Stocks are maintaining strong leads this afternoon, after blowing out of the gates earlier on the heels of a cooler-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) for November. The reading is fueling Wall Street's hopes that inflation has peaked, which would encourage the Federal Reserve to back off its hawkish stance and pursue less aggressive interest rate hikes. 

In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up 235 points, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) boast solid gains of their own. The tech sector is leading much of today's gains, following the 10-year Treasury yield's dip below 3.5%.

Weibo Corp (Nasdaq: WB) is seeing unusual activity in its typically quiet options pits today. So far, 8,821 calls have crossed the tape, which is 13 times the average intraday volume, compared to just 17 puts. Most popular by far is the weekly 1/27 21-strike call, followed by the 22-strike call in the same series, with positions being opened at the latter. It's unclear what's driving interest in the security today, which was last seen up 5.2% to trade at $18.63. The shares have been chopping higher since November, with support from the 20-day moving average, and earlier hit their highest level since September. Year-to-date, WB is down 39.8%.

One of the best performers on the Nasdaq today is Moderna Inc (Nasdaq: MRNA). The equity is up 25.5% to trade at $207.16 at last check after a mid-stage trial showed the combination of the company's experimental melanoma vaccine and Merck's (MRK) immunotherapy Keytruda reduced the risk of skin cancer's recurrence or death by 44%. MRNA is trading at its highest level since January, and burst through a ceiling at the $190 level, but remains down 24.9% year-over-year.

Meanwhile, Silvergate Capital Corp (NYSE: SI) is one of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, last seen down 7.7% at $19.60. The crypto sector has struggled amid FTX's collapse and the arrest of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas, with SI reversing gains that followed cooler-than-expected CPI reading. The stock earlier hit a fresh two-year low of $19.35 and is down 86.7% so far in 2023.

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