Stocks have shrugged off lingering trade concerns to trade modestly higher
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) has clawed its way out of the red at the session's midpoint, overcoming a 1.3% drop for Intel (INTC) after the chip stock was downgraded at Barclays. Trade tensions are keeping upside in check, though the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) have managed minor gains of their own at midday. Another round of upbeat earnings is also in focus, including a well-received report out of Tyson Foods (TSN).
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One name seeing notable options trading today is cloud communications concern Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO), as investors anticipate the company's upcoming second-quarter earnings, slated for after the market closes today. So far, roughly 13,000 puts have been traded compared to 7,106 calls -- representing nine times the normal intraday put volume, and triple the usual call activity. The weekly 8/10 57-strike put -- where some buy-to-open activity has been detected -- is the most popular option at midday, with 6,300 contracts on the tape so far.
Twilio stock has been an outperformer since its early February lows around $24, and was last seen up 166% year-to-date, with a leg of support coming from the rising 40-day moving average. TWLO is up 1.5% at $62.91, at last check, which means those 57-strike puts are out of the money by a wide margin.
One of the best stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is Sprint Corp (NYSE:S), boosted by reports that regulators are eyeing its possible T-Mobile merger favorably. S stock was last seen up 8.7% at $6.11, pushing back above the $6 mark for the first time since late April. With today's pop, Sprint stock is now back in positive territory on a year-to-date basis.
One of the Nasdaq's worst performers today is ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD), after the stock was downgraded to "neutral" at Piper Jaffray this morning. ACAD has been on a long-term downtrend since late last year, and has shed 53.4% over the past 12 months. At last check, ACAD was down 6.6% at $14.22.