Dow Battles Breakeven Despite Strong Earnings, Jobs Data

Stocks are fighting to find their footing midday, despite the latest jobless claims data that showed unemployment filings hit their lowest level during the pandemic-era. In addition, Wall Street is brushing off more upbeat earnings from the financial sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIwas last seen inching lower, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are deeper in the red.

Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell kicked off his second day of Congressional testimony, with an emphasis on the challenges of addressing inflation. His comments have already helped the 10-year Treasury yield, which is rebounding from session lows.

Midday Market Stats July 15

One stock seeing a surge in call activity today is Moderna Inc (Nasdaq: MRNA), last seen up 3% to trade at $254.12, and earlier hitting an all-time high of $255.48. This comes as the vaccine stalwart gears up to report second-quarter financial results amid another wave of Covid-19 infections. So far, 34,000 calls have crossed the tape, double the intraday average and more than triple the amount of puts traded so far. Most popular is the July 250 call, with new positions are being bought to open. Moderna stock is up 216.8% year-over-year.

MRNA Chart July 15

Near the top of the Nasdaq, today is Carver Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq: CARV), last seen up 10.8% to trade at $19.68, though it's unclear what the reason for today's surge is. Carver Bancorp stock is recently removed from a July 9, record high of $42.50, and added an impressive 106.9% the following. CARV is now up 217.3% year-to-date, a far cry from last year's profile we ran on the community stock.

Meanwhile, near the bottom of the Nasdaq is Marin Software Inc (Nasdaq: MRIN), down 12.4% to trade at $11.98 this afternoon, after the company issued lackluster preliminary second-quarter financial results. Marin Software received the meme stock treatment in June, to the tune of a 594% gain in the last month. However, this week alone the equity shed over 30%, and is pacing for its seventh straight loss.

Disclaimer: Copyright © 2021 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved. This material is reproduced with the prior written consent of S&P DJI. Please ...

more
How did you like this article? Let us know so we can better customize your reading experience.

Comments

Leave a comment to automatically be entered into our contest to win a free Echo Show.