The DJIA is sitting in positive territory at midday, after U.S. homebuilder confidence came in at a nearly 10-year high
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has battled back from an early triple-digit deficit and into positive territory, attempting to build on last week's momentum. It looks like the reversal is primarily data-driven, as a near-decade high in homebuilder confidence overshadows a six-year, post-recession low in the Empire State manufacturing survey -- not to mention crude's continued sell-off. Meanwhile, Wall Street is already getting amped up for this Wednesday, when the Fed will release its latest meeting minutes -- which could offer rate-hike timing clues.
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Among the stocks with notable option volume is drugmaker AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVEO), as the contracts are running at 125 times the usual midday rate.The company made waves earlier when it announced a global license agreement with Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS). Currently, AVEO is up almost 55% at $1.81, and its October 2.50 call is seeing a mix of buy-to-open and sell-to-close activity, per the International Securities Exchange (ISE).
One of the top gainers on the Nasdaq is e-tailer Zulily Inc (NASDAQ:ZU), thanks to a buyout agreement with QVC parent Liberty Interactive Group (NASDAQ:QVCA). At last check, ZU has soared 46.7% to trade at $18.44.
One of the notable winners on the Big Board is Imprivata Inc (NYSE:IMPR), up 7.4% at $20.11 -- and fresh off a record high of $20.17. Sparking the sharp move north is a round of positive analyst attention for the healthcare firm.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 0.4 point, or 3%, at 13.22.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 2.12, with puts more than doubling calls. SPY was last seen 0.5 point, or 0.2%, higher at $209.87.