Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; US Wholesale Inventories Rise 2.5% In February

U.S. stocks traded mostly lower this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 100 points on Friday.

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.02% to 34,576.86 while the NASDAQ fell 0.75% to 13,793.34. The S&P also fell, dropping, 0.29% to 4,487.19.

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Top Headline

US wholesale inventories rose 2.5% in February, versus analysts' expectations for a 2.1% increase.

Equities Trading UP

Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. LYRA shares shot up 29% to $5.59 as the company reported a private placement for gross proceeds of $110.5 million.

Shares of Blue Water Vaccines, Inc.. BWV got a boost, shooting 17% to $11.91.

Aterian, Inc. ATER shares were also up, gaining 15% to $4.44. The stock is top Reddit short squeeze mention on Friday.

Equities Trading DOWN

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. BCRX shares tumbled 31% to $12.36 after the company pauses enrollment in BCX9930 clinical trials.

Shares of Sunshine Biopharma, Inc. SBFM were down 24% to $7.30 after the company announced a previously-disclosed shelf via selling shareholders from March 30 became effective.

LXP Industrial Trust LXP was down, falling 17% to $13.01 after the company announced it has determined to suspend its previously announced evaluation of strategic alternatives.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.1% to $95.95, while gold traded down 0.1% to $1,935.00.

Silver traded down 0.1% Friday to $24.73 while copper rose 0.8% to $4.7380.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.2%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.5%. The German DAX gained 1.4%, French CAC 40 rose 1.3% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 1.8%.

Industrial production in Spain climbed 3% year-over-year in February.

Economics

US wholesale inventories rose 2.5% in February, versus analysts' expectations for a 2.1% increase.

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

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 81,988,270 cases with around 1,011,090 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 43,033,060 cases and 521,600 deaths, while Brazil reported over 30,094,380 COVID-19 cases with 661,030 deaths. In total, there were at least 496,735,870 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,196,240 deaths.