The DJIA and SPX are getting hammered, as another day passes without a resolution to the Greek debt crisis
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is off triple digits -- and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) has fallen into negative year-to-date territory -- as eurozone officials wrapped up an emergency summit in Brussels without a resolution to Greece's debt crisis. Athens officials arrived at the meeting without a new written bailout proposal (though they're expected to submit a request through the European Stability Mechanism as early as tomorrow), while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the timetable for a deal is down to "a matter of days."
Stateside, traders are digesting a round of mixed economic data and sinking commodity prices. In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) once again called on the Fed to wait until early next year to hike interest rates, for fear of stalling the U.S. economy. The central bank's meeting minutes are slated for release tomorrow.
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Among the stocks with notable option volume is Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP), with contracts running at 13 times the expected intraday average. The stock earlier landed on the short-sale restricted (SSR) list, and was down 3.7% at last check, at $68.90. Option traders are banking on a bounce, however, buying to open CTRP's out-of-the-money December 80 call, with nearly 9,000 contracts currently on the tape.
Among the top gainers on the Nasdaq is drugmaker Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO), which has soared 36.6% to $28.20, and earlier touched a record high of $28.75. The breakout is the result of Horizon Pharma PLC's (NASDAQ:HZNP) hostile takeover bid, which values DEPO at $29.25 per share.
Among the leading losers on the Big Board is 500.com Ltd (NYSE:WBAI), down 18.5% at $17.49, and on the SSR list. In fact, a number of U.S.-listed Chinese stocks are plummeting amid the Shanghai Composite's resumed downtrend.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 1.4 points, or 8.4%, at 18.44.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 2.22, with puts more than doubling calls. At last check, SPY was down 1.5 points, or 0.7%, at $205.23.