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It's all about the Fed today for traders
Investor fears over an impending interest rate hike pushed indexes into the red this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) facing triple-digit deficits as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) convenes for its two-day policy meeting. Not helping matters were housing starts for February, which dropped to their lowest point in over a year. Traders will continue to focus on the Fed ahead of its latest decision, due out tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
Among the stocks with notable option volume is DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH), as the company launched its over-the-top TV service, Sling TV, on Xbox One. Both calls and puts are trading at over 10 times the expected intraday rate. Speculators are targeting the June and March 67.50 calls -- the two most popular contracts -- where simultaneous block trades of 5,639 contracts each are pointing to likely spread activity.
For more midday statistics and stocks on the move, head to page 2.
Veeva Systems Inc (NYSE:VEEV) is the among the biggest gainers on the Big Board, adding 8.8% to trade at $27.12, after GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK) chose the company for its customer relationship management system. The news was a much-needed boost for the cloud concern, as it had lost over 19% in March before today's rally.
magicJack VocalTec Ltd (NASDAQ:CALL) is one of the biggest losers on the Nasdaq today, falling 18.1% to $6.69 -- and earlier hitting a four-year low of $6.50 -- after reporting disappointing fourth-quarter numbers. It's just more of the same from the cloud communications company, as shares have plummeted over 71% in the past year.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has added 0.7 point, or 4.2%, at 16.27, to top 16 again.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.82, with puts taking the decided advantage once again. SPY was last seen 0.8 point, or 0.4%, lower at $207.74.