The Dow and S&P 500 are on track for weekly wins
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is nearly flat at midday, as traders weigh an in-line reading on second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) against a mixed bag of earnings -- including poorly received reports from blue chips Intel (INTC), down 8%, and Exxon Mobil (XOM), which has dropped 3%. In the tech sector, a Facebook-style post-earnings trip to the woodshed for Twitter (TWTR) is offsetting a robust quarterly showing from Amazon (AMZN).
As a result, the Dow and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are on track for weekly wins, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is set to finish the week in the red. Elsewhere, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is higher, and poised to snap its five-day losing streak.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Analysts chime in on another Chipotle earnings beat.
- The drug stock at record lows after a discounted share offering.
- Plus, options bears target a Seagate Technology stock pullback; Chesapeake Energy announces a $2 billion asset sale; and Intel's worst day since 2016.
One name seeing notable options trading today is Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX), as more than 6,500 puts have traded -- three times the intraday norm, with put volume pacing in the 95th percentile of its annual range. Among the most active options today are the weekly 8/3 30- and 35-strike puts, where it appears most of the activity is of the buy-to-open variety. Shares of the tech firm are down 2.8% to trade at $55.92 today, so some of these traders may be picking up crash protection before Seagate reports earnings on Monday morning.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) is one of the best stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, up 5.1% to trade at $4.62, after the oil-and-gas concern agreed to sell its Utica Shale stake for $2 billion. CHK stock scored an annual high of $5.60 on July 10, but has since pulled back -- and the stock's early advance on the $5 level today has fizzled, with CHK now back below its 50-day moving average.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is the worst Dow stock today, down 8.2% to trade at $47.67, on track for its worst day since January 2016. Although the chip name reported a second-quarter earnings and revenue beat, concerns remain over sector peer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) eating into the growth of its data center chip business. INTC is set to close below its 200-day moving average for the first time since September.
