Crude Halts Dow Jones Industrial Average Rally; Fed Decision Looms

A 'Top Stock' Bulls Shouldn't Miss

Dec 16, 2015 at 11:58 AM
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up by more than 165 points earlier, but has pared most of those gains amid a resuming downtrend in crude oil -- with January-dated futures last seen 2.7% lower at $36.33 per barrel, following a surprise build in U.S. stockpiles. Traders are also on pins and needles ahead of this afternoon's Fed policy statement and subsequent speech from Chair Janet Yellen, and short-term Treasury yields are flirting with six-year highs. Meanwhile, a raft of mixed data hit the Street earlier, including a sharper-than-forecast decline in industrial production, a three-year low in Markit's flash purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI), and a nearly eight-year high in single-family housing starts.

Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:

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Among the stocks with elevated call volume is First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), as the contracts are running at five times the usual intraday clip. With the stock up 8.5% at $64.90 on sector tailwinds -- and fresh off an annual high of $66.35 -- it's no wonder that bullish betting is picking up. Specifically, buy-to-open activity is detected at the December 65 and January 2016 67.50-strike calls -- FSLR's most active options.

One the biggest gainers on the Nasdaq is Array Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ARRY), after the drugmaker released upbeat late-stage trial results. At last check, ARRY was 21% higher at $4.64, and in territory not explored in about a month.

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One of the notable losers on the Big Board is Global Payments Inc (NYSE:GPN), down 9.8% at $64.42, despite a round of price-target hikes and a $4.3 billion acquisition.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is off 0.9 point, or 4.1%, at 20.10.

Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.42, with puts outstripping calls. At last check, SPY is up 0.3% at $205.67.

 

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