The DJIA is muscling higher, along with crude oil prices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has had a positive start to the week, as traders take a risk-on approach amid a surge in energy prices. At last check, May-dated crude futures were up 1.4% at $52.96 per barrel after Libya's largest oil field was shut down by a pipeline disruption. In the process, stocks are shrugging off geopolitical risks, even as a Group of Seven (G-7) meeting convenes in Italy to discuss the escalating situation in Syria. Looking ahead, Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak after the close.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
- Time to buy put options on Ford stock?
- The catalyst catapulting Tesla stock to record highs.
- Plus, SunPower calls catch fire; the drug shares soaring on buyout buzz; and a double-whammy for one utilities stock.
Among the stocks with unusual call volume today is SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR), where the contracts are speeding at 11 times the usual intraday rate. Likely buy-to-open activity is transpiring at the now in-the-money April 6.50 call, which is SPWR's most active strike by a mile. At last check, the solar stock was up 8.4% at $6.69 amid energy tailwinds.
One of the biggest gainers on the Nasdaq so far is drugmaker Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX), up 10.6% at $32.92. The stock earlier surged to a 2017 high of $33.58 on confirmed takeover talks with sector peer Fresenius, burning short sellers in the process.
Among the worst percentage decliners on the New York Stock Exchange is National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE:NFG), after regulators rejected the firm's pipeline plans. The utilities stock was last seen 6.8% lower at $56.57, with losses exacerbated by a downgrade and price-target cut at Jefferies.