The Dow is up around 125 points this afternoon
The major benchmarks are pacing for higher closes today, as corporate America continues to turn in stellar earnings reports. Also boosting sentiment today is a rise from Bitcoin (BTC), which broke back above $65,000 -- earlier trading at a record high of $66,979.60 -- following the debut of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy exchange traded fund (ETF), the first bitcoin-linked ETF. In response, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are pacing for their sixth-straight wins, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up around 125 points. Elsewhere, Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), is moving lower, set for its lowest close since Aug. 13.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- FAANG name nabs plenty of attention after earnings.
- Meme stock pressured by c-suite shakeup.
- Plus, ContextLogic announces earnings date; Rite Aid stock nabs a bull note; and Chili's parent company whiffs on earnings.
One stock seeing an unusual amount of options activity today is ContextLogic Inc (NASDAQ:WISH), with 194,000 calls and 25,000 puts exchanging hands so far today, volume which is five times what's typically seen at this point. The most popular contract is the weekly 10/22 6-strike call, where new positions are being bought to open. ContextLogic stock is up 13% at $6.01 at last check, with the boost coming after the company announcing it will release its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday, Nov. 10. A mid-August bear gap pummeled WISH, the stock now standing at a whopping 67.4% year-to-date deficit.
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) is hovering near the top of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this afternoon, after Deutsche Bank hiked its price target on the security to $15 from $13. Last seen up 8.3% to trade at $14.75, the $15 level has acted as a ceiling for Rite Aid stock for the better part of a month, with the equity losing 8.6% in that time span. Longer term, RAD is up 50.4% year-over-year.
At the bottom of the NYSE is Chili's parent company Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT), last seen down 9.1% to trade at $44.51. This fall comes after higher labor and food costs caused the restaurant company to report earnings of 34 cents per share, missing Wall Street's estimates of 76 cents per share. Revenue, meanwhile, was in line with forecasts, as was the company's latest traffic numbers. Today's negative price action pushed EAT to its lowest level since October 2020, pushing the security off 17% for 2021.