The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up over 300 points at its session high -- which also represented a record peak -- as markets cheered progress on the Republican tax reform bill. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) initially joined in on the fun as well, notching a record high on the strength of bank, retail, and media stocks. However, the Dow pared its gains as the session progressed, and the SPX d...Read More

It's been a rough week for tech stocks, after Morgan Stanley last Monday said it was time to take profits on semiconductors. Among those staring at stiff weekly losses -- and paring recent bitcoin gains -- are Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and the selling is continuing today. What's more, options volume is runn...Read More

U.S. stocks are trading mixed, as traders eye a simultaneous tax reform rally and tech dip. Among the names making big moves are bank concern Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), retail powerhouse Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M), and shipping company United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS). Here's a quick look at what's moving shares of GS, M, and UPS.GS Higher With Big Bank StocksGoldman Sachs stock is mo...Read More

The 20 stocks listed in the table below have attracted the highest total weekly options volume during the past 10 trading days. Data is courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. Two names to note are bank stock JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and streaming content provider Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU). Below, we'll break down recent options trading activity on JPM and ROKU. Call T...Read More

Options traders are blasting CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), on news the drugstore chain has put in a $69 billion bid for insurance giant Aetna (AET) -- in a move that will "transform healthcare," according to Leerink. At last check, 28,067 calls and 18,179 puts had traded on CVS stock -- six times what's typically seen, and total options volume pacing in the 100th annual percentile.Most active is the...Read More

U.S. stocks are trading mixed this afternoon, with bank and tech stocks moving in opposite directions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are soaring, both touching fresh record highs as financial stocks rally on the Senate's tax reform bill that was passed Saturday.On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is modestly lower at midday, as FAANG stocks once ag...Read More

As bank stocks rally on the Senate's tax bill news, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) is assailing new heights. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is fresh off a 10-year high of $28.20, and was last seen 1.9% higher at $28.09. What's more, XLF call options are flying off the shelves at a rapid-fire rate.XLF calls are changing hands at six times the average intraday pace, with nearly 270,000...Read More

In its attempt at a hostile takeover over Qualcomm (QCOM), Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) unveiled a list of 11 nominees for QCOM's board of directors, with a shareholder vote slated for March 6. Qualcomm has since issued a statement, calling the nominees "inherently conflicted" in a buyout attempt that "dramatically undervalues" the chipmaker relative to the benefit it offers Broadcom. After jumping...Read More

While most U.S. stocks are higher out of the gate, the shares of medical device maker Mazor Robotics Ltd (NASDAQ:MZOR) are bucking the trend, down 2.8% to trade at $56.11. MZOR stock is reeling amid reports that CEO Ori Hadomi is being investigated for insider trading related to Medtronic's (MDT) investment in Mazor back in 2016.Prior to today, MZOR stock was up roughly 164% in 2017, touching a r...Read More

Blue Apron Holdings Inc (NYSE:APRN) has struggled mightily since it first began trading in late June amid a suddenly crowded meal delivery industry that now includes Amazon (AMZN) and Weight Watchers (WTW). Nevertheless, the stock is soaring for a third straight day following last week's news of the company's CEO shift -- and upbeat analysts are chiming in.Earlier today, APRN received an upgrade t...Read More

One stock on the move today is low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV), after Barron's mentioned LUV as one of the U.S.-focused companies that could benefit from the new Republican tax plan -- which passed the Senate in the early hours of Saturday morning, and features a reduced corporate tax rate as one of its key features.LUV stock is up 2.6% at $61.50 in electronic trading, having s...Read More

Bank stocks are getting ready to rally, after the U.S. Senate passed the Republican tax plan over the weekend. Shares of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), for instance, are up 2.5% in electronic trading -- on track to open at their highest mark since October 2008 -- as the business-friendly piece of legislation now heads to reconciliation between the House and Senate. Today's projected price move i...Read More

U.S. stocks are set to rally today, after Senate Republicansmanaged to push through a tax reform bill over the weekend. In fact, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are signaling all-time highs, as the Michael Flynn saga from last week is pushed to the back burner for the time being. One group to watch is bank stocks, with Dow components Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMor...Read More

"The near-term risk to bulls is the move through the respective SPX and RUT century marks proving to be only temporary, as selling accompanied the RUT's last move through 1,500 in October, and there was a notable hesitation at SPX 2,600 during last Tuesday and Wednesday's trading."...The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) continues to maintain a dominant leadership role, despite being in an 'overbought' cond...Read More

Anglo American's De Beers, the world's largest rough diamond producer by value, unveiled Monday is investing in a blockchain-based platform to enable greater tracking of its stones.The platform, which will be open for those in the industry, will allow tracing each diamond throughout the entire value chain - from mine to buyer."Consumers should be able to know there is an accurate register of a dia...Read More

By Robb M. Stewart MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rio Tinto PLC has turned to Simon Thompson, a boardroom veteran with mining-industry experience under his belt, to succeed Jan du Plessis as chairman from next year. Mr. Thompson, a director at Rio Tinto since 2014, will take over when Mr. du Plessis steps down in March after about nine years as chairman, the mining company said Monday. A former execut...Read More

China's winter capacity closures are finally upon us. Although some started early the official heating season began on November 15. Our impression thus far is that the market has been disappointed by the scale of the cuts, or at least their affect. That has also been borne out in prices,...Read More

Copper prices have generally been consolidating in a down-trending channel since reaching their latest multi-year high of $7,177 per tonne in mid-October. Trading up here has attracted a combination of profit-taking and forward selling, which is capping the upside. We expect activity to remain choppy as moves down towards $6,700 per tonne have...Read More

Lead prices have been consolidating above $2,400 per tonne and below $2,550 per tonne after the high of $2,621 per tonne in early October. We have recently revised our supply-demand model to deepen the annual deficit this year and the deficit expected in 2018; we now see a cumulative 200,000-tonne shortfall...Read More

The overly bullish hype around nickel and its future potential in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), which reached fever pitch at LME Week and drove prices to two-year highs of $13,030 per tonne, is subsiding. It is about time too, because this is a story that will not truly affect the nickel market fundamentals until deep into the 2020s. As a result, nickel...Read More