Dow Jones Industrial Average Struggles; Traders Seek Safety in Gold
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is off its early morning lows, but stocks are still struggling for upside as traders exercise caution ahead of some major market events. In the meantime, investors are digesting this morning's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which showed job openings in the U.S. increased to an all-time high of six million in April, while hiring decreased. Elsewhere, oil prices continue to slide amid oversupply concerns, with July-dated crude futures down 0.4% at $47.19 per barrel, though a weaker dollar and safe-haven demand have August-dated gold up 1.04% at $1,296.10 an ounce. While the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) briefly flirted with positive territory, both it and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) have joined the Dow in negative territory, with little inspiration to be found for stock buyers.
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Among the stocks with unusual options volume today is Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), as the shares rally following news Apple is using the company's Radeon Pro Vega GPU graphics processor in its new iMac Pro. AMD stock was last seen up 6.3% at $11.95, as it tries to take back its 50-day moving average, located at $12.21. In the meantime, AMD calls are trading at two times the expected pace for this point in the day. Two of the most popular options are the weekly 6/9 11.50- and 12-strike calls. Those buying to open the options expect AMD shares to top the strikes by the end of this week, when the contracts expire. Meanwhile, the June 12 call is also seeing heavy action.
One of the top Nasdaq performers today is gene therapy specialist bluebird bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLUE), as the biotech stock extends yesterday's big upside move. BLUE shares were last seen up 13.7% at $103.85, and earlier hit an annual high of $104.90, after BMO upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market perform" and upped its price target to $108 from $83. Wedbush also weighed in, raising its price target to $100 from $95. Now, bluebird bio stock is up almost 38% in June.
