The Dow erased its early morning gains to trade flat midday
A surge in COVID-19 cases is becoming harder to ignore on Wall Street, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) cut
ties with their morning gains to trade close to their respective breakevens by midday. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is staying strong though -- on pace to clock its seventh consecutive win and best winning streak of 2020 -- thanks to steadily advancing tech names Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon.com (AMZN). Oil
prices are also static at the midway mark. Crude for July delivery is up 0.1% to trade at $39.79, as investors weigh the potential repercussions of coronavirus against a tightening of supplies from major producers.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The blue chip entering an "era of amplified earnings growth."
- A major trade move from China has put Tyson stock in jeopardy.
- Plus, MOMO's options pits whipped into a frenzy; positive drug data sends SINT soaring; and a struggling software stock.
There is a flurry of options activity surrounding China-based social networking name Momo Inc (NASDAQ:MOMO). So far, 34,000 calls and 5,215 puts have exchanged hands -- total options volume that is five times the intraday average and
in the 99th percentile of its annual range. Most popular by far is the July 23.26 call, where positions are being opened. At last check, MOMO is down 5.2% at $18.93 after running into familiar pressure at its 30-day moving average earlier in the session.
The shares of SINTX Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SINT) have nearly tripled today, making the stock one of the best performers on the Nasdaq. This comes after the biomaterial company announced over the weekend encouraging preliminary testing
results for its SARS-CoV-2 treatment. SINT is up 180.85 at $2.17 at last glance, clearing recent pressure at the 120-day moving average for the first time since early February.
On the other end of the spectrum is NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), last seen down 5.1% at $41.83, one of the weaker stocks on the S&P 500 today. While the catalyst for today's drop is unclear, NTAP is now down 32.7% in 2020, but remains a ways off its
March 23 four-year lows of $34.66.