A strengthening U.S. dollar is weighing on commodities like oil and gold
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is hanging on to positive territory at midday thanks to a big gain for Merck (MRK), but higher bond yields continue to limit the upside for stocks. A number of commodities are struggling, too, as the decline in bond prices lifts the U.S. dollar. Traders could also be taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of a number of high-profile earnings releases after the close tonight and before the open tomorrow, with names like Alphabet (GOOGL) and Verizon (VZ) set to report.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
One name seeing unusual options activity
is Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR), with more than 8,400 calls traded so far, compared to fewer than 450 puts. New positions are being opened at the weekly 4/27 11- and 12-strike calls, the most popular contracts today, and the June 12 call could be seeing buy-to-open activity, as well. CZR shares have been trending higher since bottoming near $10.50 earlier this month, and were last seen trading up 2.6% at $11.80 -- but they're running into a trendline connecting lower highs since late January.
One of the best Nasdaq stocks today is online educational services provider Cambium Learning Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABCD). After falling 24% on Friday, the shares are snapping back some today to trade up 15.8% at $11.93. There's no apparent news behind these big moves, but ABCD stock has been a major winner in 2018, more than doubling year-to-date.
On the flip side, iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT) is one of the worst Nasdaq stocks, losing 5.7% to trade at $60.25 -- possibly due to reports that Amazon is working on personal robots for the home. Nonetheless, IRBT stock had already been underperforming on the charts, suffering a huge post-earnings bear gap in February. With earnings due out after the close tomorrow, the Roomba maker could again be a name to watch for options traders.