The Dow is down over 160 points midday
All three indexes are eyeing their worst week since late March, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) falls over 160 points midday on the heels of increasing tensions between the U.S. and China. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (ICIX) have also been pushed into the red, as investors digest the worst monthly retail sales decline on record, a 16.4% drop, in April.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Which retail giant just cut its revenue outlook in half.
- Software stock's blasted by analyst downgrade.
- Plus, the stock seeing a surge in options; RM gets a boost after bottoming out; and Regional Management stock slides.
One stock seeing unusual options activity today is Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRNE), up 138% at $6.24 at last check. The biopharma name has seen 85,000 calls and 11,000 puts cross the tape so far, 48 times the usual daily volume. Most popular are the June 5- and 7.50-strike calls, with new positions being opened at the latter. This rise in shares as well as options volumes comes after the Sorrento Therapeutics reported positive results in preclinical studies for a COVID-19 antibody candidate. The equity is now up 37.1% year-to-date.
Scaling the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is Regional Management Corp (NYSE:RM), up 18.8% at $14.28 at last check. This rise comes after BMO upgraded RM to "outperform" from "market perform," and raised its price target to $29 from $14. RM also looks to today have been met with support at the 30-day moving average. Coming off a record low of $10.32 yesterday, May 14, the stock is now down 3% for the week.
Conversely, near the bottom of the NYSE is Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI), down 10.5% at $14.90 at last check. This drops comes after the company reported a preliminary first-quarter loss of $0.53 per share, and updates on their aggressive cost reduction measures. Down 16% in the last month, the equity now sports a 75.4% year-to-date deficit.