Wary Wall Street Drags Dow, Nasdaq Sees Boost in Tech
The Dow is down around 160 points midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down over 160 points midday, with Wall Street wary surrounding the "reopening" of the economy -- made worse by a second wave of coronavirus cases in South Korea. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) is also modestly in the red, while on the flip side, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is eking out gains thanks to a rise in FAANG stocks. With investors appearing to shake off Friday's dismal jobs report, analysts say some near-term market consolidation may be inevitable.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
PlayStation parent boosts China security.Garbage name seeing surge in demand amid shelter-in-place. Plus, AMC sees an options surge; MyoKardia stock gets a boost from its heart drug; and the sinking shipping stock.
One stock seeing unusual options activity today is AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC), up 24.8% at $5.11 at last check, after reports of "takeover talks" with Amazon.com (AMZN) surfaced. The theater giant has seen 72,000 puts and 63,000 calls cross the tape so far -- nearly 12 times the usual daily volume. Most popular is the May 5 put, followed by the May 6 call, with positions being opened at both. Today's pop has AMC toppling resistance at the 80-day moving average. Though the stock has risen 98% on the charts in the last month, it still sports a 63% deficit for the last 12 months.
Topping the Nasdaq today is MyoKardia Inc (NASDAQ:MYOK), up 65.5% at $101.12 at last check, earlier hitting a fresh record high of $104.26. This rise follows the company's late-stage trial results for its heart drug, which met its main goal in showing significant effects on both symptoms and cardiac function. MYOK has surged 88% in the last month, and 35% in 2020.
On the flip side, near the bottom of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Scorpio Bulkers Inc (NYSE:SALT), down 16% at $16.84 at last check, earlier bottoming out at a record low, $16.45. This drop comes after the shipping company reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss, and now has the equity down 73.4% year-to-date.