today's session, the most active ACI option is the December 17.50 call. This out-of-the-money call has seen 1,803 contracts cross the tape on open interest of 2,140.