The DJIA is set for a second straight triple-digit drop
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is poised to end the week and the month in the red, with big losses from blue-chip stocks Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), and
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), among others, dragging the index to a triple-digit loss.
Oil prices have erased their early gains, with June crude futures down 1.3% at $45.47 per barrel, and lackluster earnings and economic data are also weighing on stocks.
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Among the stocks with unusual options volume at midday is
Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), where calls are changing hands at five times the typical intraday pace. Amid a rally in gold futures, the equity shot up 6.7% to a new annual high of $18.73,
bringing its 2016 gains to a staggering 153% -- and it appears options traders are looking for even more upside. The most active option so far is ABX's June 22 call, where likely buy-to-open action has been spotted.
Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) is one of the top performers on the New York Stock Exchange after the company's first-quarter earnings topped estimates,
bringing price-target hikes from no fewer than five brokerages. The shares are up 4.8% at $9.89, and staring up at their 100-day moving average, which has served as resistance for the past six months.
Natural gas interest Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG) is one of the worst performers on the Nasdaq, meanwhile, down 20.7% at $17.13 after talks with oil firms broke down. GLNG has given up more than half of its value year-over-year, and today the security's options pits are on fire.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has added 1.3 points, or 8.5%, at 16.52.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.53, with puts significantly outnumbering calls. SPY was last seen down 2.1 points, or 1%, at $205.33.
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