Gold Drops Over 1%; Moderna Reports Downbeat Q3 Results

U.S. stocks traded mostly lower toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping over 100 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded down 0.04% to 32,133.97 while the NASDAQ fell 1.06% to 10,413.75. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.51% to 3,740.54.

Also check this: Investor Sentiment Decreases As US Stocks Fall For Second Straight Session

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares gained 2.4% on Wednesday. Leading the sector was strength from VOC Energy Trust VOC and Green Plains Inc. GPRE.

In trading on Wednesday, information technology shares tumbled by 1.8%.

Top Headline

Moderna Inc MRNA reported worse-than-expected Q3 results.

• Moderna reported quarterly earnings of $2.53 per share, compared to the $7.70 per share posted a year ago, and also missing the consensus of $3.29 per share. Revenue was $3.36 billion compared to $4.96 million a year ago, also missing the consensus of $3.53 billion.

Equities Trading UP

• NerdWallet, Inc. NRDS shares shot up 35% to $13.43 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results.
• Shares of Virax Biolabs Group Limited VRAX got a boost, shooting 40% to $2.3499 after the company announced the distribution of a RSV-Influenza-COVID Triple Virus Antigen Rapid Test Kit has been launched in markets accepting the CE mark, such as the European Union.
• Provention Bio, Inc. PRVB shares were also up, gaining 23% to $8.18 after reporting a narrower-than-expected Q3 loss.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Vapotherm, Inc. VAPO shares tumbled 38% to $1.30 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 results.
• Shares of Lincoln National Corporation LNC were down 32% to $35.34 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 EPS results.
• Surgalign Holdings, Inc. SRGA was down, falling 37% to $1.91 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 sales results and lowered its FY22 sales guidance below analyst estimates.

Also check out: United Therapeutics, Super Micro Computer, Novo Nordisk And Other Big Gainers From Wednesday

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.2% to $88.89 while gold traded down 1.3% at $1,628.90.

Silver traded down 1% to $19.395 on Thursday while copper fell 1.2% to $3.4270.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.93%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.62% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.25%. The German DAX fell 0.95%, French CAC 40 fell 0.54% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.43%.

The S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI rose to 48.8 in October versus a preliminary reading of 47.5. The Bank of England raised interest rates by 75 bps to 3% at its November meeting.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Thursday, with the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 3.08% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropping 0.10%.

The S&P Global India services PMI rose to 55.1 in October versus September's six-month low level of 54.3, while Caixin China general services PMI fell to 48.4 in October from 49.3 in the previous month. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority increased the base rate by 75 basis points to 4.25%. The S&P Global Hong Kong PMI climbed to 49.3 in October compared to 48.0 in the prior month. Australian trade surplus rose to a three-month high of AUD 12.44 billion in September compared to a revised AUD 8.66 billion a month ago.

Economics

• US-based employers announced 33,843 job cuts during the month of October.
• US initial jobless claims declined by 1,000 to 217,000 in the week ending October 29th, compared to market estimates of 220,000.
• Non-farm labor productivity in the US rose by an annualized 0.3% in the third quarter, while unit labor costs in the US nonfarm business sector climbed by 3.5%.
• The US trade gap increased to a three-month high of $73.3 billion in September versus a revised $65.7 billion gap in August.
• The S&P Global services PMI rose to 47.8 in October versus a preliminary reading of 46.6.
• The ISM services PMI declined to 54.4 in October from 56.7 in the previous month.
• US factory orders increased by 0.3% in September.
• US natural-gas supplies surged 107 billion cubic feet last week, the EIA said.

Check out this: Market Volatility Increases Following Powell's Comments

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 99,496,440 cases with around 1,096,710 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,657,140 cases and 530,460 deaths, while France reported over 36,848,600 COVID-19 cases with 157,140 deaths. In total, there were at least 636,560,230 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,599,540 deaths.