Mid-Day Market Update: U.S. Stocks Turn Positive; Akcea Therapeutics Shares Jump

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.08% to 26594.58 while the NASDAQ rose 0.19% to 7997.36. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.10% to 2,954.85.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares climbed 0.4% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Eros International Plc EROS, up 11%, and Daily Journal Corporation DJCO, up 4%.

In trading on Monday, utilities shares fell 0.5%.

Top Headline

Intersect ENT Inc XENT, which focuses on products for patients with ear, nose and throat conditions, said a study dubbed ASCEND that evaluated its drug-coated sinus balloon for dilation of the frontal sinus ostium did not meet the primary endpoint.

The benchmark was an intra-patient comparison of frontal sinus patency grade at day 30, as judged by an independent reviewer. The drug used was mometasone furoate. The ASCEND study looked at whether the drug-coated sinus balloon would reduce post-balloon dilation edema through localized delivery directly to the dilated tissue.


Equities Trading UP

Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. AKCA shares shot up 32% to $19.93 after the company announced it would receive a $125 million upfront payment from Pfizer for the exclusive licensing of AKCEA-ANGPTL3-L.

Shares of Aethlon Medical, Inc. AEMD surged 22% to $0.3000 after the company announced it received an FDA approval for its IDE for Oncology Indications.

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. SNNA was up, rising 23% to $0.3080 after the company filed 510(k) with the FDA for SNA-001.

Equities Trading DOWN

NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. NGM shares tumbled 20% to $10.90 after reporting interim results from ongoing 24-week Phase 2 study evaluating aldafermin in patients with NASH.

Shares of FuelCell Energy, Inc. FCEL were down 10% to $0.3270 after the company filed for a common stock offering of up to 38 million shares.

Intersect ENT, Inc. XENT was down, falling 10% to $15.30 after the company's ASCENT trial did not meet its primary endpoint.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 1.9% to $53.80, while gold traded down 0.4% to $1,507.00.

Silver traded down 0.4% Monday to $17.56, while copper rose 0.9% to $2.585.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.74%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.9%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.8%. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.74%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.59% while UK shares rose 0.59%.

Economics

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will speak in Salt Lake City, Utah at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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