The Dow was last seen up 200 points
Stocks are extending their post-holiday climb, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) up 200 points at midday. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) also sports sizable gains and earlier hit an intraday high, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is eyeing a notable win of its own, as all three major indexes pace for their fourth-straight daily pop.
Investors are largely brushing off the airline sector's pullback, sparked by a deluge of flight cancelations due to Covid-19. More reports suggesting the omicron strain is milder than previous variants is also adding to optimism, as is news that holiday sales enjoyed an 8.5% rise from last year -- the quickest jump in 17 years -- despite supply chain issues.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Checking in with FuelCell stock ahead of earnings.
- Why options bulls are still targeting Nikola stock after Christmas.
- Plus, UPST targeted by bulls; PYR reclaims key trendline; and disappointing trial data sinks BBIO.
Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST) is seeing an uptick in bullish options activity today, with 56,000 calls exchanged so far, which is three times the intraday average, and nearly seven times the number of puts traded. The most popular is the weekly 12/31 160-strike call, followed by the 185-strike call in the same series, with positions being opened at both. UPST was last seen up 7.5% at $159.29, and while the reason for this upwards price action isn't clear, the equity now sports an impressive 288.9% year-to-date lead.
One of the best performers on the Nasdaq today is PyroGenesis Canada Inc (NASDAQ:PYR), which was last seen up 67.6% at $4.24. Though a catalyst for this bull gap isn't readily available, the security just spent almost two weeks hovering around its Dec. 17 annual low of $2.28. PYR looks ready to reclaim the 140-day moving average for the first time in almost half a year today, and sports a 54.5% year-over-year lead.
One of the worst stocks on the Nasdaq today is BridgeBio Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:BBIO). The equity is down 70.9% at $11.81 at last check, following reports that the company's acoramidis treatment for patients with symptomatic transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy did not reach its main goal in a Phase 3 trial. BBIO earlier fell to a record low of $11.25, and now carries an 83.6% year-to-date deficit.