Wall Street is looking to end the year on an upbeat note, as all three major benchmarks head for sizable monthly and yearly returns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was last seen up 42 points while eyeing its seventh-straight day of gains. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also higher, as stocks linked to travel and financials pad the market. The semiconductor sector, however, is struggling after reports of factory closures related to Covid-19. Meanwhile, investors are poring over lower-than-expected jobless claims data. 

Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) is seeing an uptick in options volume today, with 276,000 calls and 90,000 puts across the tape so far, which is double the intraday average. Most popular is the weekly 12/31 31-strike call, where positions are being opened. NIO was last seen up 11.9% at $31.59, just one day off an annual low of $27.52, suggesting these traders are eyeing even more upside for the underlying security by the time these contracts expire tomorrow. 

Energy Focus Inc (Nasdaq: EFOI) is one of the best-performing stocks on the Nasdaq today, last seen up 19.9% to trade at $5.25. The company announced earlier in the week that selling shareholders plan to offer 2.6 million shares of common stock. Today's jump helped EFOI topple recent pressure at the 320-day moving average, while shares are eyeing a 28.5% return for 2021.

One of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Vector Group Ltd (NYSE: VGR). The security was last seen down 36% at $10.99 on news that its Douglas Elliman (DOUG) unit has spun off to trade as its own entity on the NYSE, starting today. VGR just touched a Dec. 21, three-year high of $17.38, but today's plummet sent the stock to an annual low of $10.96 earlier. VGR is eyeing a 5.8% loss for the year.