Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; US Annual Inflation Rate Slows to 5.3% in August

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.26% to 34,778.27 while the NASDAQ rose 0.01% to 15,106.84. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.20% to 4,459.89.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 41,223,890 cases with around 662,260 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 33,289,570 cases and 443,210 deaths, while Brazil reported over 21,006,420 COVID-19 cases with 587,060 deaths. In total, there were at least 225,389,500 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,642,050 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares gained 0.3% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The York Water Company YORW, up 3% and Global Water Resources, Inc. GWRS up 2%.

In trading on Tuesday, communication services shares fell by 0.8%.

Top Headline

The annual inflation rate eased to 5.3% in August compared to a 13-year high level of 5.4% in June. The monthly rate eased to 0.3% versus 0.5% a month ago.

Equities Trading UP

aTyr Pharma, Inc. LIFE shares shot up 29% to $11.83 after multiple firms maintained bullish ratings on the stock and raised their respective price targets. aTyr Pharma shares jumped 67% on Monday after the company announced the Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of ATYR1923 in pulmonary sarcoidosis met its primary endpoint.

Shares of AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. AZRX got a boost, shooting 28% to $5.28 after the company announced acquisition of First Wave Bio for $229 million in stock and cash.

BELLUS Health Inc. BLU shares were also up, gaining 25% to $5.97. The company on Monday announced interim analysis from the Phase 2b SOOTHE trial of BLU-5937 in refractor chronic cough. HC Wainwright on Tuesday raised its price target on the stock.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Virpax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. VRPX shares tumbled 35% to $6.31 after the company priced a 6.67 million share common stock offering at $6 per share.

Shares of RedHill Biopharma Ltd. RDHL were down 35% to $4.7988 after the company announced preliminary top-line data from the Phase 2/3 study with opaganib showed that the study did not meet its primary endpoint.

PAR Technology Corporation PAR was down, falling 16% to $57.09 after the company reported proposed offerings of 1.5 million shares common stock and $200 million of convertible senior notes.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $70.97, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,795.50.

Silver traded down 0.5% Tuesday to $23.68 while copper fell 1% to $4.3230.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.2%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3%, French CAC 40 fell 0.2% and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.6%.

Spanish consumer prices increased 3.3% year-over-year in August following a 2.9% increase in the previous month. The UK unemployment rate dropped to 4.6% in the three months to July.

Economics

The NFIB small business optimism index rose to 100.1 points in August from 99.7 points in the previous month.

The annual inflation rate eased to 5.3% in August compared to a 13-year high level of 5.4% in June. The monthly rate eased to 0.3% versus 0.5% a month ago.

Check out the full economic calendar here