Mid-day market update: Gold down 1%, Locust Walk Acquisition shares jump

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.20% to 35,435.82 while the NASDAQ rose 0.05% to 15,027.49. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.14% to 4,492.54.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 38,077,520 cases with around 630,830 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 32,512,360 cases and 435,750 deaths, while Brazil reported over 20,614,860 COVID-19 cases with 575,740 deaths. In total, there were at least 213,301,290 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,454,810 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Financial shares rose 1.1% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Jiayin Group Inc. JFIN 25.95%, up 12% and Trustmark Corporation TRMK 9.41% up 9%.

In trading on Wednesday, health care fell 0.4%.

Top Headline

Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. DKS 15.03% reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter on Wednesday.

Dick's posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $5.08 per share, exceeding market estimates of $2.70 per share. The company’s quarterly sales came in at $3.27 billion, versus estimates of $2.82 billion. The company also announced a special dividend of $5.50 and plans to increase buybacks to minimum of $400 million.

Dick's said it sees FY21 adjusted earnings of $12.45 to $12.95 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of $9.01 per share. The company expects FY21 sales of $11.52 billion to $11.72 billion, versus expectations of $10.9 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. LWAC 175.8% shares shot up 164% to $23.23 after the merger with eFFECTOR Therapeutics was approved. eFFECTOR Therapeutics is focused on selective translation regulation inhibitors to treat cancer. The SPAC merger valued the company at $419 million, including a $60 million PIPE with an investment from Pfizer’s venture capital arm Pfizer Ventures.

Shares of Regencell Bioscience Holdings Limited 
RGC 211.57%
 got a boost, shooting 118% to $33.29 after gaining over 11% on Tuesday. Regencell Bioscience recently reported partial exercise of underwriter’s over-allotment option.

ScanSource, Inc. SCSC 18.56% shares were also up, gaining 16% to $35.64 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Cassava Sciences, Inc. SAVA 25.35% shares tumbled 22% to $92.27 on negative claims that were posted online yesterday after market hours. The company issued a response to the claims today, saying they believe the claims regarding scientific integrity are false and misleading.

Shares of Nordstrom, Inc. JWN 17.15% were down 18% to $30.95. Nordstrom, reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter and also boosted its annual revenue guidance. However, the company’s quarterly revenue slipped 6% compared to pre-pandemic levels. JP Morgan downgraded Nordstrom from Neutral to Underweight and announced a $34 price target.

PAE Incorporated PAE 13.42% was down, falling 14% to $6.44. Morgan Stanley downgraded PAE from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $11 to $8.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.2% to $67.68, while gold traded down 1% to $1,789.90.

Silver traded down 0.8% Wednesday to $23.695 while copper rose 0.8% to $4.2915.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.09%, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.36% and the German DAX 30 dropped 0.26%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.13%, French CAC 40 rose 0.11% and Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.01%.

Producer prices in Spain surged 15.3% year-over-year in July. The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany declined to a three-month low level of 99.4 in August.

Economics

US durable goods orders dropped 0.1% in July following an 0.8% growth in the previous month.

US crude oil inventories dropped 2.979 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 5-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.