Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; RH Tops Q2 Expectations

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.57% to 28099.81 while the NASDAQ rose 1.41% to 11298.53. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.71% to 3,423.16.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 6,362,440 cases with around 190,870 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 4,465,860 confirmed cases and 75,060 deaths, while Brazil reported over 4,197,880 COVID-19 cases with 128,530 deaths. In total, there were at least 27,886,820 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 904,100 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed 1.6% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included RH RH, up 27%, and Overstock.com, Inc. OSTK, up 22%.

In trading on Thursday, utilities shares fell 1.1%.

Top Headline

RH RH, on Wednesday afternoon, reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.

RH reported quarterly earnings of $4.90 per share, which exceeded analyst expectations of $3.40 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $709.70 million, which also surpassed estimates of $704.05 million.

The company also said it expects to reach 20% adjusted operating margin in FY20.

Equities Trading UP

Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. YTEN shares shot up 79% to $7.78 after HC Wainwright & Co. initiated coverage on the company's stock with a Buy rating and announced a $25 price target.

Shares of RH RH got a boost, shooting 26% to $406.00 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter. The company also said it expects to reach 20% adjusted operating margin in FY20.

Virtusa Corporation VRTU shares were also up, gaining 24% to $50.27 after Baring Private Equity Asia announced plans to acquire the company for $51.35 per share in cash.

Equities Trading DOWN

Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. STSA shares tumbled 76% to $5.60 after reporting topline results from EMERGE Phase 3 trial of STS101 for acute treatment of migraine. The data did not show statistically significant differences between either dosage strength and placebo.

Shares of Precipio, Inc. PRPO were down 20% to $2.28 after jumping over 21% on Wednesday. Precipio reported quarterly results last month.

Superconductor Technologies Inc. SCON was down, falling 18% to $2.84. Superconductor Technologies’ 1-for-10 reverse stock split came into effect today.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 1.6% to $37.45, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,956.20.

Silver traded up 0.8% Thursday to $27.305, while copper fell 1.6% to $3.0035.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today after the ECB held interest rates as expected. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.3%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.9%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 gained 0.2%, French CAC 40 rose 0.1% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1%.

Economics

U.S. initial jobless claims came in unchanged at 884,000 for the latest week, versus a revised 884,000 in the earlier week.

The Producer Price Index rose 0.3% for August, versus analysts’ estimates for a 0.2% increase.

U.S. wholesale inventories fell 0.3% for July, versus analysts’ expectations for a 0.1% decline.

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 Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

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

The Treasury will auction 30-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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