The DJIA is off at midday, amid the latest GDP reading and weak guidance from Procter & Gamble Co (PG)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) headed lower out of the gate and hasn't looked back, as traders digest lackluster gross domestic product (GDP) figures, as well as the possibility of a September interest-rate hike. Leading the Dow lower is blue chip Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), which is off 3.5% on lower-than-expected quarterly sales and weak guidance for the upcoming fiscal year. On the economic front, first-time jobless claims rose less than predicted last week.
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Among the stocks with notable call volume is Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), as the contracts are being exchanged at 17 times the usual intraday rate. At last check, the tech issue was up 5.6% at $6.96, following an earnings beat. Diving deeper on the options front, data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) shows a massive sweep of October 8 calls was bought to close earlier.
One of the worst losers on the Nasdaq is Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM), which has fallen 11% to trade at $36.34, and earlier skimmed a three-year low of $35.82. Weighing on shares of the organic grocer are disappointing quarterly results and a subsequent round of negative analyst attention.
One of the top winners on the Big Board is Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX), up 14.3% at $146.78 -- and fresh off an all-time peak of $147.29. Unlike WFM, the shoe retailer reported better-than-expected earnings and received a number of price-target hikes, in response.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 0.01 point, or 0.1%, at 12.51.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 2.00, with puts doubling calls. The SPY was last seen off 1 point, or 0.5%, at $209.74.