The Dow is up over 360 points midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up 360 points at midday, extending this morning's gains as optimism builds around a new stimulus package, and investors carefully monitor U.S. President Donald Trump's health, with a medical discharge decision from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to be announced later today. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also firmly above fair value.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Telecom stock boosted by a new upgrade from Bernstein.
- Eidos Therapeutics stock surged after a billion-dollar merger.
- Plus, Myokardia surges on acquisition; Jeld-Wen popping after Wells Fargo bull note; Cinemark plummets after peer closures.
One stock seeing notable options activity is Myokardia Inc (NASDAQ:MYOK), up 58.2% at $220.82 at last check, earlier hitting a record high of $224.00, after Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) said it would buy the company for about $13 billion to bolster its portfolio of heart disease treatments. Amid low absolute volume, 775 calls and 3, 515 puts have crossed the tape today -- 55 times the average intraday amount. Most popular are the October 200 put, where new positions are being opened. Year-to-date, MYOK has surged 202%.
Surging on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Jeld-Wen Holding Inc (NYSE:JELD), up 13.3% at $26.59 at last check, earlier hitting a fresh two-year high of $27.32. Today's pop comes after the manufacturing concern received an upgrade from to "overweight" from "equal weight" at Wells Fargo. The analyst in coverage said the company has improved its Windows manufacturing operations, and that quality control issues are a thing of the past. The equity has been chopping higher on the charts since March, and is up an impressive 188.7% in the last six months.
Meanwhile, dropping lower is Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), last seen down 15.3% at $8.54, after sector peer Cineworld hit a record low earlier this morning when it announced it was temporarily shutting down locations in the U.S. and the U.K. Delays in movie releases are also causing trouble for the security, which was already struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Cinemark stock has been trending lower for the past several months, guided by the 10-day moving average. Year-over-year, the security is down 76.9%.
