The DJIA remains below breakeven despite a huge uptick in oil prices
After falling nearly 80 points out of the gate, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has managed to pare a solid portion of its early losses. Traders continue to digest the European Central Bank's (ECB) decision to leave interest rates unchanged, with bank president Mario Draghi adding that no additional stimulus measures were discussed. Meanwhile, stocks are also reacting to this morning's batch of economic data. Not only did weekly jobless claims fall to a two-month low, but U.S. crude stockpiles surprisingly declined last week. As such, October-dated crude oil futures have jumped 3.8% to $47.24 per barrel. Nevertheless, the Dow remains in the red -- and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) set to snap its winning streak -- dragged lower by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
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Among the stocks with unusual options volume at midday is Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), as the company deals with hiccups regarding its proposed NetSuite Inc (NYSE:N) buyout and prepares to report earnings next week. Put volume is running at four times the normal intraday pace, thanks to heavy action at the weekly 9/9 41-strike put. If traders are buying to open positions here, they're betting on ORCL moving lower through tomorrow's close, when the options expire. The stock was last seen 1.1% lower at $40.81.
One of the top performers on the Nasdaq is biotech stock Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO), following upbeat analyst attention and positive drug news. The stock has added 4.6% to rest at $5.01, adding to its mind-bending run in the past several weeks. Specifically, ABEO has more than doubled in value since the end of June.
Among the worst performers on the Nasdaq is Apple supplier Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), as the shares fall in line with the broader semiconductor sector, last seen 6.4% lower at $6.40. AMD has now given back 20% of its value since hitting a multi-year peak of $8.00 less than a month ago, and options traders are betting on even more downside.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 0.3 point, or 2.4%, at 12.23.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.68, with puts outnumbering calls. The SPY was last seen down 0.2 point, or 0.1%, at $218.85.
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