S&P 500 top movers: Illumina Inc shares extend slide to fresh 5-month lows below $300

S&P 500 Index is down more than 1% on Thursday.
Illumina Inc (ILMN: NASDAQ) shares suffer heavy losses for second straight day.
Mosaic Co (MOS: NYSE) is up nearly 6% as the top gainer.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) started the day deep in the negative territory but erased a large portion of its opening gap during the first half of the session. However, the risk-averse market environment triggered another selloff and the SPX now remains on track to close the day more than 1% lower.

S&P 500 top movers

On Wednesday, Illumina Inc (ILMN: NASDAQ) shares lost more than 8% after a report from Bloomberg suggested that the company was in talks to buy cancer testing startup Grail. ILMN extended the slide on Thursday and touched its lowest level since early April at $293.88. As of writing, ILMN was down 7.12% on the day at $299.

American Tower Corp (AMT: NYSE), DISH Network Corp (DISH: NASDAQ) and NetApp Inc (NTAP: NASDAQ) shares are down between 5% and 4.3% as the other top percentage decliners on the day.

On the other hand, crop nutrient producer Mosaic Co (MOS: NYSE) is the top performer of the day. At the moment, MOS is up 6.05% at $19.19. Meanwhile, Westrock Co (WRK: NYSE) and General Electric Co (GE: NYSE) shares both gain more than 4%.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD retreats toward 1.1600 after upbeat US data

EUR/USD pulls away from session highs and declines toward 1.1600 in the American session on Wednesday. Upbeat private sector employment and ISM Services PMI data from the US help the US Dollar (USD) stay resilient against its rivals, limiting the pair's upside.

GBP/USD meets resistance around 1.3400

In line with its risk-linked peers, GBP/USD stages a modest comeback on Wednesday, although meeting some resistance around the 1.3400 neighbourhood. Cable’s humble recovery struggles to gather momentum as the Greenback benefits from better-than-forecast macroeconomic data releases.

Gold loses traction after testing $5,200

Gold corrects lower after testing $5,200 but manages to stay in positive territory in the second hald of the day on Wednesday. The precious metal remains well supported by the deterioration of the geopolitical scenario in the Middle East, while the US Dollar's resilience caps the upside.