The Dow is holding positive territory, though
Stocks are trading mixed after yesterday's huge rally, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) outperforming its peers. Traders are digesting a disappointing reading on consumer sentiment and bearish earnings reactions out of the tech sector, with chip stocks in particular pulling back sharply. Tesla (TSLA) also remains in the spotlight, as Wall Street pans CEO Elon Musk's revealing New York Times interview. But as the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) heads toward a weekly loss, the S&P 500 Index (SPX), like the Dow, is set to close the week in the black.
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Chinese internet stock Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) is seeing unusual options trading, as speculators seemingly target a near-term move to the upside. The most popular contracts today are the August 220, 222.50, and 225 calls, and buy-to-open activity could be occurring at each. BIDU stock was hot out of the gate this morning after Google said it wasn't close to launching a search engine in China, but the shares have pared some of their early gains, last seen up 0.5% at $218.39.
One of the top stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN). The retail stock earlier hit an annual high of $58.52, and was last seen up 11.8% at $58.47, thanks to the company's impressive quarterly results. Nordstrom delivered better-than-expected sales thanks to its e-commerce business, and raised its full-year outlook -- drawing no fewer than seven price-target hikes. JWN stock is now up more than 30% in the past year.
Fellow NYSE stock Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF), meanwhile, is trading at fresh lows, touching a seven-year worst of $7.69 already today, down 5.9% at $8.13 more recently. The sell-off was sparked by J.P. Morgan Securities' downgrade to "underweight," and brings the equity's year-over-year hole to roughly 29%.