Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Higher; Kimberly Clark Cuts FY21 Forecast

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.07% to 35,700.45 while the NASDAQ rose 0.31% to 15,136.85. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.08% to 4,548.74.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 46,312,780 cases with around 756,360 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 34,189,770 cases and 454,740 deaths, while Brazil reported over 21,729,760 COVID-19 cases with 605,680 deaths. In total, there were at least 244,513,860 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,965,680 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.


Leading and Lagging Sectors


Energy shares gained by 1.8% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included HighPeak Energy, Inc. HPK, up 13% and Gevo, Inc. GEVO up 8%.


In trading on Monday, consumer staples shares fell 0.3%.


Top Headline


Kimberly Clark Corp KMB reported weaker-than-expected results for its third quarter, while sales exceeded views. The company also lowered its forecast for FY21.

Kimberly Clark Corp KMB reported third-quarter FY21 sales growth of 7% year-on-year, to $5.01 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $4.99 billion. Adjusted EPS of $1.62 missed the analyst consensus of $1.65.

Citing higher input cost inflation, Kimberly Clark has cut its FY21 adjusted EPS outlook to $6.05 - $6.25 (prior view $6.65 - $6.90) against the consensus of $6.70. Organic sales decline of 1% - 2% (prior outlook decline of 0% - 2%).


Equities Trading UP


Remark Holdings, Inc. MARK shares shot up 83% to $3.9650 on abnormally-high volume.


Shares of PAE Incorporated PAE got a boost, shooting 67% to $9.86 after the company agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Amentum Government Services Holdings LLC in an all-cash transaction valued at ~$1.9 billion, including debt and certain fees.


Bakkt Holdings, Inc. BKKT shares were also up, gaining 35% to $12.37 after the company and Mastercard announced a partnership for crypto and loyalty solutions.

Check out these big movers of the day


Equities Trading DOWN

Eyenovia, Inc. EYEN shares tumbled 39% to $4.0101. Eyenovia announced reclassification of MydCombi as drug-device combination product by the FDA.


Shares of ERYTECH Pharma S.A. ERYP were down 37% to $3.42 after the company announced its TRYbeCA-1 Phase 3 trial of eryaspace in patients with second-line advanced pancreatic cancer did not meet its primary endpoint of overall survival.


MoneyLion Inc. ML was down, falling 24% to $5.18.


Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.9% to $84.48, while gold traded up 0.3% to $1,801.00.


Silver traded down 0.1% Monday to $24.44 while copper rose 0.5% to $4.5195.


Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.5% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.2%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, French CAC 40 fell 0.1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.8%.

The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany fell to 97.7 in October, recording the weakest level since April.


Economics


The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell to -0.13 in September from 0.05 in August.


The Dallas Fed manufacturing index for October will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. The general activity index, which has slowed during the previous two reports, is expected to rise to 4.9 in October from 4.6 in September.


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

Check out the full economic calendar here

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Date
ticker
name
Actual EPS
EPS Surprise
Actual Rev
Rev Surprise
Posted In: EarningsNewsPenny StocksEurozoneCommoditiesSmall CapGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsConsumer DiscretionaryMid-Morning Market UpdateMovies & Entertainment
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...