Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; General Motors Tops Q2 Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.44% to 34,962.94 while the NASDAQ rose 0.03% to 14,765.20. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.23% to 4,412.83.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 35,241,930 cases with around 614,310 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,769,130 cases and 425,750 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,985,810 COVID-19 cases with 558,430 deaths. In total, there were at least 199,673,010 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,249,110 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Real estate shares climbed 0.2% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI, up 29% and Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated JLL up 9%.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.9%.

Top Headline

General Motors Company GM reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter.

General Motors reported quarterly earnings of $1.97 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.34 per share. The company’s revenue came in at $34.20 billion, versus analysts’ expectations of $29.11 billion.

General Motors raised FY21 adjusted EPS outlook to $5.40 - $6.40 from $4.50 - $5.25, versus the consensus of $6.42. The company expects an adjusted EBIT of $11.5 billion - $13.5 billion, versus previous $10.0 billion - $11.0 billion.

 

Equities Trading UP

BeyondSpring Inc. BYSI shares shot up 136% to $22.65 in reaction to topline data from DUBLIN-3 Phase 3 trial evaluating plinabulin in combination with docetaxel. The data showed that compared to docetaxel alone, the combination increased the overall survival (primary endpoint) and met key secondary endpoints, including significantly improving ORR, PFS, and 24- and 36-month OS rates.

Shares of Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD got a boost, shooting 42% to $66.50 amid retail investor interest volatility and post-IPO volatility. Also, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest bought 89,622 shares of the stock.

eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI shares were also up, gaining 27% to $44.16 after the company reported upbeat Q2 earnings and declared a $0.04 per share cash dividend.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Zymergen Inc. ZY shares tumbled 77% to $8.06 after the company provided a business update regarding its commercial product pipeline and financial forecast. Zymergen announced that issues with its commercial product pipeline will impact its delivery timeline and revenue projections. The company no longer expects to generate product revenue in 2021. Several analysts also downgraded the stock.

Shares of Live Ventures Incorporated LIVE were down 48% to $32.88 after the company issued a statement on SEC allegations.

Moxian, Inc. MOXC was down, falling 27% to $10.97 after dropping around 25% on Tuesday.

 

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.5% to $70.23, while gold traded up 0.2% to $1,816.80.

Silver traded up 0.7% Wednesday to $25.750 while copper fell 0.2% to $4.3755.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.6%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.8%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4%, French CAC 40 climbed 0.6% and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.6%.

The IHS Markit Eurozone services PMI rose to 59.8 in July from June's final reading of 58.3. Eurozone’s composite PMI climbed to 60.2 in July from June’s reading of 59.5.

German services PMI rose to 61.8 in July from a final reading of 57.5 in the previous month, while Italy’s services PMI climbed to 58 in July from 56.7. Spanish services PMI declined to 61.9 in July from 62.5 in June.

Economics

Private businesses in the US hired 330,000 workers in July, the ADP said.

US Services PMI was revised higher to 59.9 in July versus a preliminary reading of 59.8, while Composite PMI was also revised higher to 59.9 in July from a preliminary estimate of 59.7.

The ISM non-manufacturing PMI climbed to 64.1 in July from 60.1 in the prior month.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Check out the full economic calendar here