San Francisco Fed President John Williams is encouraged by recent jobs data
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has
spent nearly the entire morning in the red -- and continues to spin its wheels south of breakeven -- failing to build on Friday's
payrolls-related pop. However, San Francisco Fed President John Williams earlier said last week's jobs data reveals "good momentum" for the rest of 2015, but maintained an interest-rate hike remains data-dependent. Across the pond, a number of eurozone finance ministers are gathering today in Brussels to discuss Greece's financial woes -- though it was recently reported that the nation has made a 750 million euro payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ahead of a Tuesday deadline.
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Among the stocks with notable put volume is forex issue FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM), with the contracts crossing at nearly 10 times the average intraday pace. Prompting the rush of bearish wagers was a report from last Friday that a pension fund is suing the company for concealing weaknesses in its core business -- which has the equity sitting 12.6% lower at $1.88, and on the short-sale restricted list. FXCM's most active strike is the August 2 put, where traders may be selling to close positions.
One of the top gainers on the Nasdaq is e-commerce issue Zulily Inc (NASDAQ:ZU), after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) announced it has increased its stake in the company. At last check, ZU has advanced nearly 15% to trade at $15.27 -- and is on pace to close atop its 80-day moving average for the first time since early November. However, the shares remain roughly 35% lower on a year-to-date basis.
On the other hand, Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) is the leading laggard on the Nasdaq, down 9.7% at $20.50 -- and fresh off a record low of $20.02. Weighing on the Wall Street rookie is a round of negative analyst attention.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 0.2 point, or 1.9%, at 13.10.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 2.08, with puts more than doubling calls. At last check, SPY was 0.04% lower at 211.54.