Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; US Economy Adds 531,000 Jobs

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.84% to 36,429.04 while the NASDAQ rose 0.68% to 16,049.24. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.74% to 4,714.85.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 47,187,250 cases with around 772,310 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 34,332,400 cases and 459,870 deaths, while Brazil reported over 21,849,130 COVID-19 cases with 608,710 deaths. In total, there were at least 249,461,040 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 5,047,620 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Industrials shares gained by 1.2% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Air Lease Corporation AL, up 12% and Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. SPR up 8%.

In trading on Friday, health care shares fell 0.8%.

Top Headline

The US economy added 531,000 jobs in October, above analysts’ expectations of 450,000. The US unemployment rate also dropped to 4.6% in October, notching the lowest level since March 2020.

Equities Trading UP

Mainz Biomed B.V. MYNZ shares shot up 198% to $14.92. Mainz Biomed priced its initial public offering of 2 million ordinary shares at $5, the middle of the estimated price range of $4-$6, for raising gross proceeds of $10 million.

Shares of FAT Brands Inc. FATBB got a boost, shooting 40% to $23.74 after the company reported fiscal third quarter 2021 financial results for the 13-week period ending September 26, 2021.

Ontrak, Inc. OTRK shares were also up, gaining 48% to $14.30 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results and issued FY21 sales guidance.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. DCPH shares tumbled 73% to $9.56 after announcing disappointing results from the INTRIGUE Phase 3 study of Qinlock in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) previously treated with Novartis AG's NVS Gleevec (imatinib). The study did not meet the primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with the standard of care Pfizer Inc's PFE Sutent (sunitinib).

Shares of Evaxion Biotech A/S EVAX were down 42% to $7.33 after the company priced 3.43 million ADS offering at $7 per ADS.

BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. BRTX was down, falling 41% to $8.00. BioRestorative therapies priced its $23 million public offering and uplisting to the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.8% to $79.43, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,795.80.

Silver traded down 0.2% Friday to $23.865 while copper rose 0.5% to $4.3435.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.2%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, French CAC 40 rose 0.4% and Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.3%.

The IHS Markit Eurozone construction PMI climbed to 51.2 in October from 50 in the prior month. France construction PMI climbed to 50.3 from 48.9, while industrial production fell by 1.3% in September.

The IHS Markit Germany construction PMI rose to 47.7 in October from 47.1 in September, while industrial production fell 1.1% in September. Spain's industrial production growth eased to 1.2% year-over-year in September. The Halifax house price index in the UK surged 8.1% from a year ago in October.

Economics

The US economy added 531,000 jobs in October, above analysts’ expectations of 450,000. The US unemployment rate also dropped to 4.6% in October, notching the lowest level since March 2020.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Data on consumer credit for September will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Check out the full economic calendar here