Nasdaq Turns Higher; Applied Genetic Technologies Shares Surge

U.S. stocks traded mostly higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones surging more than 300 points on Monday.

The Dow traded up 1.03% to 31,402.66 while the NASDAQ rose 0.07% to 10,867.39. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.66% to 3,777.37.

Also check this: Market Volatility Decreases As Dow Jumps More Than 700 Points

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Health care shares climbed 1.7% on Monday. Leading the sector was strength from Vaxcyte, Inc. PCVX and Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. SLGL.

In trading on Monday, consumer discretionary shares fell by 0.8%.

Top Headline

The S&P Global manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.9 in October from 52 in September, down from market estimates of 51. US services PMI fell to 46.6 in October from 49.3 in the prior month.

Equities Trading UP

• Vaxcyte, Inc. PCVX shares shot up 70% to $35.03 after the company announced positive topline results from the Phase 1/2 clinical proof-of-concept study evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of VAX-24.
• Shares of Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation AGTC got a boost, shooting 60% to $0.3830 after Syncona announced it will acquire the company for $0.34 per share in cash plus up to $0.73 per CVR.
• Motus GI Holdings, Inc. MOTS shares were also up, gaining 38% to $2.20 after the company announced clinical data for Pure-Vu EVS in three poster presentations at the American College of Gastroenterology 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Tricida, Inc. TCDA shares tumbled 94% to $0.6190 after the company announced its VALOR-CKD trial did not meet its primary endpoint.
• Shares of Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. AXDX were down 41% to $0.9401 after the FDA clarified to the company that it must obtain a 510(k) clearance in order to continue marketing and distributing the Accelerate Arc Products in the United States.
• Soluna Holdings, Inc. SLNH was down, falling 42% to $1.05 after the company reported pricing of $2 million underwritten public offering of common stock.

Also check out: Moderna, Amazon, Tesla, And Other Big Gainers From Friday

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.9% to $84.30, while gold traded down 0.3% at $1,652.10.

Silver traded up 0.3% to $19.125 on Monday while copper fell 1.3% to $3.4285.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.35%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.71% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.86%. The German DAX gained 1.57%, French CAC 40 gained 1.62% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 2.06%.

UK’s manufacturing PMI declined to 45.8 in October from 48.4 a month ago. The S&P Global Eurozone manufacturing PMI dropped to 46.6 in October from 48.4 in September, while services PMI fell to 48.2 from 48.8. The S&P Global Composite PMI in Germany fell to 44.1 in October from 45.7 in the previous month, while French Composite PMI dropped to 50 in October from 51.2 in September.

Economics

• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index came in unchanged at +0.10 in September, compared to the prior month's revised reading.
• The S&P Global manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.9 in October from 52 in September, down from market estimates of 51. US services PMI fell to 46.6 in October from 49.3 in the prior month.

Check out this: Investor Sentiment Improves Ahead Of Earnings Results

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 99,087,540 cases with around 1,092,940 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,644,070 cases and 528,970 deaths, while France reported over 36,599,820 COVID-19 cases with 156,330 deaths. In total, there were at least 632,978,010 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,583,160 deaths.