Apple, Factory Data Drag Dow Down 500 Points
The S&P and Nasdaq are much lower at midday, too
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 169 points out of the gate, and the losses have only accumulated. At last check, the blue-chip index was down almost 500 points, sinking back below the 23,000 mark, with a negative reaction to Apple's (AAPL) weak revenue forecast sparking the risk-off backdrop. A weaker-than-expected Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing survey for December is exacerbating headwinds -- and offsetting this morning's upbeat jobs data -- with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) sharply lower at midday, as well.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
2 energy stocks Goldman Sachs is selling.Best Buy gets hit by the Apple buzz.Plus, Yandex options bull cashes out; and two pharma stocks swinging on buyout buzz.
Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX) is seeing notable options activity today, with roughly 11,000 calls change hands -- 47 times the average intraday amount, and 10 times the number of puts traded.The shares of the Russian internet name are down 20.6% year-over-year, and one trader today appears to be selling to close their January 2020 50-strike calls, initially purchased last August, according to Trade-Alert. At last check, YNDX stock was down 1.6% to trade at $27.06.
One of the best stocks on the Nasdaq today is Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG), with the shares spiking on buyout news. Specifically, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) plans to buy the oncology name in a cash-and-stock deal valued at roughly $74 billion, or $102.43 per Celgene share. CELG was last seen 25.8% higher at $83.82.
Conversely, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) is trading notably lower today. The shares are down 13.9% to trade at $44.78, fresh off a five-year low of $44.30. Today's plunge has the shares surrendering a short-lived stint above their 50-day moving average -- a trendline the equity has struggled against since a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision sparked a bear gap in mid-October.
