Dow Edges Higher; National Western Life Shares Jump

U.S. stocks pared some losses midway through trading, with the Dow Jones turning higher on Monday.

The Dow traded up 0.09% to 33,437.08 while the NASDAQ fell 0.30% to 13,390.61. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.01% to 4,308.36.

Check This Out: Intuit, Nordstrom And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares rose by 3.5% on Monday.

In trading on Monday, consumer discretionary shares fell by around 1.5%.

Top Headline

The Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, launched a series of rocket attacks on Israel over the weekend. These attacks continued into Sunday and resulted in significant casualties, with over 1,100 people reported dead, including 700 Israelis, over 2,000 injured, and hundreds of civilians and military personnel held hostage in Gaza.

Equities Trading UP

ParaZero Technologies Ltd. PRZO shares shot up 80% to $2.0898 after the company announced an Australian regulator approved first commercial drone flights in populated areas and near people using ParaZero safety systems.

Shares of Phoenix Motor Inc. PEV got a boost, shooting 30% to $1.2950. Phoenix Motor said its EdisonFuture subsidiary launched new Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) solutions for green hydrogen products and production.

National Western Life Group, Inc. NWLI shares were also up, gaining 15% to $479.00 after the company inked a definitive merger deal with Prosperity Life Group for about $1.9 billion in an all-cash transaction.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shift Technologies, Inc. SFT shares dropped 87% to $0.2403 after the company said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Shares of Kubient, Inc. KBNT were down 9% to $0.2498. On Oct. 2, Kubient reduced expenses by implementing an 36% reduction in the company's workforce.

Falcon's Beyond Global, Inc. FBYD was down, falling 34% to $10.67. Falcon’s Beyond Global closed its previously announced business combination with FAST Acquisition Corp. II.

Also Check This Out: These 3 Risk Off Stocks Delivering High-Dividend Yields Are Recommended By Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 4.6% to $86.62 while gold traded up 1.1% at $1,864.70.

Silver traded up 0.9% to $21.92 on Monday while copper rose 1% to $3.6640.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.20% London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.09% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.95% The German DAX fell 0.63% French CAC 40 fell 0.49%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.32%.

Industrial production in Germany fell by 0.2% month-over-month in August following a revised 0.6% decline a month ago.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Monday, with China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.44% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 0.18%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, fell 0.6%.

China's foreign exchange reserves fell to $3.12 trillion at the end of September compared to $3.16 trillion in the previous month.

Economics

There were no major U.S. economic releases Monday.

Now Read This: Top 5 Industrials Stocks That May Explode In October