Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Rises Over 1%; Jounce Therapeutics Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.25% to 28500.89 while the NASDAQ rose 0.92% to 11883.39. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.30% to 3510.98.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 6,031,280 cases with around 183,600 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 3,908,270 COVID-19 cases with 121,380 deaths, while India reported a total of at least 3,691,160 confirmed cases and 65,280 deaths. In total, there were at least 25,506,750 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 851,090 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares gained 1% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Zoom Video Communications, Inc. ZM, up 35%, and Eastman Kodak Company KODK, up 28%.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell by 1.5%.

Top Headline

Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and also issued a strong forecast.

Zoom reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.92 per share, surpassing analysts’ estimates of $0.45 per share. The company reported sales of $663.50 million versus expectations of $500.45 million.

Zoom is forecasting third-quarter revenue to come in a range of $685 million to $690 million. The company sees earnings per share hitting a range of 73 cents to 74 cents. Zoom updated its full-year guidance thanks to the strong quarter. It now sees full-year revenue hitting a range of $2.37 to $2.39 billion, a year-over-year increase of 281 to 284%.

Equities Trading UP

J.Jill Inc JILL shares shot up 89% to $0.7284 after the company announced a transaction support agreement that would result in a waiver of any past non-compliance with the terms of the company's credit facilities.

Shares of Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. JNCE got a boost, shooting 44% to $6.98 after the company and Gilead announced an exclusive license agreement for the JTX-1811 program. Gilead will make an upfront $85 million payment and $35 million equity investment.

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. ZM shares were also up, gaining 35% to $437.47 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and also issued a strong forecast.

Equities Trading DOWN

Applied UV, Inc. AUVI shares tumbled 20% to $9.25. Applied UV shares gained 132% on Monday after the company prices its IPO at $5 per share.

Shares of ScanSource, Inc. SCSC were down 11% to $22.04 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q4 results.

GreenPower Motor Company Inc. GP was down, falling 14% to $17.00. GreenPower Motor reported Q1 sales of $2.27 million.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 1.3% to $43.16, while gold traded up 0.2% to $1,982.90.

Silver traded up 0.6% Tuesday to $28.75, while copper fell 1% to $3.03.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.33%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.07%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.1%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 gained 0.2%, French CAC 40 slipped 0.04% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.72%.
The eurozone manufacturing index recorded growth for the second straight month during August. The IHS Markit French manufacturing PMI increased to 49.8 in August versus a preliminary reading of 49, while German manufacturing index slipped to 52.2 from a preliminary reading of 53.

Economics

The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.1 in August versus a preliminary reading of 53.6.

The ISM manufacturing PMI climbed to 56 in August versus 54.2 in July.

US construction spending rose 0.1% in July, versus a revised 0.5% decline in June.

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.