Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; Morgan Stanley Misses Q1 Expectations

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 1.21% to 23220.24 while the NASDAQ rose 0.18% to 8408.19. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.65% to 2,765.39.

The U.S. is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. U.S. reported a total of 639,660 coronavirus cases with around 30,980 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 182,810 coronavirus cases with 19,130 deaths, while Italy reported a total of at least 165,150 confirmed cases and 21,640 deaths. In total, there were at least 2,076,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 138,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Health care shares climbed 0.7% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Arcus Biosciences, Inc. RCUS, up 83%, and Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. CEMI, up 23%.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares dipped 2.8%.

Top Headline

Morgan Stanley MS reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.

Morgan Stanley posted quarterly earnings of $0.99 per share, missing analysts’ estimates of $1.14 per share. Its sales came in at $9.50 billion, missing expectations of $9.73 billion.


Equities Trading UP

Edison Nation, Inc.. EDNT shares shot up 132% to $3.87 after the company announced more than $10 million in orders for personal protective equipment. Edison Nation is a microcap company with a valuation under $20 million.

Shares of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. LTRPB got a boost, shooting 82% to $63.00.

Arcus Biosciences, Inc. RCUS shares were also up, gaining 76% to $27.37 amid Bloomberg report that Gilead is holding talks to take a stake in company.


Equities Trading DOWN

Athersys, Inc. ATHX shares tumbled 25% to $2.315 after the company reported a common stock offering of 22.5 million shares at $2.25 per share.

Shares of Rite Aid Corporation RAD were down 19% to $11.76 r after the company reported mixed Q4 earnings results.

Calithera Biosciences, Inc. CALA was down, falling 17% to $6.50 after the company priced its 5 million share offering at $6.25 per share.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $20.11, while gold traded up 1.3% to $1,762.20.

Silver traded up 2.2% Thursday to $15.85, while copper rose 0.4% to $2.3055.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.9%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.2%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 1.3%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.90%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.5% while UK shares rose 0.5%.


Economics

U.S. housing starts fell 22.3% to an annualized rate of 1.216 million for March. However, analysts were expecting a 1.33 million rate.

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index dipped to a reading of -56.60 for April, versus prior reading of -12.7. Economists expected a reading of -30.00.

U.S. initial jobless claims climbed by 5.25 million in the latest week. However, analysts were projecting a rise of 5.11 million.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 8-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMid-Morning Market Update
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