Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Tumbles Over 600 Points; Bellerophon Therapeutics Shares Surge
|Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded down 3.1% to 19,464.34 while the NASDAQ fell 2.01% to 7,007.15. The S&P also rose, gaining 3.07% to 2,335.31.
U.S. reported a total of 14,000 coronavirus cases with around 200 deaths. Italy reported a total of at least 41,000 confirmed cases and 3,400 deaths, while Iran confirmed a total of over 18,400 coronavirus cases. Mainland China reported no new domestic coronavirus case for the second consecutive day. In total, there are at least 245,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 10,000 deaths.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Real estate shares slipped by just 0.1% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Retail Properties of America, Inc. RPAI 27.93%, up 37%, and RPT Realty RPT 15.77%, up 23%.
In trading on Friday, consumer staples shares dipped 4%.
Top Headline
Hibbett Sports, Inc. HIBB 1.23% reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.
Hibbett posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.51 per share, missing analysts' estimates of $0.62 per share. The company's sales came in at $313 million, exceeding analysts' estimates of $303.63 million.
Hibbett Sports reported a 4% year-over-year rise in Q4 same-store sales.
Equities Trading UP
Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. BLPH 419.47% shares shot up 447% to $18.56 after the company reported that the FDA granted emergency expanded access for INOpulse for the treatment of coronavirus infection.
Shares of Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. TNXP 82.27% got a boost, shooting 93% to $1.09 after the company's 8-K showed it would present certain info related to the TNX-1800 for a potential coronavirus vaccine to the World Health Organization on Friday.
GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. GNMK 27.36% shares were also up, gaining 28% to $5.27 after the company received FDA emergency use authorization for its ePlex SARS-CoV-2 test. The test is available in hospitals and labs across the U.S. and in more than 30 countries.
Equities Trading DOWN
Biomerica, Inc. BMRA 49.19% shares tumbled 53% to $7.48 after surging over 55% on Thursday.
Shares of Waitr Holdings Inc. WTRH 48.47% were down 36% to $1.6550 after rising around 32% on Thursday.
Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. APRN 30.85% was down, falling 22% to $11.19. Blue Apron reported a sharp increase in demand.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 21.3% to $19.84, while gold traded up 0.2% to $1,482.20.
Silver traded up 2.2% Friday to $12.395, while copper fell 2% to $2.1415.
Euro zone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1.82% the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.74%, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 1.71%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 3.7%, and the French CAC 40 rose 5.01% while UK shares rose 0.76%.
Economics
US existing home sales rose 6.5% to an annual rate of 5.77 million units in February.
The total number of active U.S. oil rigs declined by 19 to 664 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.