The DJIA is trading lower as traders await comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has been trading in a narrow range in negative territory so far today, as traders await a midday speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Traders will be listening carefully for rate-hike clues, though Fed funds futures suggest very few are anticipating any policy-tightening moves at the central bank's April meeting. Meanwhile, oil prices are weighing on stocks, with May-dated crude futures trading down 3.6% at $37.99 a barrel.
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Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) is among the stocks with unusual option volume at midday, with contracts trading at three times the usual intraday pace.
Puts are dominating the action, with nearly 3,400 changing hands so far, compared to fewer than 1,000 calls. Specifically, it looks like traders may be
buying to open the April 48 put, meaning they expect the security to sink below the $48 level by the time the option expires next month. CCL is due to report fiscal first-quarter earnings before the market opens tomorrow, and currently is trading up 0.6% at $49.33.
Among the top gainers on the Nasdaq today is GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) supplier
Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ:AMBA). The stock is up 6.4% at $43.31 and breaking out above resistance at its 60-day moving average,
thanks to a bullish note from Morgan Stanley.
Puma Biotechnology Inc (NYSE:PBYI), meanwhile, is one of the worst performers on the New York Stock Exchange, shedding 26.1% on disappointing drug news to trade at $26.15 -- just off its new three-year low of $25.20. Adding insult to injury, Credit Suisse is the latest brokerage to dole out a bearish note to PBYI today, trimming its price target to $50 from $69.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is down 0.1 point, or 0.5%, at 15.17.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 2.20, with puts more than doubling calls. SPY was last seen down 0.35 point, or 0.2%, at $202.92.