Investors are jittery ahead of another week of earnings reports
Stocks are sluggish to kick off another week of earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) have all spent the morning trading on both sides of breakeven, with the blue-chip index inching lower at last check. Also lower today is oil, with May-dated crude last seen off by 1.2%, to trade at $81.53 per barrel. Amid all this choppiness, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is on track to snap a three-day losing streak.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Options traders eye more gains for this bank giant.
- Bull notes keep coming for Biogen stock.
- Plus, options bulls eye China stock; BTU breaks out; and no vaccine bump for MRNA.
Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME) is getting blitzed by options bulls today. Over 23,000 calls have changed hands already this morning, volume that's 15 times the average intraday amount. Although there's no specific catalyst, China stocks in general are higher ahead of the country's first-quarter gross domestic product data (GDP) due out tomorrow. TME is up 61% year-over-year.
Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE:BTU) is one of the better performers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, last seen up 7.7% to trade at $27.19. The clean coal miner announced a $1 billion share repurchase program today, sending the stock to its highest level since March 3. BTU has now reclaimed its year-to-date breakeven level.
Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) is near the bottom of the SPX today, off by 7.4% to trade at $145.17. The drugmaker is lower despite upbeat results from the company's skin cancer vaccine developed with Merck (MRK). Moderna stock is heading for its lowest close in over a month, after a rejection at its 200-day moving average last week.
