The Dow is down 39 points at midday
Stocks are cooling off at midday, following a three-day rally for the three major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are all sporting muted losses, as investors cycle out of travel and airline stocks.
Investors are also unpacking a fresh round of jobless data, with the Labor Department reporting a lower-than-expected 184,000 claims for last week. Elsewhere, Wall Street is looking ahead to November's consumer price index (CPI), which is due out tomorrow. Economists expect the index to make its biggest year-over-year jump since 1982.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Morgan Stanley eyes upside for struggling media name.
- Yum! Brands stock could benefit from a restaurant chain resurgence.
- Plus, bears bombard Antero stock; distribution deal gives IINN a boost; and RENN breaches key trendline.
Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR) is seeing a surge in bearish options activity. The stock's typically quiet options pits have seen 11,000 puts cross the tape so far, which is eight times the intraday average, compared to just 459 calls. The January 2022 16-strike put is by far the most popular, with positions being bought to open here. AR is up 0.3% to trade at $17.27 at last check, though a catalyst for today's price action is still unclear. The security just staged a bounce off its 160-day moving average, though, and is up 216.8% in 2021.
Inspira Technologies Oxy BHN Ltd (NASDAQ:IINN) is one of the best performing stocks on the Nasdaq today, last seen up 94.4% at $5.23, after the company signed a distribution agreement with Innovimed for Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The latter will buy at least 1,552 medical devices for deteriorating respiratory patients, and 59,040 disposable units. As a result, the equity is now on track for its second-highest close since going public in mid-July.
Renren Inc (NYSE:RENN), meanwhile, is one of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), down 46.1% at $14.04 at last check. Weighing on shares is news that a New York judge has denied a motion over a settlement worth $300 million due to derivative litigation. The stock plummeted to a roughly two-month low of $12.80 earlier, and is now threatening to close below its 180-day moving average for the first time since September 2020.