All three major indexes are higher midday
Stocks are firmly higher today, despite rising global trade tensions and another hotter-than-expected inflation reading. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are up triple digits, with help from Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia's (NVDA), while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) sits comfortably in the black as well. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices are 1.1% lower to trade at $70.58, as investors become increasingly optimistic regarding an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) is seeing the most unusual volume in the options pits today. So far, 802,000 calls and 242,000 puts have crossed the tape, which is 4 times the average daily options volume. The March 20 and February 25 calls are the most popular, while new positions are being opened at the weekly 2/14 24-strike call. At last look, INTC was up 8.5% at $24.38 and on track for its fourth-straight gain, following bullish comments from Vice President J.D. Vance regarding domestic chip manufacturing.
Hims & Hers Health Inc (NYSE:HIMS) is one of the best stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), up 21.3% at $56.22 at last glance, earlier hitting a fresh record high of $56.71, after the telehealth name stirred up controversy with its Super Bowl commercial. The volatile stock is a high-volume favorite in the options pits, though the reasoning for today's pop is unclear. Year over year, the equity is up 442%.
Cloud stock Fastly Inc (NYSE:FSLY) is one of the worst NYSE performers today, down 27.7% at $7.58 at last look, after the company's fourth-quarter earnings miss and weak 2025 guidance. RBC cut its price target to $8 from $10 after the event, while Morgan Stanley raised to $8 from $7. Hitting its lowest levels since November, FSLY is down 67.8% year over year.