Stocks are swimming in red ink today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) down 549 points after President Donald Trump hinted at potential action against Iran. Oil prices moved higher on the news, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude last seen up 1.3%, while semiconductor stocks continued to slide.
Meanwhile, inflation data released this morning showed the consumer price index (CPI) rising 4.2% in May, marking its largest increase in three years and matching economists' expectations. Core CPI climbed 2.9% from a year ago, also in line with estimates.
Options traders are targeting blue-chip stock 3M (MMM) today. So far, 9,019 calls and 15,000 puts have been exchanged, which is already 2.3 times the options volume 3M typically sees in an entire session. The weekly 6/12 157.50-strike put is the most popular, followed by the 152.50-strike put, with new positions opening at both. MMM was up 3.1% at $161.22 at last glance, hitting its highest levels since early March as it heads for a fifth-straight gain.
Incyte Corp (INCY) was last seen up 3.1% at $106.41, after news broke that the pharmaceutical name is acquiring Vega Therapeutics for $1.25 billion upfront. Plus, ahead of this news, H.C. Wainwright yesterday lifted its price target to $140 from $130. Familiar pressure at the $110 region could keep a cap on gains, a level of resistance in 2020, late 2025, and earlier this year.
One of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC) is down 6.9% at $9.92, extending yesterday's 15.5% slide after a wider-than-expected fiscal third-quarter loss. On track for its fourth-straight loss, UEC is now trading at its lowest level since August.
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