Oracle, Manufacturing Data Help Stabilize Stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are all comfortably higher at midday, pushing aside a lackluster open. Investors are shrugging off Bitcoin's (BTC) fall from grace, the cryptocurrency last seen below $80,000, its lowest level since April. Despite the risk-on attitude across Wall Street, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index data showed a 52.6 reading for January, it's highest in a year.
Tech stocks are getting a boost today from Oracle's (ORCL) $50 billion expansion of cloud capacity. Gold and silver are stabilizing following last week's selloff, with both metals trading at fair value today. Elsewhere, President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India, which includes a cut to reciprocal tariffs to 18% from 25%

Options traders are piling in on XPO Inc (NYSE: XPO), after the equity earlier nabbed a 13-month high of $158.57, just ahead of its Feb. 5 earnings report. Following long-term support by the 360-day moving average between May and November, XPO is sporting a nine-month lead of 43.5%, and was last seen up 6.1% to trade at $157.19. So far today, 4,069 puts have changed hands, eight times the average daily rate. Most popular are the February 115 put and the June 140 put.

SanDisk Corp (Nasdaq: SNDK) is one of the best performers on the Nasdaq today, last seen up 16.8% at $672.00, at last glance. Following the equity's stellar January, Barclays and Citigroup both handed over a price-target hike to $750. Over the past three months, SNDK has surged 221%.
Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) is one of worst names on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, last seen down 8.4% at $16.48 – its lowest mark since April -- after posted disappointing 34% year-over-year drop in deliveries for January. The stock is on track to close below the 360-day moving average for the first time in 13 months.
More By This Author:
Stocks Slip Friday; Dow Extends Monthly Win Streak
S&P 500 Retreats As MSFT Earnings Rattle Tech Sector
Major Indexes Sell Off As Microsoft Earnings Weigh