Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Rises Over 3%; Novavax Shares Plunge
Lisa Levin 6 years ago
NewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarkets
Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 1.89% to 25888.78 while the NASDAQ rose 1.69% to 8712.06. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.67% to 3,003.43. Coronavirus cases continued to rise outside China. South Korea confirmed 123 new coronavirus cases today, while Italy reported a 50% increase in coronavirus cases. In Iran, total number of infections surged by 523.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Consumer staples shares climbed 1.7% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE), up 12%, and HF Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HFFG), up 7%.
In trading on Monday, industrial shares rose by just 0.1%.
Top Headline
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) confirmed a deal to buy Forty Seven, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTSV) for $4.9 billion.
Gilead said in a Monday press release that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Menlo Park, California-based Forty Seven for $95.50 per share in cash. This per-share value represents a 96% premium to the $48.79 at which the stock closed Thursday, when speculation regarding the interest began building.
The boards of both companies approved the transaction.
Equities Trading UP
China Pharma Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPHI) shares shot up 107% to $1.18 after the company announced a wash-free sanitizer in response to the coronavirus.
Shares of Daxor Corporation (NYSE:DXR) got a boost, shooting 63% to $14.02. Daxor said hospitals are using its blood volume analyzer to prevent coronavirus deaths.
Forty Seven, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTSV) shares were also up, gaining 62% to $93.77 after the company announced it will be acquired by Gilead Sciences for $95.50 per share.
Equities Trading DOWN
Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:AHPI) shares tumbled 40% to $14.40 after surging 54.6% on Friday.
Shares of Enlivex Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ:ENLV) were down 20% to $7.40. Enlivex Therapeutics announced a $16.75 million registered direct offering for a stock and warrant unit at $8 per unit.
Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) was down, falling 24% to $12.12 following news of a $150 million common stock offering via B. Riley FBR.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 3.4% to $46.29, while gold traded up 1.8% to $1,595.30.
Silver traded up 1.6% Monday to $16.715, while copper rose 1.3% to $2.5735.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.13% the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.01%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.77% Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.32, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.21% while UK shares rose 1.02%.
Economics
The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.7 in February, versus a preliminary reading of 50.8.
The ISM manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.1 in February, versus a reading of 50.9 in January.
U.S. construction spending rose 1.8% in January, versus a revised 0.2% gain in December.
The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.