Dow Extends Gains as Nike Sprints Higher
Nike is giving the Dow an extra push midday
Stocks are continuing their push higher this afternoon, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) adding nearly 300 points by midday thanks to a continued lift from Nike (NKE), and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) sporting notable gains of their own. This, of course, follows Friday's massive drop, which was exacerbated by coronavirus headwinds.
While some investors are taking profits on this huge drop, others on Wall Street are warning against buying the dip, as the Coronavirus continues to devastate China. In response, oil is eyeing another daily loss, as reports that Saudi Arabia is urging the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to make even deeper cuts to crude output, have surfaced. March-dated crude futures hit a new one-year low of $50.33 earlier, and were last seen down 0.9%, at $51.10.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ TSLA) is seeing a surge in activity in the options pits today, after the equity toppled the $700 level for the first time ever following a new deal with Chinese battery maker CATL, and news Japan's Panasonic marked its first-ever quarterly profit in its U.S. battery business with the equity. So far, 254,000 calls and 162,000 puts have crossed the tape, almost double what's typically seen at this point. The weekly 2/7 series is seeing quite a bit of action, with positions being opened at the 700-, 750-, and 800-strike calls.
The top stock on the Nasdaq today is Artelo Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ARTL), which has added 44.3% to trade at $2.93 so far, after Stony Brook University received a five-year grant worth $4.2 million from the National Cancer Institute that will support research and develop a platform licensed to the drugmaker of binding protein 5 (FABP5) inhibitors for cancer treatment. The equity touched a six-month high of $4.42 earlier today, and is on track for its biggest one-day percentage jump since last June.
A post-earnings plummet has school security specialist Napco Security Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:NSSC) near the bottom of the Nasdaq today. The equity is off 18% to trade at $24.10, after posting fiscal second-quarter profits of 19 cents per share and revenue below analysts' estimates. NSSC is eyeing its lowest close since late-April, and just breached its 320-day moving average for the first time in nearly two years.
