Here's Why Nokia And Alcatel Lucent Shares Just Spiked

Joel Elconin is the co-host of Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show.

Nokia Corporation (ADR) NOK shares are trading higher by $0.21 at $8.27 in Monday's session.

The catalyst for the rally is news that the company is making progress in talks to purchase some of Alcatel Lucent SA (ADR) ALU's assets. Alcatel Lucent shares are getting a boost from the discussions as well; it is trading higher by more than 8 percent on the day.

On Friday, someone may have had an inkling that Nokia was up to something good: 6,313 options contracts in the April 8 calls traded at $0.15, while the issue was in the midst of a rally from its Thursday close ($7.73) to $8.06 by Friday's close.

As JP Morgan's Rod Hall pointed out this morning, the sale of Nokia's HERE maps business -- worth more than $2 billion -- could partially fund the purchase of Alcatel's wireless segment, according to a Bloomberg report.