Stocks Climb as Nasdaq Eyes Four-Day Win Streak

Investors are optimistic despite global coronavirus cases rising

Jake Scott

Deputy Editor

Apr 14, 2020 at 11:59 AM

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) has pared yesterday's losses and is up nearly 400 points at midday. Today's rise is powered by earnings results from blue-chips, as well as investor optimism surrounding the coronavirus outlook, despite the number of cases continuing to rise globally. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also confidently higher, with all three benchmarks logging midday gains of 1% or more, and the tech-heavy latter heading toward its fourth straight win.

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

See why Johnson & Johnson stock is scaling the Dow today.
Digital subscriber surge hurts News Corp stock.
Plus, Virgin Galactic calls rule the roost; Carnival Cruise stock reverses fortunes; and EOG dinged by price-target cut.

Midday Market Stats April 14

One stock seeing notable options action today is Virgin Galactic Holding Inc Class A (NYSE:SPCE). The spaceflight company was last seen up 18.7% to trade at $18.35. At last check, nearly 62,000 SPCE calls have been exchanged, four times the usual intraday amount. The April 20 call is most popular and calls in general occupy the five most popular contracts today, with new positions being opened at each. SPCE is up 60% year-to-date but is a ways off its Feb 20. record high of $42.49.

In a surprising twist, one stock sitting near the top of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL), up 11.4% to trade at $12.80 at last check. This reversal in fortune from yesterday's 7.4% drop comes after one of Carnival's directors boosted his stake by nearly 1000%. The massive insider purchase came shortly after the cruise company made a secondary stock offering of 71.9 million shares. CCL is on pace to close above its 20-day moving average for just the second time since late January.

CCL Chart April 14

Meanwhile, near the bottom of the S&P 500 is EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG), last seen down 2.9% to trade at $42.93. SunTrust Robinson cut EOG's price target to $50 from $60. The energy stock is now down 58% in the last 12 months, but is off its March 18 12-year lows of $27.

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