The Dow is off 175 points this afternoon
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down 175 points at midday, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is also in the red, as stocks cool down from their best week since November 2020. Meanwhile the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is flat, after the 10-year Treasury yield moved above 2.2%, pressuring the technology sector once again. Elsewhere, oil prices are higher, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude topping $110 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Why put traders are piling on Boeing stock.
- BlackBerry stock scored an upgrade from RBC.
- Plus, call traders blast oil stock; Anaplan stock pops on acquisition; and BEKE resumes pullback.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), last seen up 7.9% at $60.66, is seeing a surge in bullish options activity today. So far, 139,000 calls have crossed the tape, or triple the intraday amount, and more than triple the 40,000 puts exchanged. The 3/25 65-strike call is the most popular by far, with positions being opened there. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) just increased its stake in the oil concern to 14.6%, which today helped OXY plow through a ceiling at the $60 region for the first time since May 2019. With recent support from the 10-day moving average, Occidental Petroleum stock has added 39.5% month-to-date, and sports a 116.9% year-over-year lead.
The best performing stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) so far today is Anaplan Inc (NYSE:PLAN), which was last seen up 27.7% at $64.59. This impressive bull gap came came after private-equity firm Thoma Bravo said it acquired the business planning software name for $9.65 billion, or $66 per share, which is a 35% premium to its Friday close. PLAN is now trading at its highest level since November, and sports a 40.9% rise in 2022.
Meanwhile, KE Holdings Inc (NYSE:BEKE) is at the bottom of the NYSE. The security was last seen down 15.1% to trade at $12.01, though a reason for today's drop was not immediately clear. The security has been struggling with overhead pressure at the $18 level, despite bouncing off a March 14, all-time low of $7.32. Year-over-year, BEKE is down 81.1%.