Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.44% to 35,999.43 while the NASDAQ rose 0.97% to 15,964.55. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.30% to 4,674.44.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 47,105,460 cases with around 770,850 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 34,320,140 cases and 459,660 deaths, while Brazil reported over 21,835,780 COVID-19 cases with 608,300 deaths. In total, there were at least 248,961,210 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 5,039,820 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Consumer discretionary shares gained by 1.8% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Volcon, Inc. VLCN, up 18% and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company HMHC up 21%.
In trading on Thursday, financials shares fell 2%.
Top Headline
Moderna MRNA reported weaker-than-expected results for its third quarter and lowered its full-year sales forecast for its covid-19 vaccine.
Moderna posted Q3 adjusted earnings of $7.70 per share, missing analysts’ estimates of $9.05 per share The company’s quarterly sales came in at $4.969 billion, versus expectations of $6.2 billion.
Moderna lowered its full-year sales forecast for its covid-19 vaccine to between $15 billion and $18 billion, versus prior forecast of $20 billion.
Equities Trading UP
NerdWallet, Inc. NRDS shares shot up 62% to $29.12 after the company priced its IPO at $18 per share.
Shares of Cassava Sciences, Inc. SAVA got a boost, shooting 52% to $85.95 after a review by the Journal of Neuroscience showed there is no evidence of data manipulation in a 2012 company technical paper.
NeoPhotonics Corporation NPTN shares were also up, gaining 38% to $15.94 after the company agreed to be acquired by Lumentum for $16.00 per share in cash.
Check out these big movers of the day
Equities Trading DOWN
Lightspeed Commerce Inc. LSPD shares tumbled 28% to $71.17 after the company reported Q2 results.
Shares of Rimini Street, Inc. RMNI were down 29% to $8.03 following Q3 results.
Vimeo, Inc. VMEO was down, falling 31% to $24.30 after the company posted Q3 results.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 2.3% to $78.98, while gold traded up 1.7% to $1,793.30.
Silver traded up 2.6% Thursday to $23.825 while copper fell 0.3% to $4.3095.
Euro zone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.41%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.44%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.43%, French CAC 40 rose 0.53% and Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.53%.
The IHS Markit Eurozone services PMI was revised lower to 54.6 in October versus a preliminary estimate of 54.7, while composite PMI was revised lower to 54.2 from a preliminary level of 54.3. New car registrations in the UK dropped 24.6% year-over-year to 106,265 units in October.
German services PMI dropped to 52.4 in October from 56.2 in September, while factory orders rose 1.3% in September. France services PMI rose to 56.6 in October from 56.2. Italy’s services PMI declined to 52.4 in October from 55.5 in the earlier month, while Spain services PMI dropped to 56.6 in October.
Economics
US-based employers reported 22,822 job cuts in October.
The US trade deficit widened to a new record high of $80.9 billion in September.
US initial jobless claims fell to 269,000 in the week ending October 30th, from a revised 283,000 in the prior period.
Unit labor costs rose an annualized 8.3% in the third quarter, while nonfarm labor productivity in the US dropped 5.0%.
US natural gas supplies rose 63 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said.
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