The DJIA is on pace for its first weekly win in four weeks
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has trekked higher throughout the morning,
tracking global markets, as traders attempt to
shake off rate-hike fears and slipping oil prices. June-dated crude oil is off 0.2% at $48.05 per barrel, as growing stockpiles overshadow supply outages abroad. Meanwhile, stocks are getting a lift on news that existing home sales for April rose more than expected, while March sales were revised slightly higher. If the DJIA can hold its triple-digit lead through the afternoon, the index should stave off a four-week losing streak. Likewise, the tech-rich
Nasdaq Composite (COMP) is outperforming its peers, on pace to avoid a fifth straight weekly loss.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
Dow component Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) is among the stocks with unusual options volume today. The stock is down 0.8% at $56.59 after a disappointing sales report from a sector peer, and NKE options traders appear to be eyeing further short-term losses. Puts are changing hands at four times their average intraday rate, and outnumbering calls more than 3-to-1. The most active option is NKE's weekly 5/27 55-strike put, where it looks like traders are buying to open new positions, targeting a slide below $55 by the close next Friday.
Among the top performers on the Big Board today is
InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC), surging 36.5% to $43.21 -- just off a fresh year-to-date high of $43.33. The jump comes on news that
Australian Oil Search Limited will buy the company in a deal valued at $2.2 billion, or approximately $40.25 per share.
Retailer
Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) is among the worst performers on the Nasdaq at midday, giving up 3.4% at $53.61 after a disappointing turn in the earnings confessional and
subsequent round of price-target cuts. However, the shares could find an ally in their 200-day moving average, which has supported ROST since November.
The
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is down 0.8 point, or 5%, at 15.51.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.04, with puts and calls trading at a nearly equal pace. SPY was last seen up 1.5 points, or 0.7%, at $205.69.
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