The DJIA is spiraling, as crude oil slides on a dreary IEA outlook
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plunged triple digits out of the gate, and has yet to look back, with all but one of the 30 stocks that make up the blue-chip index wallowing in red ink. Plunging energy stocks have temporarily put Fed rate-hike chatter on the back burner, as oil prices swoon after the International Energy Agency (IEA) offered up a dismal outlook on global crude supply and demand. At last check, October-dated crude futures have shed 3.2% to trade at $44.83 per barrel.
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Among the stocks with unusual call volume at midday is Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW), with the contracts crossing at 14 times the average intraday pace. Shares of the Oprah-backed weight management firm are down 4.7% at $9.86 -- on pace for their first finish south of $10 since the huge Oprah bull gap last October -- on news of a C-suite shake-up. Options traders are betting on a quick bounce back into double-digit territory, though, with buy-to-open activity detected at WTW's September 10 call.
Semiconductor stock Intersil Corp (NASDAQ:ISIL) is one of the biggest gainers on the Nasdaq -- up 10.2% at $21.77, and fresh off an eight-year high of $21.85. Japan's Renesas Electronics Corp said it will buy ISIL for $3.2 billion in cash, or $22.50 per ISIL share.
Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX) is one of the worst performers on the Nasdaq, down 5.2% at $11.56. It's been a volatile month for the biotech, which has spent September whipsawing between $10 and $16. Longer term, DVAX is staring at a 52% year-to-date deficit.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 3.3 points, or 21.6%, at 18.43.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.74, with puts nearly doubling calls. SPY is down 3.3 points, or 1.5%, at $213.05.
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