Coca-Cola and Under Armour are big earnings winners today
Stocks are stabilizing after yesterday's volatile session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) up more than 250 points at midday. Earnings season remains a primary driver, with the blue-chip index getting a lift from a positive earnings reactions for Coca-Cola (KO), while Nike (NKE) surges alongside Under Armour (UAA). The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are trading in the black, as well, after data showed consumer confidence hit an 18-year high in October. Elsewhere, investors are digesting a sharp drop in oil today, with December-dated crude futures down 0.8% at $66.54 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Avoid this sector next month.
- One analyst is unfazed by the Nvidia stock sell-off.
- Plus, GE options bear cashes out; TTWO gets "Red Dead" boost; INCY stock finds familiar resistance after earnings.
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is seeing unusual options activity today, with more than 819,000 contracts on tape -- five times the expected intraday amount and volume pacing in the 100th annual percentile. Most active are the January 2019 9- and 11-strike puts, with more than 400,000 contracts changing hands between the two. According to Trade-Alert, it appears one trader is liquidating a put spread that's been rolled several times. The former Dow stock is down 7.4% to trade at $10.29 -- just off a nine-year low of $10.27 -- amid a devastating earnings report and news of an expanded Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) investigation.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) is up 9.5% to trade at $122.41, one of the best stocks on the S&P 500 today, driven higher by strong opening weekend sales for the company's "Red Dead" video game. The $725 million in sales generated is a new worldwide record. TTWO shares are on track for their best day since Nov. 8, and are bouncing off a key trendline that's had bullish implications in the past.
Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) is down 3.9% to trade at $59.54 today -- earlier hitting a two-year low of $59 -- after the drugmaker's third-quarter earnings fell short of expectations. Earlier this month, the equity reacted positively to upbeat cancer drug data, but was stifled by its 30-day moving average. Overall, INCY has shed nearly 35% in 2018.
