Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded down 1.45% to 26,272.64 while the NASDAQ fell 2.93% to 10,857.97. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.93% to 3,246.08.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 8,947,830 cases with around 228,670 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 8,088,850 confirmed cases and 121,090 deaths, while Brazil reported over 5,494,370 COVID-19 cases with 158,960 deaths. In total, there were at least 45,107,100 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,182,270 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares slipped by just 0.6% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included San Juan Basin Royalty Trust SJT 7.86%, up 8%, and SM Energy Company SM 7.46%, up 8%.
In trading on Friday, consumer discretionary shares dipped 3.6%.
Top Headline
Honeywell International Inc. HON 0.91% reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.
Honeywell reported quarterly earnings of $1.56 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.49 per share. The company posted sales of $7.80 billion, surpassing expectations of $7.65 billion.
Honeywell said it expects Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.97 to $2.02 on sales of $8.2 billion to $8.5 billion. Analysts projected earnings of $1.88 per share on sales of $8.41 billion. Honeywell expects FY20 adjusted EPS of $7 to $7.05 on sales of $31.9 billion to $32.2 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Rogers Corporation ROG 17.77% shares shot up 18% to $121.56 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results and issued strong Q4 guidance.
Shares of MoneyGram International, Inc. MGI 11.25% got a boost, shooting 13% to $5.07 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. ACHC 20.76% shares were also up, gaining 21% to $34.96 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results and issued strong Q4 earnings guidance.
Equities Trading DOWN
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. BLCM 38.9% shares tumbled 40% to $3.53 after the company priced its 4.15 million shares at $6.025 per share. Wells Fargo downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal-Weight and announced a price target of $4.5 per share.
Shares of Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd. AXGT 43.01% were down 42% to $2.11 after the company announced updates to be presented at its virtual Parkinson's disease R&D day, stating individual patient-level data from cohort 2 of the Phase 2 SUNRISE-PD study that is evaluating its AXO-Lenti-PD gene therapy for the treatment of Parkinson's disease showed favorable safety and tolerability profile, with no serious adverse events. The company also said it is unlikely that its planned sham-controlled trial of AXO-Lenti-PD will begin to enroll patients by the end of calendar year 2021.
Pitney Bowes Inc. PBI 29.04% was down, falling 28% to $5.36 after the company reported Q3 earnings results.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.5% to $35.62, while gold traded up 0.7% to $1,881.30.
Silver traded up 1.5% Friday to $23.71 while copper fell 0.2% to $3.05.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.18%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.63%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.40%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 declined 0.36%, French CAC 40 rose 0.54% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.08%.
German gross domestic product climbed by a record 8.2% during the three months to September, while Spain's economy grew 16.7% on quarter in the same period. The French economy grew at a pace of 18.2% in the third quarter.
Economics
US personal income rose 0.9% for September, while spending increased 1.4%.
The Chicago PMI declined to 61.1 in October versus 62.4 in September.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was revised higher to 81.8 for October versus a preliminary reading of 81.2.
The total number of active U.S. oil rigs gained by 10 to 221 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD retreats below 1.0700 after US GDP data
EUR/USD came under modest bearish pressure and retreated below 1.0700. Although the US data showed that the economy grew at a softer pace than expected in Q1, strong inflation-related details provided a boost to the USD.
GBP/USD declines below 1.2500 as USD rebounds
GBP/USD declined below 1.2500 and erased the majority of its daily gains with the immediate reaction to the US GDP report. The US economy expanded at a softer pace than expected in Q1 but the price deflator jumped to 3.4% from 1.8%.
Gold holds near $2,330 despite rising US yields
Gold stays in positive territory near $2,330 in the second half of the day on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield is up more than 1% on the day above 4.7% after US GDP report, making it difficult for XAU/USD to extend its daily rally.
XRP extends its decline, crypto experts comment on Ripple stablecoin and benefits for XRP Ledger
Ripple extends decline to $0.52 on Thursday, wipes out weekly gains. Crypto expert asks Ripple CTO how the stablecoin will benefit the XRP Ledger and native token XRP.
After the US close, it’s the Tokyo CPI
After the US close, it’s the Tokyo CPI, a reliable indicator of the national number and then the BoJ policy announcement. Tokyo CPI ex food and energy in Japan was a rise to 2.90% in March from 2.50%.