The DJIA is down triple digits, as China's surprise currency devaluation and crude oil's big sell-off weighs on investor sentiment
After
setting fire to its seven-session losing streak on Monday, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has resumed its sell-off, as traders react to
a surprise currency move by China's central bank -- which has
a number of mainland-based companies sinking. Also weighing on investor sentiment is crude oil, which is
on pace to notch its lowest close of the year -- off 4.2% at $43.08 per barrel. In fact, little waves have been made by today's batch of economic data, which includes a stronger-than-expected-rise in wholesale inventories -- suggesting an upward revision to second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) could be on the horizon -- and an uptick in second-quarter productivity. At last check, though, the Dow was staring at a triple-digit loss, with all but three of its 30 components in red.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
Among the stocks with
notable put volume is
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JASO), with the contracts crossing at 33 times the average intraday pace. Shares of the alternative energy concern are up 2.3% at $8.02, following better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, and it appears option traders are initiating new positions at JASO's September puts.
For a third straight session, Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AQXP) is making big moves -- and is one of the top gainers on the Nasdaq today. Since last Thursday's close at $1.79, the stock has jumped more than 1,100% -- including this morning's 15.8% pop that has AQXP lingering near $22 -- and hit a record high of $55.75 yesterday. Sparking the risk-on backdrop has been a number of fundamental developments, including well-received data on the drugmaker's bladder treatment.
One of the top losers on the Big Board is Intrexon Corp (NYSE:XON). Last night, the biotech reported second-quarter sales that fell short of estimates, prompting a pair of negative analyst notes. Against this backdrop, XON is off 10.6% at $51.59 -- and on track to close south of its 50-day moving average for the first time since June 1.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) isup 1.7 point, or 14.2%, at 13.96, but stalling out near the 14 mark.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.83, with puts nearly doubling calls. SPY is off 2.2 points, or 1%, at $208.39.