Stocks are extending their morning losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) sporting triple-digit losses this afternoon. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) is lower as well, as tech stocks struggle despite Wall Street last week wrapping up its best month of 2023. Bitcoin (BTC) and best month are in rally mode, however, with the former crossing $41,000 earlier, as the latter notched an intraday record high. 
Beyond Meat Inc (Nasdaq: BYND) is up 14.9% to trade at $8.68 at last check, though a catalyst for this positive price action remains unclear. Options traders are also blasting the equity, with 57,000 calls and 16,000 puts exchanged so far, which is eight times the intraday average volume. The weekly 12/8 90-strike call is most popular, with positions opening there. Shares are today trading at their highest level since early October, and pacing for their first close above the 60-day moving average since August. BYND is down 29% for 2023, though.
Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) is among the top performers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, up 7.2% at $193.80 at last check. The music streaming giant announced earlier it will cut 17% of its employees, or roughly 1,500 workers, amid plans to withdraw services in Uruguay by February. SPOT is up 147% so far this year, and earlier notched a fresh 52-week high of $201.36.Meanwhile, Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK) sits at the bottom of the NYSE, last seen down 15.4% at $33.60. Raymond James and Deutsche Bank downgraded ALK to “market perform” and “hold” from “strong buy” and “buy”, respectively. These bear notes followed news of the company’s buyout of Hawaiian Holdings (HA) for $1.9 billion. ALK is down 21.6% in 2023.More By This Author:Stocks Start December With More Gains
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