President Trump is tweeting about Fed rate cuts
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is modestly higher, thanks to Microsoft (MSFT) -- today's big blue-chip earnings winner. In addition, Boeing (BA) stock is higher after the company said the grounded 737 MAX should be back in service in the early part of the fourth quarter. Investors are also digesting the latest tweets from President Donald Trump, who supported New York Fed President John Williams' initial statements regarding a rate cut and urged the Fed to stop "crazy quantitative tightening." The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is also in the black, though the S&P 500 Index (SPX) has surrendered early gains to trade lower. Still, all three indexes are on pace for weekly losses.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Analyst: Buy underloved GrubHub stock.
- The hits just keep coming for J C Penney stock.
- Plus, FCX calls hot; Gannett pops on merger reports; and American Express expenses rise.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) is seeing highly accelerated options trading today. More than 30,000 call options have traded -- double what's typically seen at this point in the day, and more than three times the number of puts traded. Leading the charge is the August 12 call, where more than 6,000 contracts have traded. FCX was last seen up 3% to trade at $11.48, so buyers of the call expect the copper stock to extend its gains and top $12 by next month. Of course, this could be a bullish earnings play, with the company expected to report next week.
Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) is near the top of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, up 23.8% to trade at $9.80, after the Wall Street Journal reported the newspaper titan is nearing a merger deal with Gatehouse Media. GCI is on track for its best day ever, and is set to topple its 200-day moving average for the first time since April.
On the other end of the spectrum is American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), down 2.6% to trade at $125.09. The credit card company reported second-quarter earnings above estimates and reaffirmed its 2019 guidance, but also noted that total expenses will rise more this year. AXP touched a record high of $129.33 on Tuesday, July 16, and today's pullback could find support at the ascending 30-day moving average.