Crude Oil Moves Lower; Moderna Shares Plunge

U.S. stocks traded lower toward the end of trading, with the Dow Jones index dipping more than 650 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded down 1.61% to 40,184.39 while the NASDAQ fell 2.77% to 17,111.79. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 1.78% to 5,424.16.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares gained by 1.5% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, information technology shares fell by 4%.

Top Headline

Moderna Inc MRNA stock dipped more than 20% on Thursday as the company lowered its 2024 sales guidance due to weaker demand for its COVID-19 vaccines.

Moderna now projects 2024 net sales of between $3 billion and $3.5 billion from its respiratory franchise versus previous guidance of about $4 billion, citing low EU sales in 2024, potential revenue deferrals for certain international sales into 2025, and an increasingly competitive environment for respiratory vaccines in the U.S.

Moderna reported second-quarter revenue of $241 million, compared with $344 million a year earlier, beating the consensus of $132.18 million.

Net loss was $1.28 billion, or $3.33 a share, versus a loss of $1.38 billion, or $3.62 a share, a year earlier, surpassing the consensus of $(3.36).

Equities Trading UP
                       

• RedHill Biopharma Ltd. RDHL shares shot up 80% to $0.69 after the company announced a new publication showed data demonstrating that triple antimicrobial therapy with RHB-104 plus standard of care, targeting Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, is 64% more effective than SoC alone in Crohn’s disease.
• Shares of Exact Sciences Corporation EXAS got a boost, surging 23% to $56.26 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results. Also, the company announced an exclusive license agreement with TwinStrand Biosciences.
• Omnicell, Inc. OMCL shares were also up, gaining 31% to $38.20 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued FY24 guidance above estimates.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Vintage Wine Estates, Inc. VWE shares dropped 41% to $0.0305 after the company announced a bankruptcy filing and a voluntary delisting and SEC deregistration.
• Shares of ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. ALXO were down 40% to $2.89. The company released topline data from its Phase 2 ASPEN-06 clinical trial.
• Alphatec Holdings, Inc. ATEC was down, falling 29% to $7.15 after the company reported mixed second-quarter financial results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.8% to $76.53 while gold traded up 0.3% at $2,481.50.

Silver traded down 1.9% to $28.395 on Thursday, while copper fell 2.8% to $4.0595.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 1.23%, Germany's DAX fell 2.30% and France's CAC 40 fell 2.14%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 1.9%, while London's FTSE 100 fell 1.01%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dipping 2.49%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.23% and S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.15%.

Economics

• The ISM manufacturing PMI declined to 46.6 in July versus 48.5 in the prior month, below market estimates of 48.8.
• Construction spending declined by 0.3% month-over-month to an annual rate of $2,148 billion in June.
• U.S. initial jobless claims by 14,000 to 249,000 in the week ending July 27th, beating market estimates of 236,000.
• Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased by 2.3% in the second quarter, compared to a revised 0.4% rise in the prior period.

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