Aside from President Trump's policies, disappointing earnings are also weighing on the DJIA
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is down triple digits for a second straight day, as President Donald Trump's policies and the latest round of corporate earnings remain in focus. Still dealing with the fallout from his immigration ban, Trump today met with top executives from U.S. drug companies, where he urged them to "get prices down." Meanwhile, healthcare stock Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has erased early losses to turn higher following its earnings release, though Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is among the Dow decliners after its quarterly report. Traders are also keeping an eye on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which kicks off its two-day policy meeting today.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
- 2 earnings movers trading near key technical levels.
- How to trade the tricky month of February, courtesy of Schaeffer's founder and CEO Bernie Schaeffer.
- Checking in on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), and other noteworthy stats at midday.
- Plus, T-Mobile options bulls stay hungry, an outperforming energy stock, and Under Armour drags down Macy's.
Among the stocks with unusual options volume is T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS), with the shares trading 1.5% higher at $62.04 following a fresh "buy" rating from Evercore ISI. At last check, TMUS calls are trading at 12 times the norm for this point in the day. According to Trade-Alert, one bullish trader is likely selling to close 25,000 May 70 calls following the stock's strong showing on the charts, and is now opening 25,000 May 60 calls, betting on extended upside. The stock has been phenomenal on the charts over the past year, gaining almost 53%, and touching record highs earlier this month.
One stock gaining on the Nasdaq is oil name Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG), thanks to upbeat analyst attention. This outperformance is nothing new, though, as FANG has been putting in impressive returns since going public back in 2012. At last check, the stock was up 2.5% at $105.02.
Retail stock
Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) is underperforming on the New York Stock Exchange today, as the shares are dragged down by Under Armour Inc's (NYSE:UAA)
earnings report. At last check, M was off 2.1% at $28.90, meaning the shares have now lost 36.4% since their November high of $45.41. Disappointing
holiday sales sent the stock crashing earlier this month.
The
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 1 point, or 8.3%, at 12.87.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.63, as puts outpace calls yet again. SPY is down 0.9 point, or 0.4%, at $226.61 today.
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