The Dow was up triple digits earlier, but has since leveled out
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up just a few points at midday, clinging to this morning's strong start, as investors remain hopeful for additional stimulus in light of "productive talks" between U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Democrats. As a result, both the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also firmly above fair value. Elsewhere, investors are still digesting worse-than-expected jobless data, though increasing coronavirus cases across the world as well as a slowdown in the rate of economic recovery, is weighing heavy on their minds.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- JPM rises on $30 billion commitment to advancing racial equity.
- Options bulls blast video-streaming stock as bull notes roll in.
- Plus, IBM splits into two different companies; Eaton Vance stock soars on acquisition; and restaurant stock plummets after earnings miss.
One stock seeing notable options activity is IBM (NYSE: IBM), up 7% at $132.85 at last check. The jump came after the technology giant announced it would split into two public companies to diversify its business and focus on high-margin cloud computing. IBM will list its IT infrastructure services unit under a new name by the end of 2021. So far today, 54,000 calls have crossed the tape -- 17 times the average intraday amount, and three times the number of puts traded. Most popular is the weekly 10/9 135-strike call, where new positions are being opened, followed by the monthly October 135 call. In the last three months, the security has gained 14.8%.
Surging on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Eaton Vance Corp (NYSE: EV), up 46.7% at $60.51 at last check, after earlier hitting a two-year high of $60.75. Today's massive bull gap came when Morgan Stanley (MS) said it would acquire the investment management firm for about $7 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. Before the purchase was announced, the security had been trading mostly sideways on the charts, still struggling to recover from an eight-year low near the $23 mark back in March. Now, shares are soaring above the 10-day moving average, while EV sports a 41.7% lead year-over-year.
Meanwhile, dropping lower is Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ), last seen down 7.5% at $398.65. The negative price action came after the restaurant chain reported worse-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. The company attributed the disappointing results to higher coronavirus-related costs, including wages and spending on sanitary supplies for workers. However, before today's earnings miss took a hit on DPZ shares, the security had been nabbing record highs on a monthly basis since April to hit an all-time-high of $435.58 on Oct. 5. Year-over-year, Domino's Pizza stock is still up 61%.