Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Jumps More Than 300 Points; Michaels Companies Shares Rise

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded up 1.21% to 27438.54 while the NASDAQ rose 0.81% to 9893.36. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.82% to 3,220.09.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 1,942,360 cases with around 110,510 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 691,750 COVID-19 cases with 36,450 deaths, while Russia reported a total of at least 476,040 confirmed cases and 5,960 deaths. In total, there were at least 7,033,330 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 403,130 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares rose 2.9% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Valaris PLC VAL, up 125%, and Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK, up 130%.

In trading on Monday, materials shares fell 0.6%.

Top Headline

Thor Industries, Inc. THO reported better-than-expected Q3 results.

Thor Industries posted Q3 earnings of $0.43 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of a loss of $0.26 per share. The company posted sales of $1.68 billion, versus analysts’ estimates of $1.68 billion.

Equities Trading UP

The Michaels Companies, Inc. MIK shares shot up 53% to $8.42. JP Morgan upgraded Michaels Companies from Neutral to Overweight.

Shares of Extraction Oil & Gas Inc XOG got a boost, shooting 156% to $1.09 following a 53% gain on Friday. The OPEC+ agreed to extend production cuts into July.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK shares were also up, gaining 130% to $57.01 after surging over 76% on Friday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies agreed to extend the existing production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day through July.

Equities Trading DOWN

Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc. EKSO shares tumbled 23% to $3.98 after the company reported a $7.89 million registered direct offering priced at-the-market.

Shares of Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc OPNT were down 22% to $9.08 after the company issued a statement on district court decision. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled in favor of Teva Pharmaceutical in a patent litigation regarding Narcan nasal spray.

Yatra Online Inc YTRA was down, falling 17% to $1.24 as the company disclosed that it has terminated its merger agreement with Ebix and also filed a litigation over Ebix's alleged breach of terms of agreement.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 3.4% to $38.19, while gold traded up 1.3% to $1,705.00.

Silver traded up 2.4% Monday to $17.90, while copper rose 0.9% to $2.5775.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.32%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.3%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.22%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 slipped 0.22%, French CAC 40 fell 0.43% and UK shares fell 0.18%.

Economics

On the economics calendar Monday, there is no important data due out.