The DJIA is taking a breather ahead of this week's Fed meeting
Despite a positive open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was last seen trading in the red, as traders turn cautious ahead of this week's Fed meeting. With Wall Street fully expecting a rate hike on Wednesday, ongoing weakness in oil prices is also weighing on stocks. Specifically, April-dated crude futures continue to trade near three-month lows, last seen 0.4% lower at $48.31 per barrel. As such, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is following the Dow lower, though strength in tech stocks has the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) outperforming its index peers.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
- Analysts: This red-hot biotech is ripe for a buyout.
- 3 reasons we scrapped this Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) options strategy.
- Plus, unusual call volume on a health insurance giant; a Mobileye halo lift; and a must-see healthcare chart.
Among the names seeing accelerated options trading today is health insurance stock
Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM). More than 12,000 calls have traded today -- on pace for an annual high -- compared to an expected amount of just 225. The extremely unusual volume is due to heavy action at the weekly 4/7 170- and 175-strike calls, where a number of trades have crossed this morning. Much of the volume is attributable to spread trades, with data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) indicating the initiation of bull call spreads. With the
American Health Care Act in focus, ANTM stock was last seen 0.2% higher at $166.77, within striking distance of its March 1 annual high of $169.20.
Delphi Automotive PLC (NYSE:DLPH) is one stock gaining on the New York Stock Exchange amid heavy volume, up 3.1% at $79.49, after Intel Corporation's (NASDAQ:INTC) decision to buy fellow automotive technology firm
Mobileye NV (NYSE:MBLY). In fact, DLPH shares earlier hit an annual high of $80.19, gaining over 32% since their December low.
Over on the Nasdaq, healthcare stock Microbot Medical Inc (NASDAQ:MBOT) is trading lower, last seen off 1.9% at $6.05. The shares exploded late last month, nearly doubling in value in one day, thanks to upbeat patent news. However, MBOT ran into a familiar wall in the form of its 160-day moving average, and remains well below its 52-week high near $40 from last April.
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