Mid-Day Market Update: Crude oil down 1%, FibroGen shares plummet

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.32% to 34,874.67 while the NASDAQ fell 0.30% to 14,500.22. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.28% to 4,348.03.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 33,977,710 cases with around 608,400 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,026,820 cases and 412,530 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,262,510 COVID-19 cases with 538,940 deaths. In total, there were at least 189,024,600 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,068,770 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares rose by 0.8% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Middlesex Water Company MSEX 4.89%, up 3%, and Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP SBS 4.22%, up 4%.

In trading on Friday, energy shares fell 1.5%.

Top Headline

Kansas City Southern KSU 0.18% reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Friday.

Kansas City Southern reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $2.06 per share, missing analysts’ estimates of $2.19 per share. The company’s revenue came in at $749.50 million, versus expectations of $750.77 million.

Equities Trading UP

Byrna Technologies Inc. BYRN 12.66% shares shot up 12% to $25.19 after the company priced an upsized offering of 2.5 million shares at $21 per share.

Shares of Aehr Test Systems AEHR 14.96% got a boost, shooting 30% to $3.6584 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results and issued strong FY22 sales guidance.

TD Holdings, Inc. GLG 41.47% shares were also up, gaining 42% to $1.1501 after the company entered a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Guangdong Jinbochuang Special Purpose Vehicle Co. and Hunan Jinmeike New Material Co.

Equities Trading DOWN

FibroGen, Inc. FGEN 45.29% shares tumbled 45% to $13.64 after an FDA Advisory Committee panel voted against approval of the company's New Drug Application roxadustat to treat anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adult patients. B of A Securities downgraded FibroGen from Buy to Neutral.

Shares of Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. NEPT 20.57% were down 20% to $0.8520 after the company reported Q4 earnings results. Sales of C$6.80 million were down from C$9.53 million in the same period last year.

American Outdoor Brands, Inc. AOUT 21.35% was down, falling 20% to $28.72 after the company reported downbeat sales for the fourth quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1% to $70.97, while gold traded down 0.8% to $1,814.30.

Silver traded down 1.8% Friday to $25.91 while copper fell 0.2% to $4.3145.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.64%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.1% and the German DAX 30 dropped 0.86%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.32%, French CAC 40 declined 1.06% and Italy’s FTSE MIB fell 0.67%.

Annual inflation rate in the Eurozone was confirmed at 1.9% for June. Passenger car registrations in the European Union surged 10.4% annually to 1.05 million units in June. Italy's trade surplus rose to EUR 5.64 billion in May from EUR 5.62 billion in the year-ago month.

Economics

US retail sales rose 0.6% in June, beating analysts’ expectations for a 0.4% decline.

US business inventories rose 0.5% for May.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index declined to a five-month low of 80.8 in July versus 85.5 in the earlier month .

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Treasury International Capital report for May is scheduled for release at 4:00 p.m. ET.