Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower ; Halliburton Earnings Top Views

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 1.41% to 23901.55 while the NASDAQ fell 0.48% to 8608.89. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.03% to 2844.82.

The U.S. is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. U.S. reported a total of 759,780 coronavirus cases with around 40,680 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 200,210 coronavirus cases with 20,850 deaths, while Italy reported a total of at least 178,970 confirmed cases and 23,660 deaths. In total, there were at least 2,416,130 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 165,930 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares fell by just 0.4% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Pinduoduo Inc. PDD, up 10%, and GameStop Corp. GME, up 7%.

In trading on Monday, energy shares tumbled 3.1%.

Top Headline

Halliburton Company HAL reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.

Halliburton posted quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.24 per share. Its sales came in at $5.04 billion, versus expectations of $5.01 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CYCC shares shot up 135% to $15.04 after the company announced a collaboration agreement with the University of Edinburgh to study its CDK Inhibitors to reduce runaway inflammation in coronavirus disease.

Immuron Limited IMRN shares were also up, gaining 41% to $3.32 after the company disclosed a 95% year-over-year rise in its North American Travelan sales.

Equities Trading DOWN

Akazoo S.A. SONG shares tumbled 36% to $1.72.

Shares of Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. IVR were down 20% to $2.95 after rising 15% on Friday.

Golden Bull Limited DNJR was down, falling 16% to $2.14.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 28.4% to $13.10, while gold traded down 0.2% to $1,694.80.

Silver traded up 0.1% Monday to $15.315, while copper fell 0.6% to $2.3295.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.4%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.7%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.7%, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.8% while UK shares fell 0.9%.

Economics

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index declined to -4.19 in March, versus a revised reading of 0.06 in February.

The Treasury will auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.