Stocks Pull Back Ahead Of Fed Minutes
Stocks are pulling back from yesterday's broad-market rebound, eyeing their fourth loss in the last five days. Overseas, investors remain wary of Russia and Ukraine tensions while stateside, Wall Street is ready to unpack the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes due out later today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down 206 points midday, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) sit firmly in the red as well. The geopolitical turmoil has March-dated crude up 2.7% at $94.60 per barrel at last check, even as data showed an unexpected rise in crude supplies for last week. Meanwhile, retail sales saw a 3.8% jump last month even amid spiking inflation.
Airbnb Inc (Nasdaq: ABNB) is seeing a surge in bullish options activity today, with 90,000 calls across the tape so far -- eight times the intraday average -- compared to 44,000 puts. The February 190 call is the most popular by far, with new positions being bought to open. The company received 11 price-target hikes from analysts this morning after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results last night, thanks in part to an increase in travel. At last glance, ABNB was up 6.3% at $191.35.
One stock surging on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is electrical equipment name Generac Holdings Inc (NYSE: GNRC), up 10.7% at $306.32. Growth in both residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) segments led the company to strong fourth-quarter results. Year-to-date, GNRC is still down 13.6%.
Meanwhile, Baudax Bio Inc (Nasdaq: BXRX) is plummeting into penny stock territory, down 24.7% at $4.73. The biotech company announced a 1-for-35 reverse stock split, effective today, and is now trading at never-before-seen lows. Year-over-year, BXRX is now down 92.4%.
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