Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.25% to 34,996.01 while the NASDAQ fell 0.62% to 14,686.02. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.45% to 4,399.32.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 34,751,040 cases with around 612,120 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,572,340 cases and 423,210 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,839,360 COVID-19 cases with 554,490 deaths. In total, there were at least 196,684,500 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,199,940 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Real estate shares climbed 1.1% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. ALEX 5.01%, up 5% and American Realty Investors, Inc. ARL 5.26% up 5%.
In trading on Friday, consumer discretionary shares fell 2.5%.
Top Headline
The Procter & Gamble Company PG 2.58% reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Procter & Gamble reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.09 per share. The company’s revenue came in at $18.95 billion, versus expectations of $18.36 billion.
Procter & Gamble said it expects FY22 sales up 2%-4% year over year.
Equities Trading UP
ERYTECH Pharma S.A. ERYP 66.42% shares shot up 84% to $7.57 after the company said the FDA has granted its eryaspase fast track designation for the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia patients who have developed hypersensitivity reactions to E. coli-derived pegylated asparaginase.
Shares of Atlassian Corporation Plc TEAM 23.87% got a boost, shooting 25% to $333.37 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results and issued strong Q1 guidance.
Rallybio Corporation RLYB 23.55% shares were also up, gaining 37% to $19.27. Rallybio priced its IPO at $13 per share.
Equities Trading DOWN
Icosavax, Inc. ICVX 17.24% shares tumbled 16% to $29.35. Icosavax priced an upsized $182 million IPO, which had initially penciled in a $100 million raise.
Shares of Intec Pharma Ltd NTEC 15.81% were down 19% to $10.91 after jumping 48% on Thursday. Intec Pharma recently reported a $30 million private placement.
Pinterest, Inc. PINS 19.29% was down, falling 18% to $59.16. Pinterest reported upbeat earnings and sales results for its second quarter on Thursday. However, the company reported weaker-than-expected growth in monthly active users and issued bearish revenue forecast for the third quarter. JP Morgan and Evercore ISI Group downgraded the stock.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.1% to $73.52, while gold traded down 0.2% to $1,827.20.
Silver traded down 0.8% Friday to $25.585 while copper fell 1.2% to $4.4680.
Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.29%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.06% and the German DAX 30 declined 0.41%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.57%, French CAC 40 fell 0.12% and Italy’s FTSE MIB dropped 0.32%.
The Eurozone economy expanded by 2.0% on quarter during the three months to June, while unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% in June. Annual inflation rate in the Eurozone, meanwhile, rose to 2.2% in July from 1.9% in June.
Spain's gross domestic product grew 2.8% on quarter during the three months to June following a 0.4% contraction in the prior period. French consumer price inflation rate eased to 1.2% in July from 1.5% a month ago, while the country’s economy expanded 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter. German economy expanded by 1.5% on quarter in the second quarter, following a revised 2.1% contraction in the prior three-month period. Italy's gross domestic product expanded by 2.7% on quarter during the three months to June, while unemployment rate dropped to 9.7% in June.
Economics
The employment cost index rose 0.7% for the second quarter.
Personal income rose 0.1% in June, while consumer spending climbed 1%.
The Chicago PMI rose to 73.4 for July from previous reading of 66.1.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 81.2 in July from 85.5 in June.
The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Data on farm prices for June will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard will speak at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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