Mid-Day Market Update: Dow Rises 1%; Sonnet BioTherapeutics Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 1% to 28208.77 while the NASDAQ rose 0.42% to 11359.69. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.72% to 3,421.71.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 5,704,440 cases with around 176,800 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 3,605,780 COVID-19 cases with 114,740 deaths, while India reported a total of at least 3,106,340 confirmed cases and 57,540 deaths. In total, there were at least 23,454,460 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 809,330 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares gained 3% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Nabors Industries Ltd. NBR, up 14%, and Transocean Ltd. RIG, up 15%.

In trading on Monday, real estate shares fell by 1.1%.

Top Headline

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for the use of investigational convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients.

The EUA, according to the FDA, will allow the distribution of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in the U.S. and its administration by health care providers.

Equities Trading UP

Cancer Genetics, Inc. CGIX shares shot up 165% to $7.72 after the company signed a definitive merger agreement with StemoniX.

Shares of Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. SONN got a boost, shooting 35% to $3.54 after the U.S. FDA issued an emergency use authorization for investigational convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients.

Travelcenters of America Inc TA shares were also up, gaining 19% to $20.55. BTIG initiated coverage on TravelCenters of America with a Buy rating and a price target of $34.

Equities Trading DOWN

Odonate Therapeutics, Inc. ODT shares tumbled 34% to $22.10 after the company announced the results from CONTESSA, a phase 3 study of Tesetaxel.

Shares of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd NAK were down 34% to $0.96 following a WSJ report suggesting the company's gold and copper mine planned for Alaska faces a roadblock by the Trump administration over environmental concerns.

MOGU Inc. MOGU was down, falling 19% to $2.53 after the company reported Q1 results.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $42.64, while gold traded down 0.3% to $1,941.00.

Silver traded down 0.3% Monday to $26.66, while copper rose 0.2% to $2.923.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 1.56%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.87%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 2.13%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 climbed 2.26%, French CAC 40 rose 2.31% and UK shares rose 1.69%.

Economics

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index declined to 1.18 in July versus a reading of 5.33 in June.