Stocks Muted as Middle East Uncertainty Persists

Stocks are little changed at midday as potential Middle East developments hold investors' attention. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are modestly lower, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) sits near the flatline. Oil prices are higher amid uncertainty surrounding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude up 3.8% at last glance. Meanwhile, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped below 300 million barrels for the first time since 1983.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Chip stock shrugging off impressive sales growth. 
• Archer Aviation stock soars after company acquires Boeing subsidiaries. 
• Plus, bulls target VST; MP jumps after earnings; and COHR falls on potential import ban. 

Call traders are targeting Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST) today, as investors continue to unpack the company's mixed second-quarter earnings results, released before the open on Friday. So far, 70,000 calls have been exchanged -- five times the intraday average volume -- in comparison to just 4,894 puts. The December 210 call is the most popular, with new positions opening there. At last check, VST was up 1.8% at $143.13, bouncing off familiar support at the $134 level. 

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) is one of the top performing names on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), up 7.5% at $54.96 at last glance, after the company posted narrower-than-expected second-quarter losses of 1 cent per share on better-than-expected revenue of $108.49 million. Extending a bounce off 52-week lows, MP is up 9% year to date. 

Coherent (NYSE:COHR) was last seen down 10.6% at $338.41, amid news of a potential U.S. ban on data center components imported from China. The 40-day moving average appears to be keeping losses in check, however. Year-to-date, the equity has added 78.6% so far.