Mid-day market update: Crude Oil rises 2%; iRhythm Technologies (IRTC Stock) shares plummet

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.22% to 33,725.47 while the NASDAQ fell 0.55% to 13,823.65. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.21% to 4,120.15.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 31,197,870 cases with around 562,060 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 13,527,710 cases and 170,170 deaths, while Brazil reported over 13,482,020 COVID-19 cases with 353,130 deaths. In total, there were at least 136,101,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 2,937,730 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares rose 0.3% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Middlesex Water Company MSEX 2.78%, up 2%, and Black Hills Corporation BKH 1.79%, up 1.5%.

In trading on Monday, information technology shares fell 0.6%.

Top Headline

Microsoft Corporation MSFT 0.48% has become the final bidder for Nuance Communications Inc NUAN 16.25%, the company that helped develop Apple’s Siri speech technology for $56 per share.

The deal price implies a 23% premium to NUAN's Friday closing price of $45.58, valuing the all-cash transaction at $19.7 billion, inclusive of Nuance's net debt.

Equities Trading UP

Wilhelmina International, Inc. WHLM 25.36% shares shot up 34% to $7.47 after the company's 13D filing showed that Modell's Sporting Goods had reported a stake of 18.4% in the company on Friday.

Shares of Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. TSHA 17.51% got a boost, shooting 19% to $25.22 after the company announced the acquisition of exclusive worldwide rights to a clinical-stage AAV9 gene therapy program, now known as TSHA-120, for the treatment of giant axonal neuropathy.

Evelo Biosciences, Inc. EVLO 15.34% shares were also up, gaining 23% to $12.35 after Jefferies upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy and raised its price target from $11 to $18 per share.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

iRhythm Technologies, Inc.. IRTC 37.33% shares tumbled 38% to $82.88 after the company said it will not be able to provide its Zio XT device to Medicare patients if reimbursement rates remain unchanged. Baird maintained iRhythm Technologies with a Neutral and lowered the price target from $170 to $80.

Shares of Aphria Inc. APHA 14.37% were down 14% to $14.04 after reporting Q3 results. The company swung to a loss in the third quarter.

Canaan Inc. CAN 31.71% was down, falling 21% to $14.83 following Q4 results. The company reported Q4 sales of RMB38.2 million, down from RMB463.2 million year-over-year.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2% to $60.48, while gold traded down 0.8% to $1,730.20.

Silver traded down 2.2% Monday to $24.76 while copper fell 0.5% to $4.0220.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.4%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.32% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.06%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.23% and Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.28%.

Eurozone's retail trade increased 3.0% in February following a 5.2% decline in January.

Economics

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Treasury will auction 3-month bills and 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. Treasury statement for March is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.