3 hours ago
The Dow Jones Industrial booked its first gain of the past three sessions on Monday to start trading for the week and month of June. Markets appeared to be heartened by upbeat data from the Institute for Supply Management, whose manufacturing index for May rose to 43.1 from an 11-year low of 41.5 in April. A reading above 50.0 indicates an increase in activity, while a one below that level indicates contraction. The report indicated to many investors that the worst of the economic problems from closures induced by COVID-19 may be reaching a peak. The Dow rose nearly 92 points, or 0.4%, at 25,475, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.4% at about 3,056, while Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.7% at around 9,552. Markets appeared to focus on reopenings from the lockdowns that were intended to limit the spread of the novel strain of coronavirus, which appeared to overshadow protests over the weekend centered on the death of George Floyd, a black man who died under the knee of a white police officer last week in Minnesota. On the international front, Chinese government officials told major state-run agricultural companies to pause purchases of some American farm goods, including pork and soybeans, Reuters and Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. In corporate news, Pfizer shares fell 7.2% after the drugmaker said it would halt a study on a potential breast-cancer treatment.
4 hours ago
U.S. oil futures settled lower on Monday, as U.S. tensions with China following Beijing's new national security law on Hong Kong raised concerns over the prospects for crude demand. Reuters reported Monday, however, that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies may move their meeting to this week, from a previously scheduled June 9 to June 10 gathering, and discuss an extension of current output cuts by one to two months. July West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 5 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $35.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
5 hours ago
Gold futures ended with a modest loss on Monday, as investors continued to monitor tensions between the U.S. and China over Hong Kong, as well as protests tied to the recent killing of a black man in police custody. "Protests and trade war situations can have both positive and negative effects on gold prices," said James Hatzigiannis, chief market strategist at Ploutus Capital Advisors. They can have a negative effect on the economy and decrease physical demand for gold, but also boost haven demand for the precious metal, he said. On Monday, August gold fell by $1.40, or 0.08%, to settle at $1,750.30 an ounce.
5 hours ago
Exchange-traded funds that track financial sector stocks outperformed Monday as interest rates shifted to the benefit of banks and other lenders. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund was 1.3% higher midday, and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF was 1.7% higher. The Invesco KBW Bank ETF popped 2.3%. Although interest rates
remain low across the board, the difference between 5-year bonds and those with 30-year maturities has recently widened to the biggest differential since May 2017, according to a MarketWatch analysis, a condition that's more favorable for banks that make loans and pay interest on deposits. That so-called steepening of the yield curve comes as a report on manufacturing suggested the U.S. economy may have begun to recover from a steep decline during the spring due to coronavirus lockdowns.
8 hours ago
Spending for U.S. construction projects dropped a smaller than expected 2.9% in April, the Commerce Department said Monday. Analysts polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 6.8% plunge due to the coronavirus pandemic. Residential construction sank 4.5% in April, but spending on construction projects outside the housing sector fell a much smaller 1.8%. Yet economists still expect construction spending to weaken since so many projects were planned before COVID-19 devastated the economy. Outlays are likely to soften further in May and June, they predict.
9 hours ago
Shares of Novus Therapeutics Inc. lost nearly half their value in active trading Monday, after the specialty drug maker announced disappointing trial results of its ear infection treatment. Trading volume spiked to 5.3 million shares, well above the full-day average of about 953,000 shares, as the stock plunged 46%. The company said a phase 2a trial of OP0201 in acute otitis media did not achieve statistical significance in achieving its primary targets for results. The company said, however, it was encouraged by the statistical trend that favored the OP0201 treatment group with regard to middle ear effusion. Separately, Novus said it has starting exploring options to maximize shareholder value, including engaging Ladenburg Thalmann as financial advisor. The options could include a financing to continue developing its surfactant-based nasal aerosol, a sale of the company or assets, or other deals. Despite the stock's selloff, it has still gained 17% year to date, while the S&P 500 has lost 5.8%.
9 hours ago
Agilent Technologies Inc. said Monday it is offering a series of senior notes in a shelf registration with plans to use any proceeds for general corporate purposes, including to pay down debt. The company did not offer any detail on size or maturities. BofA Securities, Mizuho Securities USA LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers. Shares of the life sciences company were slightly lower premarket and have lost 3.3% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 6%.
9 hours ago
U.S. stocks opened modestly lower Monday as investors watched the latest developments in U.S.-China relations after reports that China was pausing some purchases of American agricultural goods, amid rising tensions over the status of Hong Kong as an independent region. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 85 points, or 0.3% to 25,288, the S&P 500 index shed 12 points, or 0.4%, to 3,033 and the Nasdaq Composite index retreated 21 points, or 0.3%, to 9,466. Policymakers in China have told state-owned companies to cease purchases of U.S. soybeans and pork, according to reports in Bloomberg and Reuters, after President Trump said Friday that his administration would study new sanctions against China and revoke special privileges enjoyed by Hong Kong after China moved to impose a new national security law on the special administrative region. China's move was rebuked by the U.S. and its allies as an incursion on Hong Kong's autonomy and rule of law. Investors were also monitoring clashes between protesters and law enforcement as Americans took to the streets over the weekend to condemn police violence. Market participants worry that the protests may complicate state reopening efforts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic if demonstrations last for a longer period
10 hours ago
Some Facebook Inc. employees have been taking to Twitter to criticize the company's decision to leave up President Donald Trump's post saying that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," in response to widespread protests of police killings. "I work at Facebook and I am not proud of how we're showing up," wrote Jason Toff, Facebook's director of product management, in a tweet. "The majority of coworkers I've spoken to feel the same way. We are making our voice heard." Trevor Phillippi, a product designer for Facebook's Messenger app, wrote on Twitter that "FB's position is wrong and an insult to black people." Nate Butler, a product designer, put out a tweet saying that "FB is on the wrong side of this and I can't support their stance. Doing nothing isn't Being Bold. Many of us feel this way." Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch. Facebook shares are down 0.4% in premarket trading Monday. They've added 17% over the past three months as archrival Twitter has seen its stock fall 11%; the S&P 500 has gained 3.1%.
10 hours ago
Share of Pfizer Inc. tumbled 6.5% in premarket trading Monday, enough to pace all of the Dow Jones Industrial Average' s early decliners after the drug maker said it halted a study of a potential breast-cancer treatment. The implied price decline would shave about 17 points off the Dow's price, while Dow futures were down 45 points. Pfizer's stock is the lowest priced component of the Dow, which is a price-weighted index, meaning percentage changes in Pfizer's stock have the least influence of the 30 components. For example, a 1% change in Pfizer's stock moves the Dow by about 2.6 points, while a 1% move in Apple Inc.'s stock , which is the highest priced Dow components, would move the Dow by 21.6 points. Late Friday, Pfizer said a phase 3 trial of palbociclib, also known as Ibrance, did not reach its intended change in survival rates. Pfizer's stock has run up 14.3% over the past three months through Friday, while the Dow has slipped 0.1%.
10 hours ago
Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. were down 1.6% in premarket trading on Monday after the drugmaker released findings from a late-stage clinical trial testing remdesivir in moderately ill COVID-19 patients. Gilead had previously released data from a similarly-run open-label Phase 3 trial evaluating remdesivir in severely ill COVID-19 patients, as well as another Phase 3 trial run by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that found the drug could reduce the time to recovery in severely ill patients. That study's findings led to an emergency use authorization for remdesivir last month. The latest trial showed that moderately ill patients taking a five-day regimen of the drug were 65% more likely to demonstrate clinical improvement, compared to those receiving the standard of care. Patients taking the 10-day regimen did not report a statistically significant improvement. Gilead's stock is up 19.8% year-to-date. The S&P 500 is down 5.7%.
10 hours ago
Apple Inc. is set to begin volume production of its forthcoming 6.1-inch iPhone models in July or August, according to a report from Digitimes on Monday. The report indicates that Apple plans to launch four new iPhone models in three sizes this fall and that the company will likely introduce these devices in October rather than September. Apple's fall iPhone launch is highly anticipated as it's expected to bring the company's first 5G-enabled devices to market. Cowen and Co. analyst Krish Sankar wrote last week that "a shift in the timing by a month or two is not material in the long term" for the flagship devices. Apple didn't immediately respond to a MarketWatch request for comment. Apple shares are down 0.3% in premarket trading Monday. They've added 16% over the past three months as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 0.1%.
11 hours ago
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. said Monday that its tire manufacturing plant in El Salto, Mexico will restart production, on a limited basis. The company had reopened its Mexico plant on April 13, only to have to shut it back down on April 28 after the Mexico government determined it was a non-essential business. The tire maker said its plants in China, the U.S. and Serbia have all reopened. The stock, which was little changed in premarket trading, has gained 0.9% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has tacked on 3.1%.
11 hours ago
The U.S.-listed shares of Canopy Growth Corp. dropped 4.2% in premarket trading Monday, after Stifel Nicolaus analyst Andrew Carter swung to bearish from bullish in the wake of the Canada-based cannabis company's disappointing earnings report and "significant" challenges ahead. The stock had plunged 20.0% on Friday after the fiscal fourth-quarter report. Carter cut his rating to sell after being at buy for at least the past year, and cut his price target by 22% to C$18. "Canopy Growth sports the resources to deliver on its ambitions of leading growth in the global cannabis category, but the resources have yet to produce tangible evidence of on an enduring right to win in the developing category," Carter wrote in a note to clients. "We believe course correction will be difficult, expenses will remain elevated, and catalysts for driving enthusiasm will be slow to develop necessitating a further re-rating for the shares." The stock has dropped 7.5% over the past three months through Friday, while the Cannabis ETF has gained 6.4% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 3.1%.
11 hours ago
Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. were down 0.5% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said it had expanded a collaboration with Intellia Therapeutics Inc. to include CRISPR/Cas9-based therapeutic targets and a new focus on developing treatments for hemophilia A and B. Intellia's stock was up 23.6% before the market opened. Regeneron will pay $70 million upfront and make a $30 million equity investment in Intellia at $32.42 per share. Regeneron recently wrapped up a longtime development arrangement with Sanofi . Year-to-date, Regeneron's stock is up 63.2%, shares of Intellia have gained 19.3%, and the S&P 500 is down 5.7%.
11 hours ago
U.S. cannabis company Acreage Holdings Inc. said Monday it has entered two funding agreements to raise up to $60 million. The first is a standby equity distribution agreement with an unnamed institutional investor for up to $60 million of its Class A subordinate voting shares, and the second is a private placement in which it issued $11 million in principal amount under a secured convertible debenture for gross proceeds of $10 million. Proceeds of both deals will be used for general corporate purposes and working capital. New York City-based Acreage has an option agreement with Canadian cannabis market leader Canopy Growth Corp. , under which Canopy will take over the company as soon as the federal ban on cannabis has been lifted. Acreage shares were not active premarket, but have fallen 44% in the year to date, while the Cannabis ETF has fallen 16% and the S&P 500 has fallen 6%.
11 hours ago
Shares of Abiomed Inc. were down 0.04% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said it had received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its Impella RP heart pump to be used in certain COVID-19 patients, including those with heart failure. The medical device had received FDA approval in 2017 to be marketed in the treatment of right ventricular failure. "Acute pulmonary embolism is clearly being recognized as a life-threatening manifestation of COVID-19," Dr. Amir Kaki, director of mechanical circulatory support at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit, said in the Abiomed release. Abiomed's stock is up 31.2% year-to-date. The S&P 500 has declined 5.7% since the start of the year.
11 hours ago
Shift4 Payments Inc. has set terms for its initial public offering of common stock, in which the payment processing company expects to raise up to $315 million. The company is offering 15 million Class A shares in the IPO, which is expected to price between $19 and $21 a share. The stock will list on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "FOUR." There will be 21.6 million Class A shares outstanding after the offering, representing about 3.5% of the voting power. The lead underwriters of the IPO are Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. The company recorded a net loss of $5.2 million on revenue of $199.4 million for the first quarter, compared with a loss of $13.5 million on revenue of $155.0 million in the year-ago period. The company is looking to go public at a time that the Renaissance IPO ETF has run up 18.1% year to date while the S&P 500 has slipped 5.8%.
11 hours ago
Spartan Motors Inc. said Monday it is changing its name to The Shyft Group Inc. and will change its ticker to SHYF after divesting its Emergency Response business. The Novi, Michigan-based specialty vehicle maker will also change its logo and has launched a new website at www.theshyftgroup.com. "The Shyft Group represents the pivot in market-focus and the corresponding forward momentum we've garnered in the work truck, specialty service, and delivery vehicle markets," Chief Executive Daryl Adams said in a statement. Shares will start trading under the new ticker later Monday. The stock has fallen 5.5% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 6%.
12 hours ago
Shares of Eli Lilly & Co. gained 0.3% in premarket trading on Monday after the drugmaker said it had started a Phase 1 trial for its experimental COVID-19 antibody treatment. The therapy, LY-CoV555, was developed by Lilly, AbCellera, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from a blood sample from one of the first people to recover from COVID-19 in the U.S. The placebo-controlled trial will test the antibody treatment in patients hospitalized with COVID-19; Lilly said it expects to release data from the trial by the end of this month. "Antibody therapies such as LY-CoV555 may have potential for both prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and may be particularly important for groups hardest hit by the disease such as the elderly and those with compromised immune systems," Lilly chief scientific officer Daniel Skovronsky said in a news release. Looking ahead, Lilly said it plans to test the therapy in COVID-19 patients who have not been hospitalized and as a preventative tool if the Phase 1 trial demonstrates the drug is safe. Lilly's stock is up 16.3% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 is down 5.7%.
12 hours ago
Biotech Applied Molecular Transport Inc. set terms for its planned initial public offering on Monday with plans to offer $10 million shares priced at $12 to $14 each. BofA Securities, Jefferies and SVB Leerink are underwriters on the deal. The company has applied to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "AMTI." Proceeds of the deal will be used to fund Phase 2 trials for AMT-101, the company's lead product candidate, an oral IL-10 fusion protein that has been designed for active transport across the IE barrier into local GI tissue. Remaining proceeds will be used to advance other products and for general corporate purposes.
"We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging our proprietary technology platform to design and develop a pipeline of novel oral biologic product candidates to treat autoimmune, inflammatory, metabolic, and other diseases," the company says in its prospectus.
12 hours ago
Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average turned positive in early trading on Monday despite violent protests across the country and worries around U.S.-China tensions. Futures for the Dow were 39 points, or 0.2%, higher at 25,417. Those for the S&P 500 index were 2 points, or 0.1%, up at 3,044. Futures for the Nasdaq Composite remained negative, down 0.2% at 9,542.25.
12 hours ago
Southwest Airlines Co. disclosed Monday that it received $651.8 million as the second tranche of the U.S. Department of Treasury's Payroll Support Program. In turn, the air carrier has increased the note it provided to the Treasury by $195.6 million and provided a warrant to buy 536,197 common shares. In total, Southwest said it has received $2.28 billion, or 70% of the expected payroll support amount, and provided Treasury with a note totaling $654.4 million and warrants to buy 1,794,429 shares, which would represent about 0.3% of the shares outstanding. Southwest's stock, which gained 2.2% in premarket trading, has dropped 30.5% over the past three months through Friday, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF has shed 36.9% and the S&P 500 has advanced 3.1%.
12 hours ago
Video game maker Zynga Inc. said Monday it has agreed to acquire Turkish mobile gaming company Peak for $1.8 billion in cash and stock. Peak is the owner of Toon Blast and Toy Blast, two franchises that rank in the top 10 and top 20 U.S. iPhone grossing games for more than two years, Zynga said in a statement. "These franchises add significant scale to Zynga's live services and will be an additional driver of margin expansion over the coming years," said the statement. Zynga is paying $900 million in cash and about $900 million in common stock with the deal expected to close in the third quarter. Peak was founded in 2010 and is expected to grow Zynga's average mobile daily average users by more than 60%. Zynga said it now expects its second-quarter loss per share to come to 17 cents, wider than the 6 cents it expected when it last offered guidance in May. Zynga shares rose 4.5% premarket and are up 50% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 6%.
12 hours ago
Shares of Digital Ally Inc. more than doubled, up 122%, in active premarket trading Monday, on the heels of a 33.4% jump on Friday, as the maker of body cameras used by law enforcement drew investor interest as protests against police killings erupted around the country. The stock was on track to open at the highest price seen during regular-session hours since June 17, 2019. Cemtrex Inc. also attracted investor interest in the wake of the public unrest as shares of the security services company and maker of wearables and smart devices jumped 116%, putting them on track to open at a 4 1/2-month high. Shares of Axon Enterprise Inc. , which makes electrical weapons for defense and has an app to remotely view body camera footage, rallied 5.3%. The stocks' gains come as futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.1%.
12 hours ago
A steep selloff on Friday in the shares of Canopy Growth Corp. increases the attractiveness of Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Aphria Inc. which both trade at a discount on enterprise value/current sales despite having similar or even better growth prospects, according to Cantor Fitzgerald. "Admittedly, WEED has $1.3Bn of cash (although down from $4.9Bn, and at an annualized free cash flow run rate of -C$1.2Bn based on the Mar qtr), but the gap seems excessive to us," analyst Pablo Zuanic wrote in a note to clients. Canopy shares tumbled after the company's March quarter sales fell short of estimates and the company pulled guidance for reaching positive EBITDA. "We think WEED's March quarter problems were company-specific; the company's rec sales before provisions were down 28% seq in the Mar quarter, while the industry grew 18%, with all the LPs that we cover posting double-digit growth," the analyst wrote. "As such, while June may be challenging for the LP industry (potentially), we believe WEED will lag again by a hefty margin." Zuanic favors Aurora and Aphria, which he rates as overweight, the equivalent of buy. The two companies had the industry's higher B2B recreational sales in the March quarter, he wrote. Aurora is well ahead of peers in domestic medical sales too, said the note. Aurora's U.S.-listed shares were down 3% premarket, while Aphria was down 1.2%. Canopy was down 3.2% and has fallen 17.6% in the year to date, while the Cannabis ETF has fallen 15.6% and the S&P 500 has fallen 6%.
12 hours ago
Shares of Coty Inc. shot up 7.2% in premarket trading Monday, after the branded beauty products company announced an agreement to sell a majority interest in its retail hair business, which includes Wella and Clairol, to KKR & Co. Inc. in a deal that values the businesses at $4.3 billion. KKR's stock was still inactive ahead of the open. KKR will own 60% of the separately managed businesses. Coty said it will receive a $1 billion direct investment and $2.5 billion in net cash proceeds. Separately, Coty Chairman Peter Harf will assume the additional role of chief executive officer. The company will create a three-person executive committee, which includes Harf, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Pierre-Andre Terisse and Gordon von Bretten, who joined Coty last week from KKR Capstone as chief transformation officer. Coty's stock has tumbled 60.7% over the past three months through Friday, while KKR shares have slipped 3.0% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.1%.
12 hours ago
The global case tally for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 climbed to 6.19 million on Monday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll rose to 372,377. More than 2.6 million people have recovered. The U.S. has the highest case toll in the world at 1.79 million and the highest death toll at 104,383. Brazil has 514,849 cases after another spike overnight, and 29,314 fatalities, while Russia has 414,878 cases and 4,855 fatalities. The U.K. has 276,156 cases and 38,571 deaths, the highest death toll in Europe and second highest in the world after the U.S. Spain has 239,479 cases and 27,127 deaths, while Italy has 232,997 cases and 33,415 deaths. India has passed France and Germany by cases, with 191,041 and 5,143 deaths. France has 189,009 cases and 28,805 deaths, while Germany has 183,500 cases and 8,546 deaths. Peru is next with 164,476 cases and 4,506 fatalities, followed by Turkey with 163,942 cases and 4,540 deaths. Iran has 151,466 cases and 7,797 deaths, followed by Chile with 99,688 cases and 1,054 deaths. Canada has 92,479 cases and 7,374 deaths. China, where the illness was first reported late last year, has 84,147 cases and 4,638 deaths.
13 hours ago
Blank-check company Trebia Acquisitions Corp. filed for an initial public offering on Monday, saying it would offer 37.5 million shares priced at $10 each to raise $375 million. Credit Suisse, BofA Securities and Moelis & Co. are underwriters on the deal. "We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination," the company says in IPO filing documents. "We have not identified any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target." The company has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol "TREB.U."
13 hours ago
Shares of Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC tumbled 11% in premarket trading Monday, after the biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer treatments said it planned a public offering of 12.5 million shares. That represents about 9.6% of the shares outstanding. The company also plans to grant the underwriters of the offering options to buy additional shares to cover overallotments. Cowen and SVB Leerink are the joint book-running managers. The stock has more than tripled (up 206%) over the past three months through Friday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has rallied 18.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.1%.