Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.35% to 26,910.46 while the NASDAQ rose 1.12% to 10,791.60. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.54% to 3,264.23.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 6,979,930 cases with around 202,820 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 5,818,570 confirmed cases and 92,290 deaths, while Brazil reported over 4,657,700 COVID-19 cases with 139,800 deaths. In total, there were at least 32,261,670 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 983,490 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Information technology shares rose 1.3% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included MobileIron, Inc. MOBL 18.27%, up 18%, and Ideanomics, Inc. IDEX 10.17%, up 9%.
In trading on Friday, energy shares fell 0.6%.
Top Headline
Costco Wholesale Corporation COST 2.3% reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
Costco reported quarterly earnings of $3.13 per share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $2.83 per share. The company reported sales of $52.28 billion, surpassing expectations of $52.08 billion.
Costco’s quarterly comparable sales surged 11.4% year over year, while e-commerce sales jumped 90.6%.
Equities Trading UP
Standard AVB Financial Corp. STND 73.24% shares shot up 73% to $32.48 after the company announced it would get acquired by Dollar Mutual for $158 million in cash.
Shares of TAT Technologies Ltd. TATT 33.02% got a boost, shooting 43% to $5.72 after the company announced it entered into a 10-year maintenance and repair agreement with Honeywell.
MobileIron, Inc. MOBL 18.27% shares were also up, gaining 18% to $6.53 as traders circulate unconfirmed M&A speculation in the name.
Equities Trading DOWN
Sunworks, Inc. SUNW 38.68% shares tumbled 38% to $2.44 after jumping 239% on Thursday.
Shares of Polar Power, Inc. POLA 22.77% were down 22% to $2.8901, selling off from Thursday strength as the stock gained heavily in recent sessions amid momentum in the electric vehicle/fuel cell space..
SPI Energy Co., Ltd. SPI 22.6% was down, falling 19% to $10.66, selling off from heavy momentum in recent days after the company announced a new electric vehicle subsidiary.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.7% to $40.04, while gold traded down 0.6% to $1,866.60.
Silver traded down 0.4% Friday to $23.100 while copper rose 0.3% to $2.9775.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.27%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.47%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 1.21%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 declined 1.33%, French CAC 40 fell 1.09% and London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.08%.
Consumer sentiment in the U.K. rose slightly to minus 25 in September, versus minus 27 in August.
Economics
U.S. durable goods orders increased 0.4% in August, versus a revised 11.7% surge in July.
The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will speak at 3:10 p.m. ET.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD stabilizes near 1.0800 as trading action turns subdued
EUR/USD holds steady near 1.0800 on Thursday and remains on track to end the day in negative territory following upbeat macroeconomic data releases from the US. The action in financial markets turn subdued as trading volumes thin out heading into Easter holiday.
GBP/USD extends sideways grind above 1.2600
GBP/USD fluctuates in a narrow channel above 1.2600 on Thursday. The better-than-expected Initial Jobless Claims data from the US and the upward revision to the Q4 GDP growth help the USD stay resilient against its rivals and limits the pair's upside.
Gold pulls away from daily highs, holds above $2,200
Gold retreats from daily highs but holds comfortably above $2,200 in the American session on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays near 4.2% after upbeat US data and makes it difficult for XAU/USD to gather further bullish momentum.
XRP price falls to $0.60 support as Ripple ruling doesn’t help Coinbase lawsuit against SEC
XRP programmatic sales ruling by Judge Torres was completely rejected by another US Court that ruled in favor of the SEC in a lawsuit against Coinbase.
Portfolio rebalancing and reflation trades emerge into Q2
Yesterday’s price action pointed at a possible end-of-quarter portfolio rebalancing as the session saw the laggards of the quarter like Apple and Tesla gain, and the stars like Microsoft and Nvidia retreat.