VIX Vaults Higher as Stocks Resume Sell-Off
The VIX is up 30% so far this week
Stocks are selling off once more, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) down more than 350 points at midday, almost erasing the gains from yesterday. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are spiraling, as well, with the former hovering near correction territory. Plus, all three indexes are headed for a weekly loss -- the Nasdaq its fourth in a row -- as disappointing FAANG earnings overshadow better-than-expected third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Against this backdrop, Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), is pacing for a 30% weekly gain.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
2 stocks at new lows after earnings. The chip stock up 17% today.Plus, day traders target Johnson & Johnson; STX stock hit by sector struggles; and AK Steel sinks after earnings.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is seeing unusual put volume today, with more than 8,500 contracts on the tape -- double the expected intraday amount and volume pacing in the 97th percentile of its annual range. Most active is the weekly 10/26 138-strike put, with more than 2,561 contracts changing hands, and the bulk of which appear to be seeing buy-to-open activity. The Dow stock is down 1.1% to trade at $136.98 today.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) is down 9.6% to trade at $38.66, one of the worst stocks on the S&P 500 today, dragged lower by a dismal quarterly report from sector peer Western Digital (WDC). STX isdangerously close to its annual low of 36.07 from last November, and is now trading below its year-to-date breakeven level. The shares have been pressured lower by their 20-day moving average since an early September bull gap.
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) is down 9.2% to trade at $3.83 today,one of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) so far, after the company's third-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of expectations. The steel stock earlier fell to a two-year low of $3.56, and is on track for its worst day since July. AKS has now shed 32% in 2018, and a breakout earlier this month was contained by the shares' 320-day moving average.