Stocks are slowly stringing together gains ahead of a busy end to the trading week
Stocks are strengthening as the day goes on, as U.S. equities push past any global weakness stemming from the selloff in China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up triple digits at last check, poised to make a run at record highs. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are also both heading higher after opening in the red, the latter scoring an intraday record high earlier.
Despite the midday flourish, investors are eyeing September's Fed meeting minutes, which are due out later today. Elsewhere, oil prices are extending their pullback, with November-dated crude futures last seen 2% lower at $72.09 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Rio Tinto barging into the lithium market.
- Reddit stock ripe for upgrades, short squeeze.
- Plus, a Corning call craze; cruise stocks pop; and Boeing withdraws pay raise offer.
Corning Inc (NYSE:GLW) is seeing a surge in options activity today. At last check, over 56,000 calls have changed hands, volume that's 20 times the average intraday amount and over 6 times the number of puts exchanged. The December 48 call is where most of the action is, with over 14,000 contracts flying off the shelves and new positions being bought to open. The glass manufacturer is 3.8% higher to trade at $46.34 after a price-target hike to $49 from $46 at Deutsche Bank, and earlier hit a record high of $47.25.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) stock is near the top of the SPX today, last seen up 7.6% higher to trade at $22.38, and earlier hitting a more than two-year high of $22.95. Citi upgraded the cruise liner to "buy" from "neutral," and hiked its price target to $30 from $20, the analyst in coverage bullish on the company's growth trajectory. Citi also doled out price-target hikes to sector peers Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Carnival (CCL). Year-to-date, NCLH is up 14%.
Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) is dragging the Dow today, off by 2.7% to trade at $150.38, and earlier hitting a two-year low of $148.80. The aerospace giant withdrew its pay raise offer with the machinist union, extending the strike. Boeing stock is down 42.3% in 2024, with pressure emerging at its 20-day moving average since early August gap lower.
