Rallying financial stocks are lifting the SPX
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is higher at midday, building off of yesterday's excellent session, as Apple's big iPhone reveal takes center stage. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) are also higher, with the former setting a new intraday record, with help from a rally in financial stocks. Beyond equities, traders are also processing Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's comments that backdating tax reform to Jan. 1 could be a "boon to the economy," and shrugging off threats from North Korea. Elsewhere, the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicated a record high for open positions in July, while the quits rate matched a post-recession high.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
- Analyst: Apple stock could rally 57%.
- A surging tech stock with cheap options.
- Plus, Twitter's win streak sparks a call frenzy; Gap's surprising September; and McDonald's stock ducks below a key level.
Among the stocks with unusual options volume is social media giant
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), with over 45,000 calls traded -- three times the average intraday pace, and set for the 88th percentile of its annual range. The October 19 call is attracting the most attention, with over 16,000 contracts exchanged, in what appears to be bullish, buy-to-open activity detected at the weekly 10/27 17.50-strike call. TWTR stock is currently up 2.4% to trade at $18.10 -- its highest point since a
steep bear gap in late July -- on pace for a fifth straight win.
Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) stock is up 6.1% at $27.51 -- in year-to-date high territory -- and is among the best stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, after Jefferies and Deutsche Bank raised their price targets, to $39 and $30, respectively. GPS stock has rallied more than 16% so far in September, bucking the shares' seasonal trend.
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is among the worst stocks on the S&P 500 today, and is leading the Dow laggards, down 3.3% at $156.21, amid reports of a lackluster third-quarter sales estimate from MScience. MCD shares are fresh off a record high of $161.72 yesterday, but are now set for their steepest one-day slide in over a year, and just their second close below their 50-day moving average in 2017.
