Perfect Week Of Gains Within Reach On Wall Street
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are well on their way to scoring five-straight daily wins this afternoon, which would make this a perfect week of gains. All three major indexes also notched fresh 2023 highs earlier in the session.
Bank and blue-chip earnings are behind this positive price action, as cooler-than-expected inflation data continues to drive investor optimism as well. Meanwhile, in a preliminary reading, U.S. consumer sentiment rose to 72.6 in July from June's 64.4 -- the largest gain since Dec. 2005 and highest level since Sep. 2021.
Options traders are targeting UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH) stock, with 60,000 calls and 26,000 puts exchanged so far today, which is eight times the intraday average volume. Most popular is the weekly 7/14 480-strike call, where new positions are being opened, meaning traders expect more upside by the time these contracts expire at the close. UNH is up 6.4% at $476.47 at last check, after the blue chip's second-quarter earnings and revenue beat. Year-to-date, UNH is still down 9.8%.
PainReform Ltd (Nasdaq: PRFX) is leading the Nasdaq today, last seen up 154.6% at $14.64. The company earlier this week priced its $2.7 million concurrent registered direct offering and private placement at $9 per share. The shares have been extremely volatile, surging to a July 11, one-year high of $26.41 before pulling back to their 40-day moving average. Year-to-date, PRFX is down 260.6%.
State Street Corp (NYSE: STT) stock is down 10.9% to trade at $69.31 at last check after the financial services concern missed second-quarter revenue expectations. The shares earlier slipped to their lowest trading level since early June. So far this year, STT is off 9.6%.
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