Stocks are firmly higher midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) last seen up over 280 points, while both the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) boast sizable gains of their own. Wall Street is growing confident inflation has peaked ahead of tomorrow's consumer price index (CPI) for August, with JPMorgan Chase (JPM) noting falling gas prices as an indicator, while a weaker U.S. dollar is also fueling today's rally. Oil prices are also climbing, with October-dated crude futures last seen up 1.9% at $88.33.

Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) is seeing an uptick in bullish options activity today, with 57,000 calls exchanged so far -- a volume that's 19 times its intraday average. Most popular by far is the September 15 call, followed by the October 14 call, with new positions being opened at both. It's unclear what's driving today's options frenzy, though MANU was last seen up 2% at $14.72. The stock is once again running into the $15 level, which first emerged as a ceiling in late March. Quarter-to-date, MANU has added 31.9%.

One of the best performers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), last seen up 10.9% to trade at $21.24. Today's pop comes after BofA Global Research hiked its price target on the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) stock to $30 from $29, with the analyst in coverage bullish on increasing supply and demand. NIO is heading for its highest close since Aug. 15 but is still down 33% in 2022. 

Meanwhile, Dice Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq: DICE) is towards the bottom of the Nasdaq, last seen down 18.6% at $18.43. A driver for today's negative price action remains unclear, though the stock on Friday hit its highest level since August. The 50-day moving looks poised to contain today's losses, though the stock is still pacing for its worst day on record.

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