Mid-Day Market Update: Nasdaq Rises 2%; Cellular Biomedicine Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.76% to 27897.59 while the NASDAQ rose 2% to 10998.64. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.26% to 3,375.53.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 5,141,870 cases with around 164,530 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 3,057,470 COVID-19 cases with 101,750 deaths, while India reported a total of at least 2,329,630 confirmed cases and 46,090 deaths. In total, there were at least 20,307,860 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 742,030 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares gained 2.1% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited AOSL, up 20%, and Tufin Software Technologies Ltd. TUFN, up 16%.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell by 0.2%.

Top Headline

Brinker International, Inc. EAT reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter, while sales missed views.

Brinker posted a quarterly loss of $0.88 per share, narrower than analysts’ estimates for a loss of $1.37 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $563.20 million, missing expectations of $573.63 million.

Brinker said it expects Q1 adjusted loss of $0.40 to $0.25 per share.

Equities Trading UP

India Globalization Capital, Inc. IGC shares shot up 128% to $1.455 after the company said the FDA notified on July 30 that it has authorized the company to initiate a Phase 1 human trial study for its investigational cannabinoid formulation for the treatment of patients suffering from mild to severe dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.

Shares of EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. EYEG got a boost, shooting 29% to $5.28 after the company announced it has received positive feedback following its pre-IND meeting with the FDA and has been provided a path forward for the development of MoxiGel, a combination product for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.

Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. CBMG shares were also up, gaining 35% to $19.30 after the company said it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by a consortium consisting of the company's management, led by CEO Bizuo Liu, which collectively holds about 51.5% of outstanding shares, and private equity investors, for $19.75 in cash for each outstanding share of common stock.

Equities Trading DOWN

OneSpan Inc. OSPN shares tumbled 37% to $19.60 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q2 results. Needham lowered the price target on the stock from $31 to $29.

Shares of Staffing 360 Solutions, Inc. STAF were down 27% to $0.7597 after the company reported Q2 earnings results, noting that they were negatively impacted by the economic downturn resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kingold Jewelry, Inc. KGJI was down, falling 32% to $0.4080 after the company reported voluntary delisting from the NASDAQ Capital Market, effective August 21.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 1.9% to $42.40, while gold traded up 0.3% to $1,952.20.

Silver traded down 0.5% Wednesday to $25.925, while copper rose 0.7% to $2.8945.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.39%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 1.05%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 gained 0.85%, French CAC 40 rose 0.95% and UK shares rose 2.06%.

Economics

US core consumer prices rose 0.6% in July, versus analysts’ expectations for a 0.2% increase.

U.S. crude inventories dropped 4.5 million barrels for the week ended August 7, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a fall of 4.7 million barrels. Cude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub rose around 1.3 million barrels for the week. Gasoline supply dropped 700,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 2.3 million barrels last week.

The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. Treasury budget report for July is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly is set to speak at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will speak at 6:00 p.m. ET.