Apple, Tax Vote in Focus as Stocks Pull Back from Record Highs
U.S. stocks are lower this afternoon, pulling back from yesterday's record closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are all in the red at midday, with Goldman Sachs (GS) leading the blue-chip losers, and FAANG stock Apple (AAPL) pacing a tech decline. The market is still awaiting the highly anticipated tax vote from Congress, with the House expected to weigh in this afternoon, and the Senate expected to pass the measure this evening.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
How the Dow is about to make history.Analyst: This drug stock could skyrocket 150%.Plus, Navistar's unusual options volume; Darden's post-earnings rally; and the pharma stock gapping lower.
Among the stocks with unusual options volume is trucking concern Navistar International Corp(NYSE:NAV), with roughly 3,600 calls traded -- nine times the average intraday norm, and pacing for the highest percentile of its annual range. The weekly 12/22 46- and 43-strike calls are among the most active for NAV. At last check, Navistar stock was up 7.3% at $45.26, and just off a fresh five-year high of $47.47, thanks to its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat.
One of the top stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), after the company reported a fiscal second-quarter earnings beat and hiked its 2018 guidance. At last check, DRI stock had gapped 4% higher to trade at $94.49, and earlier notched a record high of $95.93.
One of the worst performers on the Nasdaq is drug concern Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:YTEN). YTEN stock has gapped 27% lower to $2.08, after pricing a public offering at $2.25 per share. Yield10 stock skyrocketed north of $8 earlier this month, thanks to a licensing deal with Monsanto (MON), but has given up nearly all of those gains already.