Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Up 4.5%; Cassava Sciences Shares Plummet

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.64% to 23475.24 while the NASDAQ fell 0.70% to 8,880.95. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.69% to 2,832.93.

The U.S. is the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. U.S. reported a total of 1,417,880 coronavirus cases with around 85,900 deaths. Britain confirmed a total of over 234,440 coronavirus cases with 33,690 deaths, while Russia reported a total of at least 252,240 confirmed cases and 2,300 deaths. In total, there were at least 4,444,670 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 302,490 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 0.9% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included GeoPark Limited GPRK, up 21%, and NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc. NEX, up 10%.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares fell 2.3%.

Top Headline

JD.Com Inc JD reported better-than-expected earnings and sales for its first quarter.

JD.Com reported first-quarter earnings of 28 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 11 cents. The company reported quarterly sales of $20.6 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $19.29 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc SRNE shares shot up 77% to $4.6350 amid investor attention surrounding the company's STI-1499 coronavirus antibody.

Shares of Bridgeline Digital, Inc. BLIN got a boost, shooting 64% to $2.0299 following Q2 results. Bridgeline Digital swung to earnings of $0.33 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $39.93 per share.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB shares were also up, gaining 48% to $9.83 after reporting a rise in its Q3 sales.

Equities Trading DOWN

Cassava Sciences, Inc. SAVA shares tumbled 73% to $2.1757 after the company announced the results from its Phase 2b study of PTI-125 in Alzheimer's disease did not meet the primary endpoint.

Shares of Creative Realities, Inc. CREX were down 34% to $2.8199 after the company filed for a mixed shelf offering of up to $50 million. The company also reported Q1 sales results down from last year.

SenesTech, Inc. SNES was down, falling 28% to $1.62 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q1 results.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 4.5% to $28.81, while gold traded up 0.7% to $1,753.20.

Silver traded up 4.7% Friday to $16.915, while copper fell 0.5% to $2.334.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.37%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.12%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.12%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.83%, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.18% while UK shares rose 1.02%.

Economics

U.S. retail sales dipped 16.4% in April, versus analysts’ estimates of a 12% decline.

The New York Empire State manufacturing index climbed to -48.5 in May, versus a reading of -78.2 in the prior month.

U.S. industrial production dropped 11.2% in April, versus analysts’ expectations for an 11.5% fall.

U.S. business inventories dropped 0.2% in March, versus a revised 0.5% fall in February.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index climbed to 73.7 in May, versus previous reading of 71.8.

The number of job openings fell by 813,000 to 6.191 million in March, versus a revised reading of 7.004 million in the prior month, the Labor Department reported.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Treasury International Capital report for March will be released at 4:00 p.m. ET.