The Dow has dropped another 120 points this afternoon
Stocks are sinking even lower on Thursday, erasing their muted morning gains to resume yesterday's late-session selloff, which was sparked by yet another rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was last seen down 120 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is also sitting at a triple-digit loss, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) sports a notable midday drop of its own. Tech and semiconductor stocks are taking a hit today, while the industrial sector also suffers. The energy sector is back on the rise, and oil prices along with it. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was last seen up 0.6% at $83.42, as fears over tightening supplies reclaim Wall Street.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- How big-name retailers are prepping for the holiday season.
- What's giving Eli Lilly stock a boost.
- Plus, SAVA becomes the target of bullish bets; SPRO inks licensing agreement; and LPTV hits a new annual low.
Casava Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:SAVA) is seeing an influx of options activity. The security was last seen up 10.1% at $41.45. While the catalyst is unclear, Benzinga earlier pointed out that a single options trader looks to have taken a bullish stance on SAVA, though bears are also chiming in. At last glance, 23,000 calls and 8,317 puts have been exchanged -- triple the intraday average. The most popular is the weekly 9/23 40-strike call, followed by the 45-strike call in the same series, with positions being bought to open at both. SAVA is down 7.3% in 2022, but has added an impressive 44% this quarter, with recent support at the upward sloping 20-day moving average.
Penny stock Spero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SPRO) is sitting at the top of the Nasdaq this afternoon, last seen up 217.6% at $2.16, following news that the company inked a major licensing agreement with GSK (GSK). The $225 million deal will give GSK exclusive rights to Spero Therapeutics' urinary tract infection (UTI) tebipenem HBr antibiotic, which is currently in late stages of development. Today's massive surge puts SPRO above its 120-day moving average for the first time since early January, though it still sports an 87.1% year-to-date defect.
Meanwhile, Loop Media Inc (NYSE:LPTV) is languishing at the bottom of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). LPTV is down 49.3% at $4.66 at last check, dropping after the company announced the pricing of $12 million public offering at $5 per share. Loop was also uplisted to the NYSE American, and commenced trading under the ticker LPTV today. The stock earlier hit a fresh annual low of $4.30, and suffers an 88.5% year-over-year deficit.