Dow Jones Industrial Average Pares Triple-Digit Loss as Crude Topples $50

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was down more than triple-digits earlier, but has since pared the majority of these losses -- while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) has muscled back into positive territory. While a surprise drop in weekly jobless claims initially put traders on edge ahead of the Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls report -- due out tomorrow morning -- a surge in oil prices has helped pull stocks off their intraday lows. In fact, crude oil trekked to another three-month high, breaking the $50-per-barrel level for the first time since June. Specifically, crude futures for November were last seen up 0.9% at $50.29 per barrel, as Hurricane Matthew bears down on the Florida coast.

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• Plus ... Checking in on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), and other noteworthy stats at midday.

Visual computing specialist NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is among the stocks with unusual options volume at midday. NVDA is off 1.1% at $67.50 after a top exec sold a significant stake -- and an analyst suggested the stock was overvalued. Put options are trading at nearly twice their typical intraday rate, outnumbering calls. Most active is the weekly 10/7 67.50-strike put, where is seems safe to assume new positions are being purchased, as traders bet on NVDA continuing its slide through tomorrow's close, when the weekly option expires.

Among the top performers on the Nasdaq is retailer Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ). The company upped its current-quarter outlook following solid same-store sales for September -- earning ZUMZ a round of bullish analyst attention, and boosting the shares 15.5% to $21.11.

Gunmaker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) is among the Nasdaq's worst performers, shedding 5.7% to $24.67, after a bearish brokerage note pointed to sliding consumer demand. The stock is still up 12.2% year-to-date, but is on pace to close below its 200-day moving average for the first time since mid-June.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has added less than 0.1 point, or roughly 0.5%, to 13.06. 

Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.64, with puts outpacing calls. SPY was last seen up 0.1 point, or 0.06%, at $215.75.

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