The DJIA continues to lose ground
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) continues to lose ground, and is in danger of snapping its six-session streak of ending north of 18,000. In fact, only five of the index's 30 components were sporting gains at last check, with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) pacing the blue-chip laggards. Unlike yesterday, today's batch of economic reports was mostly positive -- including jobless claims that dropped to 15-year lows -- but not enough to overshadow a tech swoon.
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Among the stocks with notable put volume is Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR). The contracts are trading at a whopping 42 times the expected intraday pace. It appears traders are buying to open the May 115 and 120 puts, betting on extended losses by the close on Friday, May 15, when front-month options expire. At last check, shares of the audio products maker were down 7.4% at $129.87, after the company cut its full-year forecast.
One of the top gainers on the Nasdaq today is software concern Clicksoftware Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:CKSW). The shares are 27% higher at $12.47 -- and earlier touched a two-year high of $12.55 -- after the company announced it was being bought by Francisco Partners for $12.65 per share.
One of the top losers on the Big Board is Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP). The review stock has lost over one-fifth of its value to hit an annual low of $40.67, due to disappointing first-quarter earnings and current-quarter guidance. As a result, YELP was hit with a round of bearish analyst attention.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) continues to charge higher, last seen 0.6 point, or 4.6%, higher at 14.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.66, with puts outnumbering calls. At last check, SPY was 1.3 point, or 0.6%, lower at $209.24.