Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Crude Oil Gains Over 3%; Novus Therapeutics Shares Jump

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.43% to 28113.07 while the NASDAQ rose 1.58% to 11231.02. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.89% to 3,413.81.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 6,555,240 cases with around 194,540 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 4,930,230 confirmed cases and 80,770 deaths, while Brazil reported over 4,345,610 COVID-19 cases with 132,000 deaths. In total, there were at least 29,303,750 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 928,960 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares climbed 2.1% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included ATN International, Inc. ATNI, up 10%, and Urban One, Inc. UONE, up 6%.

In trading on Tuesday, financial shares fell 0.8%.

Top Headline

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. CBRL reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter.

Cracker Barrel posted a quarterly loss of $0.85 per share, versus analysts’ estimates for a loss of $1.05 per share. The company reported sales of $495.10 million, beating expectations of $478.63 million.

Equities Trading UP

Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MRNS shares shot up 70% to $3.58 after the company announced positive top-line results from its registrational Phase 3 clinical trial, dubbed Marigold, evaluating the use of oral ganaxolone in children and young adults with CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a rare, genetic epilepsy with refractory seizures.

Shares of Exela Technologies, Inc. XELA got a boost, shooting 35% to $0.5098 after the company announced that together with General Dynamics Information Technology it was awarded a contract task order by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Novus Therapeutics, Inc. NVUS shares were also up, gaining 201% to $1.14 after the company reported the acquisition of Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a next generation anti-CD40 Ligand antibody as a potential treatment for organ and cellular transplantation, autoimmune diseasesand neurodegenerative diseases.


Equities Trading DOWN

Francesca's Holdings Corporation FRAN shares tumbled 25% to $3.79 after the company swung to a net loss for the second quarter and announced exploration of strategic alternatives.

Shares of Nano-X Imaging Ltd. NNOX were down 20% to $39.22 after Citron Research issued bearish commentary on the stock, including a $0 price target.

Miragen Therapeutics, Inc. MGEN was down, falling 11% to $0.8336 after the company announced the appointment of Lee Rauch, currently serving as chief operating officer, as CEO following the resignation of William Marshall, who has also resigned from the board. The company also said following a comprehensive review of its R&D pipeline that it has decided to prioritize its resources toward advancing the development of its lead compound MRG-229 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 3.4% to $38.53, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,965.60.

Silver traded up 0.3% Tuesday to $27.445, while copper fell 0.3% to $3.059.

Euro zone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.66%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.22%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.82%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 gained 0.18%, French CAC 40 rose 0.32% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.32%.

The UK reported an increase in unemployment rate during the three months to July, with the rate rising to 4.1% from 3.9%.

Economics

The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day policy meeting today.

The New York Empire State manufacturing index rose to 17 in September versus 3.7 in August.

U.S. import prices rose 0.9% in August versus a revised 1.2% rise in July. Export prices increased 0.5% for August versus a revised 0.9% increase in July.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index fell 1.6% during the first two weeks of September versus August.

U.S. industrial production increased 0.4% for August, versus analysts’ expectations for a 1% growth.