PG and UTX are propping up the Dow today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is modestly higher at midday, as investors sift through the latest batch of corporate reports. So far, the blue-chip index is shrugging off lackluster earnings from Travelers (TRV) and McDonald's (MCD), and is instead propped up by post-earnings gains from Procter & Gamble (PG) and United Technologies (UTX). Boeing (BA) shares are also among the Dow leaders, rebounding after the firm completed a "dry run" of the grounded 737 MAX. However, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) is just above breakeven, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is slightly lower. Elsewhere, oil prices are bouncing back, with December-dated crude futures up 1.8% at $54.25 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- 2 cloud stocks are up after bull notes today.
- A C-suite shakeup has Under Armour stock higher.
- Plus, Microsoft options bulls eye a big post-earnings move; BMY breaks out on upbeat cancer drug results; and streaming wars weighing on one FAANG stock.
One name seeing heightened options volume today is Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), with more than 165,000 calls crossing the tape so far -- triple the average intraday amount, and almost five times the number of puts traded. The most active option by a wide stretch is the weekly 10/25 150-strike call, where new positions are being opened. The tech icon -- at last check trading at $138.73 -- reports earnings after the close tomorrow, Oct. 23, so call buyers are targeting big gains by the end of the week, when the options expire.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) is one of the better stocks on the SPX today, up 7.3% to trade at $56.09, after the drugmaker reported positive late-stage data for its lung cancer drug Opdivo. BMY earlier nabbed an annual high of $57.36, and is now up roughly 30% in the last three months, guided higher by its ascending 30-day moving average.
On the other end of the spectrum is Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), down 3.7% to trade at $267.66. This comes after Verizon (VZ) announced it would give customers 12 months of the Walt Disney's (DIS) Disney+ streaming service for free. Competition concerns have recently weighed on the FAANG name, which is barely clinging to its year-to-date breakeven level after today.