Mid-afternoon market update: NASDAQ turns higher; Hewlett Packard shares tumble

Benzinga Team Benzinga

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.14% to 24,440.10 while the NASDAQ rose 0.40% to 9,322.26. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.16% to 9,322.26.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 1,577,750 cases with around 94,720 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 310,080 COVID-19 cases with 20,040 deaths, while Russia reported a total of at least 326,440 confirmed cases and 3,240 deaths. In total, there were at least 5,125,610 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 333,380 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Real estate shares climbed 1.7% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. ASPS 14.51%, up 14%, and Redfin Corporation RDFN 7.16%, up 7%.

In trading on Friday, energy shares dipped 1.3%.

Top Headline

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR BABA 5.85% reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.

Alibaba reported quarterly earnings of $1.30 per share on Friday, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 87 cents. The company reported quarterly sales of $16.144 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $15.200 billion. Domestic same-store sales slipped 5.7% during the quarter.

Equities Trading UP

LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. RAMP 23.87% shares shot up 23% to $47.74 after reporting upbeat Q4 results.

Shares of Sundial Growers Inc. SNDL 39.8% got a boost, shooting 42% to $0.861 after gaining over 9% on Thursday.

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. NAVB 88.26% shares were also up, gaining 92% to $2.4398 after the company announced positive preliminary results from the second interim analysis of its ongoing NAV3-31 Phase 2B study.

Equities Trading DOWN

Recon Technology, Ltd. RCON 45.41% shares tumbled 45% to $2.0301 after the company reported pricing of approximately $2.1 million registered direct offering.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company HPE 11.44% were down 11% to $9.22 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q2 results. The company also announced plans temporarily slash salaries and carry out job cuts.

Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SNDX 20.49% was down, falling 18% to $16.72 after the company said a late-stage study that evaluated its investigational compound entinostat along with exemestane in patients with HR+, HER2- breast cancer who have progressed on a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor did not achieve the primary endpoint of demonstrating a statistically significant overall survival benefit over hormone therapy alone.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.8% to $33.30, while gold traded up 0.7% to $1,733.20.

Silver traded up 1.6% Friday to $17.635, while copper fell 1.6% to $2.3925.

Euro zone

European shares closed mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.03%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.17%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1.34%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.07%, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.02% while UK shares fell 0.37%.

Economics

The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 21 to 237 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.

Author

Benzinga Team

Benzinga

Benzinga's news desk is a dynamic and innovative team that provides real-time, actionable articles that help readers navigate the market.

EUR/USD holds losses near 1.1850 as US, China holidays keep trade muted

EUR/USD opens the week on a softer note, trading near 1.1860 during the Asian session on Monday. Activity is likely to remain muted, with United States markets closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday, while Mainland China is also shut for the week-long Lunar New Year break.

GBP/USD flat lines as traders await key UK macro data and FOMC minutes

The GBP/USD pair kicks off a new week on a subdued note and oscillates in a narrow range, just below mid-1.3600s, during the Asian session. Moreover, the mixed fundamental backdrop warrants some caution for aggressive traders as the market focus now shifts to this week's important releases from the UK and the US.

Gold remains below $5,050 despite Fed rate cut bets, uncertain geopolitical tensions

Gold edges lower after registering over 2% gains in the previous session, trading around $5,030 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Monday. However, the non-interest-bearing Gold could further gain ground following softer January Consumer Price Index figures, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut rates later this year.

Week ahead: Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

The US jobs report for January, which was delayed slightly, didn’t do the dovish Fed bets any favours, as expectations of a soft print did not materialize, confounding the raft of weak job indicators seen in the prior week.

Global inflation watch: Signs of cooling services inflation

Realized inflation landed close to expectations in January, as negative base effects weighed on the annual rates. Remaining sticky inflation is largely explained by services, while tariff-driven goods inflation remains limited even in the US.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.