Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Falls 75 Points; Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.21% to 35,855.96 while the NASDAQ rose 0.16% to 15,946.49. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.19% to 4,697.80.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 48,287,920 cases with around 787,980 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 34,478,510 cases and 464,620 deaths, while Brazil reported over 21,977,660 COVID-19 cases with 611,890 deaths. In total, there were at least 255,882,770 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 5,142,170 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares gained by 1.5% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Macy's, Inc. M, up 22% and Victoria's Secret & Co. VSCO up 17%.

In trading on Thursday, consumer staples shares fell 0.6%.

Top Headline

Kohl's Corporation KSS reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter and raised its FY21 outlook.

Kohl's posted quarterly earnings of $1.65 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.64 per share. The company’s quarterly sales came in at $4.60 billion, versus expectations of $4.27 billion.

Kohl's raised its FY21 earnings guidance from $5.80-$6.10 per share to $7.10-$7.30 per share. The company also boosted its sales growth expectations from low-twenties percentage range to mid-twenties percentage range.

Equities Trading UP

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. DRNA shares shot up 79% to $38.06. Novo Nordisk A/S NVO agreed to acquire Dicerna Pharmaceuticals for $38.25 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of $3.3 billion and a premium of 80% to Dicerna's closing price on November 17, 2021.

Shares of Longeveron Inc. LGVN got a boost, shooting 176% to $8.07. The FDA has granted Rare Pediatric Disease (RPD) designation for Longeveron's Lomecel-B for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).

Macy's, Inc. M shares were also up, gaining 22% to $37.58 after the company reported strong Q3 results and also raised FY21 guidance

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Vipshop Holdings Limited VIPS shares tumbled 17% to $10.15 after the company reported Q3 earnings results and issued guidance.

Shares of Amtech Systems, Inc. ASYS were down 31% to $10.59 after the company reported downbeat Q4 results and issued weak Q1 sales forecast.

Williams Industrial Services Group Inc. WLMS was down, falling 19% to $3.73 after the company posted weak Q3 results and lowered FY21 revenue guidance.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.5% to $78.75, while gold traded down 0.3% to $1,864.00.

Silver traded down 0.6% Thursday to $25.005 while copper rose 1.2% to $4.3185.

Euro zone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.46%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1% and the German DAX 30 dropped 0.18%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.48%, French CAC 40 fell 0.21% and Italy’s FTSE MIB fell 0.59%.

Passenger car registrations in the European Union tumbled 30.3% year-over-year to 665,001 units in October.

Economics

US initial jobless claims dropped by 1,000 to 268,000 in the week ended November 13.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index increased to 39 in November from 23.8 in October.

The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.9% for October.

US natural-gas supplies jumped 26 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said.

The Kansas City Fed's Manufacturing Production Index declined to 17 in November from 25 in the prior month.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly will speak at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the full economic calendar here