Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.08% to 34,768.64 while the NASDAQ rose 0.10% to 14,646.39. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.02% to 4,357.70.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 34,229,800 cases with around 609,870 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,257,720 cases and 418,980 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,473,950 COVID-19 cases with 545,600 deaths. In total, there were at least 192,054,100 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,128,050 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Information technology shares climbed 0.6% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included ACM Research, Inc. ACMR 3.95%, up 4%, and Veritone, Inc. VERI 4.33%, up 4%.
In trading on Thursday, energy shares fell 1.2%.
Top Headline
AT&T Inc. T 0.29% reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter.
AT&T reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.89 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.79 per share. The company’s revenue came in at $44.05 billion, versus expectations of $42.64 billion.
AT&T said it expects FY21 sales growth in the 2-3% range and also projects adjusted EPS to grow in the mid to mid-single digits.
Equities Trading UP
NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NRXP 46.09% shares shot up 45% to $14.69 as the company said it has validated the first commercial formulation of Zyesami for intravenous use, allowing for high volume manufacturing, with an anticipated one year or greater stability under appropriate storage conditions.
Shares of Summit Wireless Technologies, Inc. WISA 32.68% got a boost, shooting 31% to $5.34 after the company highlighted the launch of its Amazon storefront.
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. IPA 169.59% shares were also up, gaining 143% to $13.47 after the company announced new results from its TATX-03 PolyTope Therapy, demonstrating potent pseudovirus neutralizing activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta (B.1.617.2) variant.
Equities Trading DOWN
Seres Therapeutics, Inc. MCRB 55.6% shares tumbled 55% to $9.40 after the company announced topline results from the Phase 2b ECO-RESET study evaluating SER-287 in patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC). The study did not meet its primary endpoint of improving clinical remission rates compared to placebo.
Shares of TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. TCON 23.83% were down 24% to $3.7450 after the company announced it increased a previously announced bought deal offering of common stock to $15 million.
Jupiter Wellness, Inc. JUPW 24.38% was down, falling 24% to $2.12 after the company announced pricing of a $32.5 million underwritten public offering of common stock and warrants.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.5% to $71.40, while gold traded up 0.2% to $1,806.60.
Silver traded up 0.6% Thursday to $25.405 while copper rose 1.3% to $4.3275.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.56%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.64% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.35%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.56%, French CAC 40 surged 0.17% and Italy’s FTSE MIB climbed 0.53%.
The European Central Bank announced plans to keep interest rates and asset purchases unchanged. The manufacturing climate indicator in France climbed to 110 in July from a revised reading of 108 in the prior month. The CBI's quarterly gauge of manufacturing optimism for the UK declined to 27 in the third quarter compared to 38 in the prior three-month period.
Economics
US initial jobless claims rose to 419,000 in the latest week, versus a revised reading of 368,000 in the previous week.
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell to 0.09 in June from a revised reading of 0.26 in May.
Existing home sales rose 1.4% to 5.86 million in June.
The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.7% for June.
The Kansas City Fed's manufacturing production index surged to a record high of 41 in July versus 30 in the prior month.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD: A tough barrier remains around 0.6800
AUD/USD failed to maintain the earlier surpass of the 0.6800 barrier, eventually succumbing to the late rebound in the Greenback following the Fed’s decision to lower its interest rates by50 bps.
EUR/USD still targets the 2024 peaks around 1.1200
EUR/USD added to Tuesday’s losses after the post-FOMC rebound in the US Dollar prompted the pair to give away earlier gains to three-week highs in the 1.1185-1.1190 band.
Gold surrenders gains and drops to weekly lows near $2,550
Gold prices reverses the initial uptick to record highs around the $$2,600 per ounce troy, coming under renewed downside pressure and revisiting the $2,550 zone amidst the late recovery in the US Dollar.
Australian Unemployment Rate expected to hold steady at 4.2% in August
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the monthly employment report at 1:30 GMT on Thursday. The country is expected to have added 25K new positions in August, while the Unemployment Rate is foreseen to remain steady at 4.2%.
Ethereum could rally to $2,817 following Fed's 50 bps rate cut
Ethereum (ETH) is trading above $2,330 on Wednesday as the market is recovering following the Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points. Meanwhile, Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETF) recorded $15.1 million in outflows.
Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know
VERIFIED In this review, the FXStreet team provides an independent and thorough analysis based on direct testing and real experiences with Moneta Markets – an excellent broker for novice to intermediate forex traders who want to broaden their knowledge base.