The Dow is brushing off this morning's disappointing jobs report for April
While a lackluster April jobs report initially sunk stocks this morning, the indexes are bouncing back as investors speculate that the disappointing data could mean the continuation of easy policies from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up roughly 150 points midday, fresh off another record high. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are sitting comfortably in the black this afternoon, too, as tech rallies on the potential of continuously low interest rates. For the week, both the Dow and S&P 500 are pacing for wins, while the Nasdaq is expected to come in with a loss.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What analysts think of Roku's surprise first-quarter profit beat.
- The 9 pot stocks we kept an eye on this week.
- Plus, option bulls bombard surging NOK; IHT hits highest level in over 20 years; and mixed drug vote sends CCXI sinking.
Nokia Oyj (NYSE:NOK) is seeing a surge in its options pits today. So far, 94,000 calls and 7,760 puts have crossed the tape -- four times the intraday average. The most popular contracts are the June 5 call, followed by the weekly 5/7 5-strike call. NOK was last seen up 5.4% at $5.14, breaking past recent pressure at the $5 and pacing for its highest close since its incredible one-day surge to a nearly 10-year high of $9.79 back in January. The stock is being pushed higher by a bevy of bull notes, including one from Morgan Stanley, which upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal weight."
While the driving factor for InnSuites Hospitality Trust's (NYSE:IHT) rally isn't quite clear, its stock is one of the best performers on the New York Stock Exchange. The security was last seen up 101.6% at $4.82 and earlier today touched its highest level since 1996 at $5.87. The equity has charged up the charts in recent weeks pushed higher by its 180-day moving average, which also helped capture a mid-April pullback.
ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) is one of the worst performing stocks on the Nasdaq today. The security was last seen off 59.5% to trade at $11.17 following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee's 10-8 vote that its ANCA vasculitis drug was safe enough for approval. A panel of experts, meanwhile, had a 9-9 vote on whether the drug should be approved. CCXI is now trading at its lowest level since late 2019, almost completely erasing the massive bull gap it enjoyed in November of that year.