The Dow is 212 points higher midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up 212 points midday, continuing Friday's flourish, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) sit more hesitantly in the black. It's shaping up to be an eventful week on Wall Street, with investors looking ahead to tomorrow's midterm elections and Thursday's inflation data.
Meanwhile, China's potential reopening is still very much a point of focus, and oil prices are once again on the rise in response, with December-dated crude futures last seen 1% higher at $93.52 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Call traders are loving this Trump-linked stock today.
- Why DoorDash stock was upgraded today.
- Plus, options bulls blast BTU; CERT surges from lows; and VERV plummets on FDA hold.
Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE:BTU) is seeing a bullish options surge today. So far, 54,000 calls have been exchanged -- eight times the intraday average -- in comparison to just 6,362 puts. The July 27 call is the most popular, followed by the 40-strike call in the same standard series. At last glance, BTU was up 4.8% to trade at $28.28, amid news that merger talks with Coronado have ended. Year-to-date, the energy name is up 180%.
Certara Inc (NASDAQ:CERT) is one of the top performers on the Nasdaq today, up 19.5% at $12.73 at last glance, after Arsenal Capital raised its stake in the software name. Today's pop has CERT bouncing further off its Nov. 4 record low of $10.60. Year-to-date, the equity is down 54.6%.
Meanwhile, biotech stock Verve Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VERV) is down 27.7% to trade at $22.61 at last glance, after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) put a hold on the company's clinical trial application for VERVE-101, its potential treatment for a type of genetic heart disease. This negative price action has VERV back below its 200-day moving average. Year-over-year, the stock is down 58.2%.
