Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Surges 350 Points; BELLUS Health Shares Slide

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded up 1.35% to 26,177.54 while the NASDAQ rose 1.76% to 10,387.41. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.25% to 3,169.12.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 2,888,720 cases with around 129,940 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 1,603,050 COVID-19 cases with 64,860 deaths, while India reported a total of at least 697,410 confirmed cases and 19,690 deaths. In total, there were at least 11,465,630 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 534,780 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed 2.5% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp. SOLO, up 79%, and MOGU Inc. MOGU, up 40%.

In trading on Monday, utilities shares fell 1.4%.

Top Headline

The ISM non-manufacturing PMI climbed to 57.1 in June, versus a reading of 45.4 in May. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 50.

Equities Trading UP

Ayro, Inc. AYRO shares shot up 70% to $5.55 after the company completed its factory expansion that will allow it to handle up to 600 EVs per month, compared to only 200 per month before the expansion

Shares of Waitr Holdings Inc. WTRH got a boost, shooting 29% to $3.78. Waitr said it projects preliminary Q2 sales of $60 million.

NIO Inc. NIO shares were also up, gaining 20% to $11.24. NIO shares jumped around 19% on Thursday after the company reported a 179.1% year-over-year surge in June deliveries.

Equities Trading DOWN

BELLUS Health Inc. BLU shares tumbled 67% to $3.93. Announcing top-line results from the mid-phase RELIEF study of its lead drug BLU-5937 in patients with refractory chronic cough, Laval, Quebec-based BELLUS said the study did not meet the primary endpoint of placebo-adjusted reduction in awake cough frequency at any dose level.

Shares of ObsEva SA OBSV were down 45% to $3.3650 after the company reported results for the late-stage PRIMROSE 1 and PRIMROSE 2 studies that evaluated its linzagolix in uterine fibroids.

Endologix, Inc. ELGX was down, falling 65% to $0.2721 after the company said it has initiated a voluntary Chapter 11 filing after undergoing a strategic review. The company also said it has simultaneously filed a consensual plan of reorganization supported by Deerfield Partners, its largest creditor.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.2% to $40.71, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,792.50.

Silver traded up 1.4% Monday to $18.58, while copper rose 1% to $2.7755.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.58%, the Spanish Ibex Index surged 2.06%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 1.55%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 climbed 1.64%, French CAC 40 climbed 1.49% and UK shares rose 2.09%.

Economics

The IHS Markit US services PMI rose to 47.9 in June versus a preliminary reading of 46.7 and above May's reading of 37.5.

The ISM non-manufacturing PMI climbed to 57.1 in June, versus a reading of 45.4 in May. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 50.