The Dow is sinking deeper into the red at midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is swimming in red ink at midday, down roughly 800 points as investor worry expanded, following a surge of coronavirus infections. In Europe, countries are reinstating measures to curb the spread of the disease, including limited lockdowns, as investors are growing concerned about the prospects of global economic recovery. In turn, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also firmly below fair value, as Wall Street digests a mixed bag of earnings reports from blue-chip giants such as Boeing (BA) and Microsoft (MSFT).
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Tech giant brushes off slew of bull notes.
- Boeing stock struggles despite earnings beat.
- Plus, options bulls blast solar energy name; Tupperware giant jumps on quarterly sales; and Callaway Golf stock drops after merger.
One stock seeing notable options activity today is First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), up 12.2% at $92.41, and earlier hitting a nine-year high of $97.93. The jump came after the solar energy stock reported third-quarter earnings and revenue beat. In turn, the security earned an upgrade from Barclays to "equal weight" from "underweight" and no fewer than two price-target-hikes, including one from Cowen and Company to $100 from $85. So far, 40,000 calls have crossed the tape -- 10 times the average intraday amount. Most popular is the weekly 10/30 100-strike call, followed by the 95-strike call in the same series, with new positions currently being opened at both. Year-over-year, FSLR is up 74.7%.
Surging on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP), up 30.1% at $27.73, and earlier hitting an annual high of $29.92. Today's bull gap came after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, which were attributed to a 14% jump in sales as consumers cooked more and needed food storage during the pandemic. The 50-day moving average has been aiding the security's climb up the charts since April. Longer term, the security sports a jaw-dropping 220.2% year-to-date lead.
Meanwhile, dropping to the bottom of the NYSE is Callaway Golf Co (NYSE:ELY), last seen down 19.9%, at $15.45. The substantial drop comes after the golf club maker announced it would buy the rest of Topgolf Entertainment Group and that the two would merge in a $2 billion deal. Prior to today, the security had been chopping higher on the charts after hitting a March 18, nine-year low of $4.75. But now, ELY is slipping below the once-supportive 80-day moving average.
