Stocks Lower Midday After Kremlin Denies Peace Talk Progress

Stocks are sporting muted losses this afternoon, as investors mull over the implications of yesterday's Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Meanwhile, hopes that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are making progress have mostly been dashed, after Bloomberg News reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called these initial reports "wrong," adding that "[w]hen there's progress, we'll tell you." In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIis down 37 points, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also eyeing muted midday losses.

MMC stats march 17

KE Holdings Inc (NYSE: BEKE), which was last seen down 21% at $11.77, is seeing an options surge today. So far, 22,000 calls and 19,000 puts have exchanged hands, which is five times the intraday average. The March 12.50 put is most popular, followed by the 12.50 call in the same series, with positions being opened at the latter. The equity was downgraded to "strong sell" at Zacks Investment Research yesterday, but still added over 64% after the People's Bank of China (PBC) said it would "resolve risks around property developers." BEKE is down 82.4% year-over-year, and 41.3% year-to-date.

Children's clothing retailer Kidpik Corp (Nasdaq: PIK) is one of the best-performing stocks on the Nasdaq today. The equity was last seen up 76% at $3.24 on news that the company has partnered with Walt Disney (DIS) to create four fashion boxes to celebrate Disney's "Cheaper by the Dozen" remake, starring Zach Braff. PIK remains down 45.5% this year, though today's pop has the equity back above the 30-day moving average for the first time since late January. 

mmc chart march 17

On the other hand, Integrated Media Technology Ltd (Nasdaq: IMTE) is one of the worst-performing stocks on the Nasdaq today, last seen down 16.3% to trade at $9.04. While a reason for this bear gap was not immediately clear, IMTE surged to its highest level since late January during yesterday's session, and still sports an 91.5% year-to-date lead. 

Disclaimer: Schaeffer's Investment Research ("SIR" or "we" or "us") is not registered as an investment adviser. SIR relies upon the "publishers' ...

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.