Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Mastercard Profit Beats Estimates

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.44% to 35,085.92 while the NASDAQ rose 0.27% to 14,802.51. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.45% to 4,420.49.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 34,675,350 cases with around 611,800 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,528,110 cases and 422,660 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,797,080 COVID-19 cases with 553,160 deaths. In total, there were at least 196,040,880 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,188,530 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Materials shares climbed 1.1% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM, up 6% and First Majestic Silver Corp. AG up 4%.

In trading on Thursday, communication services shares fell 0.5%.

Top Headline

Mastercard Incorporated MA reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter.

Mastercard reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.95 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.72 per share. The company’s revenue came in at $4.50 billion, versus expectations of $4.34 billion.

Equities Trading UP

LendingClub Corporation LC shares shot up 48% to $24.06 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results and raised guidance.

Shares of MediaCo Holding Inc. MDIA got a boost, shooting 23% to $7.80.

Bon Natural Life Limited BON shares were also up, gaining 21% to $14.92. Bon Natural Life said it 'broke ground' on its third production facility in Yumen City's Material Chemical Industrial Park.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Annovis Bio, Inc. ANVS shares tumbled 51% to $53.49 after the company presented new clinical and biomarker data at the 2021 Alzheimer's Association International Conference.

Shares of Atreca, Inc. BCEL were down 34% to $5.39 after the company announced initial data from the dose escalation portion of its ongoing Phase 1b trial evaluating ATRC-101 in select solid tumor types, showing the investigational asset was well-tolerated. Preliminary biomarker data supported the proposed mechanism of action found in preclinical studies.

Cassava Sciences, Inc. SAVA was down, falling 17% to $111.64. S&P Cassava Sciences reported positive biomarker data from an open-label study of simufilam, its investigational drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.6% to $72.80, while gold traded up 1.5% to $1,826.50.

Silver traded up 3.2% Thursday to $25.66 while copper rose 1.1% to $4.5320.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.4%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.4%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.9%, French CAC 40 climbed 0.8% and Italy’s FTSE MIB climbed 0.9%.

The consumer confidence indicator in the Eurozone was confirmed at -4.4 in July, while services confidence indicator climbed to 19.3 in July. The industry confidence indicator in the Eurozone increased to 14.6 in July.

Producer prices in Italy surged 9.1% year-over-year in June. Consumer credit in the UK rose by GBP 0.31 billion in June, while UK factories produced 69,097 cars during June. Spain's unemployment rate fell to 15.26% in the second quarter from 15.98% in the prior three-month period, while annual inflation rate increased to 2.9% in July. French industrial producer increased 1.1% in June, while German unemployment rate stood at 3.7% in June.

Economics

The US economy grew an annualized 6.5% on quarter during the second quarter, down from market estimates of 8.5%.

US initial jobless claims fell to 400,000 in the week ending July 24th.

The pending home sales index dropped 1.9% year-over-year for June.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 8-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury will auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Check out the full economic calendar here