Stocks Sluggish Ahead of Interest Rate Rhetoric

Stocks are cautiously higher midday, as investors await dot-plot rhetoric at the conclusion of the Fed's policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up triple digits at last look, heading for a third-straight win. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are more subdued, the latter marginally lower despite an early chip-driven surge on the heels of SK Hynix's (SKHY) upbeat quarterly report. Oil prices are an overhang, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) front-month crude last seen 2.5% higher. 

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

• Vertiv earnings are a good sign for the AI trade.
• Enphase Energy stock gaps to Covid-era lows.
• Plus, Biogen bears call the top; MU's halo lift; and a cybersecurity stock in the red. 

Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) stock is seeing increased options activity today. At last look, over 7,100 options have changed hands, volume that's more than triple the average intraday amount. The weekly 11/6 250-strike put is the most popular, followed closely by the December 250 put. BIIB is 1.2% higher to trade at $255.65 and earlier hit a more than two-year high of $258.78, after the drugmaker reported a beat-and-raise for the third quarter. Year to date, the drug stock is up 45.4%.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) stock is 4.3% higher to trade at $969.33, one of the better names on the Nasdaq today. The chipmaker is getting a halo lift from SK Hynix's memory shortage forecast, with demand concerns reassured and long-term supply outlook for Micron reinforced. Micron stock is now up 239% in 202.

F5 Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) is near the bottom of the Nasdaq today, down 18.3% to trade at $375.37 and heading for its worst single-session decline since April 2013. While fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue topped forecasts, a slower-than-expected growth outlook and cashflow concerns are weighing. Piper Sandler downgraded the cybersecurity stock to "neutral" from "overweight," while RBC hiked its price target to $540 from $525. FFIV hit a record high of $483.30 on Oct. 12 and is still 47.6% higher on the year.