Stocks Chop as Wall Street Unpacks Powell Comments

Stocks are mixed at midday, as investors weigh remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. At a central banking forum in Europe, Powell acknowledged inflation progress, but also noted “We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2% before we start the process of reducing or loosening policy."

The 10-year Treasury yield has cooled in response to Powell's comments, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is modestly lower at last check. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) chop just above breakeven, with TSLA surging while megacap Nvidia (NVDA) cools. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Struggling streaming stock may have found a lifeline.
• 2 homebuilding stocks in focus today.
• Plus, bank stock's straddle activity; chip giant tests trendline; and INCY downgraded. 

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) is seeing a spike in options volume today. At last check, over 67,000 contracts have changed hands, volume that's 356 times the average intraday amount. It looks like one trader is betting on limited momentum in the near term, possibly initiating short straddles at the weekly 7/3 42- and 43 strikes, with 16,550 call and put contracts crossing the line at each. UBS initiated coverage on the Canada-based bank with a "neutral" rating, though BNS is down 7% year-to-date.

ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ON) is up 3.2% to trade at $71.42 today, one of the best stocks on the SPX after the chipmaker was added to Wells Fargo's Tactical Ideas list. ON is 14% lower in 2024, with rallies all year finding staunch resistance at its 200-day moving average.

Incyte Corp (NASDAQ:INCY) stock is near the bottom of the SPX, last seen down 2.5% to trade at $59.36. BMO downgraded the drugmaker to "underperform" from "market perform" alongside a price-target cut to $48 from $52, citing revenue concerns and minimal value for shareholders.  INCY is now down 5.4% in 2024.