Nasdaq Up 150 Points; Crude Oil Rises 1%

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 150 points on Friday.

The Dow traded up 0.59% to 33,197.08 while the NASDAQ rose 1.32% to 11,614.60. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.92% to 4,017.84.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

• Communication services shares rose 1.8% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included iHuman Inc. IH, up 10%, and Integral Ad Science Holding Corp. IAS, up 10%.
• In trading on Friday, consumer staples shares fell by 0.2%.

Top Headline

The ISM Services PMI fell to 55.1 in February from 55.2 in January, but came in above expectations of 54.5.

Equities Trading UP

• Altamira Therapeutics Ltd. CYTO shares shot up 35% to $3.17 after the company said data from a recent peer-reviewed clinical study demonstrated Bentrio's superior nasal residence time and rheological properties.
• Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. ARDX got a boost, shooting 35% to $3.90 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 sales results.
• Seer, Inc. SEER shares were also up, gaining 38% to $5.81 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. PRAX shares tumbled 65% to $1.02 after the company announced topline results from the Essential1 study evaluating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of ulixacaltamide (PRAX-944) for essential tremor (ET).
• Shares of Veru Inc. VERU were down 39% to $2.2950 after the FDA declined to grant the company's request for Emergency Use Authorization for sabizabulin.
• NeuroPace, Inc. NPCE was down, falling 22% to $3.3150 after the company reported Q4 financial results.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.3% to $79.18 while gold traded up 0.7% at $1,852.70.

Silver traded up 1.3% to $21.17 on Friday while copper rose 0.4% to $4.0920.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.92%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.04% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.47%. The German DAX gained 1.64% French CAC 40 rose 0.88% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 1.56%.

The S&P Global Eurozone services PMI fell to 52.7 in February versus a preliminary reading of 53.0. German services PMI was revised lower to 50.9 in February compared to a preliminary estimate of 51.3, while French services PMI was revised higher to 53.1 in February from a flash reading of 52.8.

Italy’s GDP shrank by 0.1% quarter-over-quarter during the three months leading to December. The S&P Global Italy services PMI increased to 51.6 in February versus 51.2 a month ago. Spain services PMI climbed to 56.7 in February versus 52.7 in the prior month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed higher on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 1.56%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 0.68% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.54%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex climbed 1.8%.

The S&P Global Indian services PMI climbed to a 12-year high level of 59.4 in February, while Caixin China general services PMI rose to 55.0 in February from 52.9 in the prior month. The S&P Global Hong Kong PMI climbed to 53.9 in February versus 51.2 in January, while Japanese services PMI was revised higher to 54.0 during February.

Economics

• The S&P Global Services PMI rose to 50.6 in February from a preliminary reading of 50.5 and compared to January's level of 46.8.
• The S&P Global Composite PMI slipped to 50.1 in February versus from a preliminary reading of 50.2.
• The ISM Services PMI fell to 55.1 in February from 55.2 in January, but came in above expectations of 54.5.

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COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 105,384,010 cases with around 1,146,630 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,687,160 cases and 530,770 deaths, while France reported over 39,630,950 COVID-19 cases with 165,000 deaths. In total, there were at least 680,386,210 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,803,050 deaths.