Benchmarks Extend Losses as Fed Meeting Kicks Off

Stocks are extending their selloff on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) giving back 164 points at midday, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are both sporting sizeable losses as well. A higher-than-expected producer price index (PPI) reading for November is pressuring the major indexes, as investors look ahead to an update from the Federal Reserve. The central bank's two-day meeting kicked off today, with remarks from Chairman Jerome Powell expected tomorrow. 

Ishares Msci South Korea ETF (NYSE: EWY) is seeing a surge in its normally quiet options pits today. So far, 12,000 calls have crossed the tape -- 26 times the intraday average --compared to just 400 puts. The most popular by far is the January 2022 82 call. EWY was last seen down 0.6% at $77.58 and is down 9.9% for the year. 

One of the best stocks on the Nasdaq is Galera Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq: GRTX). The equity was last seen up 116.1% at $2.98 after the company provided corrected results for its Phase 3 trial of its Avasopasem treatment of severe oral mucositis in cancer patients. GRTX is still down 70.7% for the year, though it toppled recent pressure at its 30-day moving average for the first time since its October bear gap. 

One of the worst stocks on the Nasdaq is Adagio Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq: ADGI), which is down 78.6% at $7.33 at last check, on reports that its ADG20 treatment saw reduced in-vitro neutralizing activity against the Covid-19 omicron variant. The security is now trading at its lowest level since going public in early August.