The Dow is up 379 points at midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was last seen up 379 points, working on recouping yesterday's dramatic losses, sparked by concerns over the new Covid-19 omicron variant. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also kicking off the final month of 2021 with notable bounces of their own, with energy, bank, and retail stocks leading the broad-market rally. Also contributing to today's optimism is better-than-expected ADP private payroll data, which showed 534,000 jobs were added in November.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The biotech stock to avoid in December.
- Ditch this blue-chip name after earnings, if you haven't already.
- Plus, MTTR hits fresh highs; OP spin-off grabbing attention; and why BYSI bottomed out.
Matterport Inc (NASDAQ:MTTR) is seeing an uptick in options activity, with volume running at double the intraday average. So far, 27,000 calls and 7,946 puts have been exchanged. The two most popular positions are the December 35 call, followed by the 40 call in the same series, where positions are being bought to open. MTTR is up 4.5% at $33.85 this morning, after the software company said its platform would be available on AWS Marketplace. The equity is headed for its best close on record, with help from the 20-day moving average, after earlier notching an record high of $37.60.
Near the top of the Nasdaq today is OceanPal Inc (NASDAQ:OP), which was last seen up 66.5% at $8.69. The freight company is extending yesterday's impressive Wall Street debut, after its spin-off from Diana Shipping (DSX). What's more, OP is seeing a lot of buzz at stocktwits.com, where it is one of the top 10 trending tickers.
One of the worst performing stocks on the Nasdaq, meanwhile, is Beyondspring Inc (NASDAQ:BYSI). The equity was last seen down 55.1% at $5.73, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it could not approve the company's blood disorder drug in its current form. The news prompted H.C. Wainwright to cut its price target to "neutral" from "buy." BYSI is trading at its lowest level on record, falling well below several former levels of support, including the $12 region.