Dow Eyes Fifth Straight Win in Volatile Session
It's been a volatile day of trading on Wall Street following this morning's latest inflation update, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) exploring a 311-point range on both sides of breakeven so far. At last check, the blue-chip index was in positive territory, and earlier traded north of 25,000 for the first time since Feb. 7, thanks to a positive earnings reaction for Cisco (CSCO) stock. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) have also erased earlier losses, with all three benchmarks pacing for a fifth straight gain -- the Dow's longest win streak of 2018, and the longest for the SPX and Nasdaq since early January.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
2 pharma stocks on fire.Drop this oil stock before the weekend.Plus, Pandora targeted for a pre-earnings options play; a surging retail stock; and the cancer drug stock up 50%.
Among the stocks with unusual options volume today is Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), with nearly 27,000 calls on the tape -- 16 times the average intraday rate. By comparison, just 890 puts have traded. Almost all of the volume occurred when 20,000 weekly 2/23 5.50-strike calls were likely bought to open for $0.33 apiece, per Trade-Alert, likely betting onpost-earnings upside after the streaming service reports next Wednesday night. P stock is up 1.4% today to trade at $4.97.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc (NYSE:BBW) is one of the best stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) so far today, after the toy retailer reported better-than-expected adjusted fourth-quarter profit. BBW was last seen up 15.4% at $9, but running out of steam near the site of a mid-January bear gap.
Moleculin Biotech Inc (NASDAQ:MBRX) is at the top of the Nasdaq, after the pre-clinical stage pharmaceutical firm said it's created and licensed a breakthrough molecular cancer treatment. The penny stock is up 55% to trade at $2.82 -- on track for its highest close since last June.