Stocks are mixed this afternoon as the Dow struggles to find positive ground
Following an updated inflation reading, stocks are mixed this afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down nearly 130 points, and set to snap a four-week winning streak. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is trading above the psychologically significant 5,000 level and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) sports a triple-digit lead, as both indices pace for their fifth-straight week of gains.
The consumer price index (CPI) was adjusted to a 0.2% increase, or a lower-than-anticipated reading. Several earnings names are also in the spotlight, including Cloudflare (NET) and Pinterest (PINS), while Megacap tech names enjoy a lift.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Shares of Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFRM) are down 10.6% to trade at $44.03 this afternoon, following a disappointing fiscal second-quarter earnings. Options traders have jumped on the fintech name, with 148,000 calls and 72,000 puts exchanged so far -- six times the average intraday amount. Most popular is the weekly 2/9 50-strike call, where positions are being sold to open, ahead of the contract's post-close expiry. Year-to-date, AFRM has already shed 8%, though dual support seems to have emerged at the 50-day moving average and $40 level in the last few weeks.
UiPath Inc (NYSE:PATH) is one of the top performers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, surging nearly 7%, trading at $26.01, at last check. While the catalyst behind the bull gap is unclear, investors are enjoying the equity's 66% year-over-year gain and fresh off a nearly two-year peak of $26.94.
Sitting on the other end of the NYSE, Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) is down 7% at $147.81 at last glance, after the company revealed its planned acquisition of Masonite International for $133 per share, or $3.9 billion in cash. Today's pullback is a rare occurrence for the stock, with the security sporting a 12-month gain of 51%.