Mid-Day Market Update: NASDAQ Falls Over 1%; ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Shares Surge

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.57% to 27,890.43 while the NASDAQ fell 1.18% to 8,563.59. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.72% to 3,118.34.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed 0.4% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The Antero Resources Corp AR, up 2%, and Apergy Corp APY, up 2%.

In trading on Monday, information technology shares fell 1.7%.

Top Headline

Hostess Brands Inc TWNK will acquire Voortman Cookies, a manufacturer of branded wafers and sugar-free specialty cookies, from Swander Pace Capital for approximately $320 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in early January.

The company plans to finance the $320 million transaction by using cash on its balance sheet, along with secured financing commitments from Credit Suisse and Citi.

Equities Trading UP

Kodiak Sciences Inc. KOD shares shot up 85% to $54.77 after the company reported the sale of future royalties on KSI-301 for $225 million to Baker Bros. Advisors.

Shares of ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Limited ASLN got a boost, shooting up 55% to $5.90. Aslan, which has its ADSs listed on the Nasdaq, announced positive dataMonday from the lowest-dose cohort of its ongoing multiple dose study of ASLAN004, which is being evaluated for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

NF Energy Saving Corporation BIMI shares were also up, gaining 30% to $3.4077 after the company announced it would acquire Chongqing Guanzan Technology for RMB 100 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Roku, Inc. ROKU shares tumbled 16% to $134.32. Morgan Stanley downgraded Roku from Equal-Weight to Underweight and announced a $110 price target.

Shares of Aqua Metals, Inc. AQMS were down 46% to $0.7247 after the company announced a significant fire in one of its plants. The company reported it suffered significant fire damage in the AquaRefining area of the plant.

Just Energy Group Inc. JE was down, falling 15% to $2.3196 after the company announced it would suspend its dividend on its Series A preferred stock.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 1.5% to $55.99, while gold traded down 0.2% to $1,469.70.

Silver traded down 0.4% Monday to $17.04, while copper fell 0.1% to $2.661.

Euro zone


European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.31%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.76%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.88%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 1.7%, and the French CAC 40 fell 1.71% while UK shares fell 0.69%.

Economics

The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 52.6 in November, compared to a preliminary reading of 52.2 and versus 51.3 in October.

The ISM manufacturing PMI declined to 48.1 in November, compared to 48.3 in October.

Construction spending fell 0.8% in October 2019, versus a revised 0.3% decline in the prior month.