Stocks Deep In The Red As "Fear Gauge" Perks Up
Stocks are sinking even lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) last seen down 262 points, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are down more than 1% each at midday. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to snap four-week win streaks, while the Dow is clinging to a small weekly win.
Roughly $2 trillion in options contracts will expire later this evening for expiration Friday, which could inject even more volatility into markets. Against that backdrop, Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), is siting above 20 for the first time in over a week
Vinco Ventures Inc (Nasdaq: BBIG) is seeing some wild options volume today, just ahead of the toy company's second-quarter earnings report this Monday, Aug. 22. So far, 26,000 calls and 5,585 puts have been exchanged, which is three times the intraday average. The most popular is the weekly 8/26 2.50-strike call, followed by the 2-strike call in the same series. BBIG is plummeting today, last seen down 25.2% at $1.09 as individual traders drop meme stocks amid the massive plummet Bed Bath & Beyond's (BBBY) has been suffering late in the week.
With that said, the aforementioned Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (Nasdaq: BBBY) is, once again, one of the worst performing stocks on the Nasdaq today, as yesterday's news that activist investor Ryan Cohen has offloaded his entire stake in the retail company continues to echo through Wall Street. BBBY was last seen down 39.1% to trade at $11.29, after yesterday losing more than 19% and snapping a six-day win streak. The stock has plummeted into negative weekly territory, too, and is now headed for its biggest one-week drop since early July. The shares are struggling to maintain their footing at the 100-day moving average this afternoon as well.
GigaCloud Technology Inc (Nasdaq: GCT), on the other hand, is one of the best-performing stocks on the Nasdaq today. Shares of the Hong Kong-based company have added 85.8% so far to trade at $29.30, following the stock's U.S. trading debut. The JD.com-backed (JD) business was able to raise $36 billion in its U.S. offering, as Asian issuers begin to return to the U.S. market, even amid crackdowns from both Beijing and Washington. The stock opened on the Nasdaq at $19.20, and earlier was trading as high as $41.98.
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