Stocks Start 4Q Off Strong on Trade Optimism

The Dow and Nasdaq are on track for their third straight win

Managing Editor
Oct 1, 2018 at 12:12 PM
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U.S. stocks are off to a rip-roaring start to the fourth quarter and new month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up over 250 points, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is on track for a new record close, as investors toast the trade deal between the U.S. and Canada. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is also comfortably higher, pacing toward a third straight win alongside the Dow. Elsewhere, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), or Wall Street's "fear gauge," is heading towards its third straight loss. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

  • The catalyst behind General Electric stock's best day in years.
  • The bouncing car stock with cheap options.
  • Plus, NBEV options bulls cash out; a surging FAANG stock; and Electronic Arts stock finds fresh resistance.

Midday Market Stats Oct 1

Cannabis concern New Age Beverages Corp (NASDAQ:NBEV) is sporting unusual options volume today, as the stock trades near the top of the Nasdaq. So far, 20,000 calls have changed hands -- four times the norm. The October 5 call is one of the most active options, with sell-to-close activity detected at the in-the-money strike. NBEV shares are up 33.3% to trade at $7.13, at last check. Among the weed stocks that have exploded onto the scene lately, NBEV has nearly quadrupled in the last three months.
 
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is near the top of the S&P 500 today, with the shares 2.9% higher at $385.01, after a Bloomberg report revealed the streaming king will add a choose-your-own-adventure feature to an episode in its "Black Mirror" series. The FAANG stock has doubled in 2018, and a pullback in August was contained by its 160-day moving average.
 
MMC Stock Chart NFLX
 

On the other end of the S&P 500, shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) are down 2.3% at $117.70 -- even as sector peer Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) carves out new highs. The video game stock gapped lower in late August following the delay of its "Battlefield V" game, and a short-lived rally from there was quickly halted by its 320-day moving average.

 

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