The DJIA, SPX, and COMP are staying hot, fresh off all-time highs
The good times keep rolling for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (COMP), each index fresh off a record high. In fact, the Dow and its peers have all advanced in every session this week, despite expectations the Fed will hike interest rates next Wednesday. With stocks red-hot, confidence is on the rise, as the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey reached its highest perch since January 2015. Adding to the optimism, oil prices keep rising, with January-dated crude futures tacking on 1% at $51.37 per barrel.
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Among the stocks with unusual option volume at midday is Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), with the contracts running at triple the expected intraday pace. Traders may be buying to open the weekly 12/30 60-strike call. At last check, the casino shares are 3.3% higher at $56.45, thanks to a timely clarification out of Macau.
One of the biggest losers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE:RH). The retail stock is down 16.4% at $32.61 on weak current-quarter guidance.
Among the leading decliners on the Nasdaq is Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD), down 6.4% at $11.94. The embattled shares shook off a disappointing earnings report yesterday for a solid gain, but it now looks like that progress will be wiped out.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is down 0.5 point, or 3.7%, at $12.17.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 0.96, with puts and calls trading near parity. At last check, SPY has advanced 0.7 point, or 0.3%, at $225.86 -- and is fresh off a record $226.02.
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