Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Rite Aid Falls On Wider Q4 Loss; ThermoGenesis Shares Gain

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.17% to 23465.08 while the NASDAQ rose 1.03% to 8,480.0. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.31% to 2,791.92.

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 1.6% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Arcus Biosciences, Inc. RCUS, up 85%, and Co-Diagnostics, Inc. CODX, up 41%.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares dipped 3.7%.

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 58% to $2.64 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 ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc. THMO got a boost, shooting 40% to $6.43 after the company received an acknowledgement letter form the FDA allowing its coronavirus antibody fast detection kit for distribution.

Arcus Biosciences, Inc. RCUS shares were also up, gaining 85% to $28.85 amid Bloomberg report that Gilead is holding talks to take a stake in company.


Equities Trading DOWN

Athersys, Inc. ATHX shares tumbled 26% to $2.29 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 $11.73 after the company reported wider-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter.

Calithera Biosciences, Inc. CALA was down, falling 20% to $6.26 after the company priced its 5 million share offering at $6.25 per share.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 0.2% to $19.84, while gold traded down 0.7% to $1,728.10.

Silver traded up 0.5% Thursday to $15.58, while copper fell 0.1% to $2.2945.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.58%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.11%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.29%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.21%, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.08% while UK shares rose 0.55%.


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.

Domestic supplies of natural gas climbed 73 billion cubic feet for the week ended April 10, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 71 billion cubic feet.

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-Afternoon Market Update
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