The DJIA is down triple digits, and is on pace for its seventh straight day of losses
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is down triple digits at midday, with the index headed toward a seventh straight loss -- which would mark its longest losing streak in a year. In addition, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (COMP) is about to snap its winning streak, after recently making history. A Japanese stimulus plan failed to meet investor expectations, dragging down markets around the globe. Traders also reacted to a mixed bag of earnings reports, including from blue-chip stocks Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) -- the strongest second-half performer of the past 10 years -- and lukewarm economic reports. Consumer spending and personal income both rose in June, while July auto sales showed most manufacturers missing the mark.
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Among the stocks with unusual option volume is petroleum refiner HollyFrontier Corp (NYSE:HFC), with calls trading at nine times their intraday clip. It would appear one trader is selling to close her block of 11,000 August 26 calls that were opened Friday. HFC is due to report earnings tomorrow, and was last seen up 1.8% at $25.15.
Automobile attachment manufacturer Douglas Dynamics Inc (NYSE:PLOW) is among the best performers on the New York Stock Exchange today, after last night's earnings report that came in ahead of analysts' expectations. PLOW was last seen up 17.1% at $31.62.
Real estate finance company Resource Capital Corp. (NYSE:RSO) is among the worst performers on the New York Stock Exchange today, currently down 12.9% at $11.88, after confessing to steeper-than-expected per-share losses. RSO is now testing its 200-day moving average, which contained a pullback in May.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 10.9%, or 1.4 points, at 13.80.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 0.82, with calls outpacing puts and running at 1.7 times the average intraday clip. SPY is down 0.8%, or 1.7 points, at $215.71.
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