The DJIA has now set an intraday record for eight straight days
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is higher at midday, on track for a monumental ninth straight win -- and its second-longest winning streak in over a year -- buoyed by an encouraging U.S. jobs report, which included the unemployment rate at a 16-year low. The Dow once again touched a new intraday record out of the gate -- an eighth straight all-time high for the index. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) are both currently trading higher as well, though the latter is still on pace for a weekly loss.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
- What this rare Dow signal means for stocks.
- These 3 stocks are market darlings today.
- Plus, Activision's tumble; Hertz Global's jump; and the drugmaker touching decade-plus lows.
Among the stocks with unusual volume is video game stock Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), with roughly 25,000 puts traded. That is seven times the average intraday pace, and on track for the 99th percentile of its annual range. The weekly 8/4 63-strike put is the most active, where nearly 2,400 contracts have traded before expiration tonight. ATVI stock is currently down 2.5% to trade at $62.32, stumbling after earnings.
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc (NYSE:HTZ) is trading at the top of the NYSE, after J.P. Morgan Securities initiated coverage of the rental car giant with a "neutral" rating and a price target of $15. "We believe the advent of fully autonomous driving will level the playing field for rental car companies and ride share solutions, making them one and the same," wrote the analysts. The news has HTZ stock up 4.7% to trade at $13.59 and poised to reclaim its 100-day moving average, which stifled rally attempts earlier this year.
A day after a massive post-earnings bear gap, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) stock is trading near the bottom of the NYSE, after three brokerage firms downgraded the shares, including a drop to "underperform" from "outperform" at RBC. In addition, TEVA was hit with no fewer than five price-target cuts. TEVA stock is down another 11.5% to trade at $21.01,and earlier touched a 13-year low of $20.42.