Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 1.27% to 34,858.10 while the NASDAQ rose 0.91% to 14,691.88. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.06% to 4,366.41.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 33,792,440 cases with around 606,480 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 30,752,950 cases and 405,930 deaths, while Brazil reported over 18,962,760 COVID-19 cases with 530,170 deaths. In total, there were at least 185,650,020 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,012,450 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Financial shares rose by 2.7% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK), up 7%, and Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB), up 6%.
In trading on Friday, utilities shares fell 0.1%.
Top Headline
AZZ Inc (NYSE:AZZ) reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and raised profit forecast for FY22.
AZZ reported quarterly earnings of $0.88 per share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $0.62 per share. The company’s quarterly sales came in at $229.80 million, versus expectations of $223.69 million.
AZZ raised its FY22 EPS guidance from $2.45-$2.95 to $2.65-$3.05. The company said it now expects FY22 sales of $855 million to $935 million, versus earlier forecast of $835 million to $935 million.
Equities Trading UP
ToughBuilt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBLT) shares shot up 46% to $1.0506 after the company reported 1H sales through Amazon of $5.48 million, up 118% year over year.
Shares of Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP) got a boost, shooting 64% to $323.43. Software investment firm Thoma Bravo inked an agreement to acquire e-commerce shipping solutions provider Stamps.com in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.6 billion.
Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) shares were also up, gaining 27% to $3.5050 after the company announced top-line clinical data from the extension cohort of Phase 1b trial of Belapectin in combination with Merck & Co’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with metastatic melanoma and head & neck cancer.
Check out these big movers of the day
Equities Trading DOWN
Universal Security Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:UUU) shares tumbled 22% to $7.02 after reporting a loss for its fourth quarter.
Shares of Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGTX) were down 24% to $7.00. The FDA has instituted a clinical hold on Sigilon Therapeutics Phase 1/2 study of SIG-001 in patients with severe or moderately severe hemophilia A.
Moving iMage Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MITQ) was down, falling 29% to $16.95 after jumping 700% on Thursday. Moving iMage Technologies priced its initial public offering of 4.2 million common shares at $3 per share.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 2.3% to $74.58, while gold traded up 0.6% to $1,811.30.
Silver traded up 1.1% Friday to $26.26 while copper rose 1.8% to $4.3420.
Euro zone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.34%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.46% and the German DAX 30 gained 1.73%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.3%, French CAC 40 jumped 2.07% and Italy’s FTSE MIB surged 1.67%.
Construction output in the UK surged 56.5% year-over-year in May, while industrial production rose 0.8% month-over-month in May. The British economy expanded 3.6% during the three months to May. Italian industrial production fell 1.5% from the prior month in May.
Economics
US wholesale inventories rose 1.3% in May versus a revised 1.1% increase in April.
The total number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 2 to 378 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.
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