Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; MassRoots Is Going To Leverage Blockchain For The Cannabis Industry

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.05 percent to 24,824.59 while the NASDAQ declined 0.14 percent to 6,940.46. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.03 percent to 2,686.61.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Friday morning, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services sector proved to be a source of strength for the market.

In trading on Friday, basic materials shares fell 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Aluminum Corp. of China Limited (ADR) ACH, down 3 percent, and Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX down 2 percent.

Top Headline

MassRoots Inc MSRT, a U.S.-based company that offers a mobile application for use in the cannabis industry, said Friday it created a subsidiary dedicated to developing blockchain-based solutions for the cannabis industry.

MassRoots said its fully owned subsidiary will be called MassRoots Blockchain Technologies.

Equities Trading UP

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PGNX shares shot up 11 percent to $6.47 after the company reported the FDA acceptance of New Drug Application for AZEDRA.

Shares of Atara Biotherapeutics Inc ATRA got a boost, shooting up 31 percent to $20.00 after the company reported the FDA clearance to initiate two Phase 3 clinical studies to evaluate tabelecleucel in patients with rituximab-refractory Epstein-Barr virus associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.

Ultra Clean Holdings Inc UCTT shares were also up, gaining 12 percent to $23.77. Ultra Clean will replace Scientific Games SGMS in the S&P SmallCap 600 on Wednesday, January 3, 2018.

Equities Trading DOWN

ADTRAN, Inc. ADTN shares dropped 14 percent to $19.12 after the company issued a weak guidance for the fourth quarter.

Shares of Live Ventures Inc LIVE were down 14 percent to $17.16. Live Ventures shares climbed 50.60 percent Thursday after the company reported FY17 sales of $152 million, up from $79 million in the prior year.

KBS Fashion Group Ltd KBSF was down, falling around 11 percent to $4.44 after gaining 18.85 percent on Thursday.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.42 percent to $60.09 while gold traded up 0.37 percent to $1,302.00.

Silver traded up 0.25 percent Friday to $16.965, while copper fell 0.80 percent to $3.282.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.05 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.29 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.61 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX slipped 0.48 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.10 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.85 percent.

Economics

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.