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Uninspiring data on the home front has done little to boost traders' appetite for risk
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) is backing down from 18,000, as stocks stage a modest retreat in the wake of a Greece bailout bust. The debt-strapped country's talks with creditors broke down yesterday, sparking a sell-off in Greek assets ahead of the current bailout program's expiration at the end of the month. Stateside, meanwhile, lackluster data on homebuilder confidence and New York-area manufacturing is also weighing on sentiment, with the Dow last seen 38 points lower, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) retreating from record highs, down 3.1 points.
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Among the stocks with notable option volume is cybersecurity firm Cyberark Software Ltd (NASDAQ:CYBR), which is extending its post-earnings quest for record highs, with help from a price-target boost to $48 from $34 at Imperial Capital. Overall option volume is running at nine times the typical intraday clip, with buy-to-open activity detected at the February 60 call. These calls will move into the money if CYBR topples $60 by Friday's close, when the options expire. After touching an all-time peak of $57.39 in early trading, the stock was last seen 8.2% higher at $56.82.
For more midday statistics and stocks on the move, head to page 2.
China-based online retailer Vipshop Holdings Ltd - ADR (NYSE:VIPS) is one of the biggest advancers on the Big Board, up 11.7% at $24.35, after the firm unveiled solid earnings and upbeat current-quarter guidance. The stock now boasts a year-to-date gain of nearly 25%, and is dawdling just beneath its all-time high of $24.80, tagged in mid-November.
Offshore energy company Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc (NYSE:HLX) is the biggest loser on the Big Board, down 16.7% at $15.89. The security earlier touched a two-year low of $15.58, as traders react to weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 1.2 points, or 8.4%, but is struggling to surmount the 16 level -- home to its formerly supportive 80-day moving average.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 3.97, with puts nearly quadrupling calls. At last check, SPY is down 0.2 point, or 0.1%, at $209.58.