red, sorry to be slow in responding. There are various ways of...

red, sorry to be slow in responding. There are various ways of looking at it. A surge in puts or a decrease in calls, or both, will make the put call ratio move. Either way, its not a sign of confidence unless you factor in market manipulation (err should have said market stabilisation). A nice way for deep pockets to both make a killing AND stabilise a market is to buy puts on the way up, so that these deep pockets can then cover their puts on the way down - at a profit, of course. The buying pressure from covering puts can put a floor under a declining market or add to the price hike on a breakout from consolidation higher. This latter bit is the big price move (breakouts) we all look to get in on, and happens when the bears (put buyers)get squeezed. Its interesting that this time we've seen increased put buying on the breakout higher, rather than covering, which suggests the biggest bears are not only confident but in fact increasing their bearish bet or insurance against a fall.

Or it could just be a sign of a jittery market where mums and dads are taking out insurance against a fall.