The Dow is 276 points higher at midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is 276 points higher at midday, building off of this morning's solid start to the new week. Both the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also comfortably higher, thanks to significant gains from Big Tech. Elsewhere, investors are still waiting for stimulus news, though Congress negotiations seem to have reached another stalemate. Investors are also looking ahead to the third-quarter earnings season, which kicks off after the close, with bank names and airlines headlining.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- AZN rises on million-dollar U.S. government deal.
- Food and beverage stock pops on Citi upgrade.
- Plus, options bears blast mining stock after incident; Ford stock surges after bull note; and solar energy stock drops following registered direct offering news.
One stock seeing notable options activity is Hudbay Minerals Inc (NYSE:HBM), down 3.3% at $4.46 at last check. The drop came after the mining company announced it was interrupting production at its 777 mine following an incident on Oct. 9. Though there were no injuries and all underground personnel were safely evacuated, the company said it will take several weeks to fully assess the damage and remedial work needed. Amid low absolute volume, 1,256 calls puts have crossed the tape so far, which is more than 620 times the average intraday amount. The most popular is the April, 5-strike put, where new positions are currently being opened. Year-over-year, HBM is up 25.9%.
Surging on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), up 5.5% at $7.65 at last check. Today's pop came after Benchmark upgraded the automaker stock to "buy" from "hold" and introduced a $10 price target. The analyst in question said a new management team, composed of CEO Jim Farley and CFO John Lawler, will be well perceived by investors. In addition, the analyst said it expects strong North American production and demand in China. Prior to today's upgrade, F had been fighting overhead pressure at the $7.50 mark, after cooling off from a rally in June. Now, the security has toppled that ceiling once again, and is up 47.8% in the last six months.
Meanwhile, dropping lower is ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL), last seen down 12% at $3.64. The negative price action came after the solar energy concern announced a $5 million registered direct offering. More specifically, the company entered into securities purchase agreements with several institutional investors, for the purchase and sale of 1,538,462 American Depositary Shares (ADSs). Though this recent announcement sent shares plummeting, SOL is still receiving support from the 20-day moving average, and experienced several bull gaps over the last few months to hit a four-year high of $4.31 on Oct. 9. Year-to-date, the security is up 155.8%.
