The DJIA is holding onto slim gains at midday on a boost from AAPL stock
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has explored both sides of breakeven today, but was last seen trading higher on a boost from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Specifically, AAPL stock has jumped 1.6%, and is fresh off a record high, on positive analyst attention ahead of tomorrow night's earnings report. The surge in tech stocks has helped send the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) to a sixth straight all-time peak. Additionally, traders are breathing a collective sigh of relief after Congress agreed upon a funding deal -- narrowly avoiding a government shutdown -- and digesting this morning's economic data ahead of a busy week of reports, which includes Friday's jobs number.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
- Founder and CEO Bernie Schaeffer just smashed an old options trading myth.
- The drug stock trading down 50%.
- Plus, Synchrony Financial put options pop; Transocean trades lower with oil; and Seadrill stock sinks to new lows.
Among the names with accelerated option volume today is bank stock Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), with the 8,925 contracts traded -- four times the average intraday pace. SYF stock continues to be short-sale restricted following Friday's post-earnings bear gap, and is down 0.5% today at $27.65 after a round of bearish brokerage notes. As such, most of the action has occurred on the put side, with buy-to-open activity detected at SYF's June 26 put.
One of the biggest laggards on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), with the stock down 2.4% at $10.77 ahead of earnings on Wednesday. The energy shares are feeling pressure as June-dated oil prices trade down 1.2% at $48.75 per barrel, with RIG stock on track for its lowest close since mid-November.
Seadrill Ltd (NYSE:SDRL) is one of the biggest decliners on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), down 5.7% at $0.65 -- fresh off a record low of $0.64 -- after the energy company said it will sell three rigs for $225 million. Despite a brief pop in mid-April, SDRL stock has lost more than four-fifths of its value in 2017.