Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; US Factory Growth Slows In April

U.S. stocks traded mostly lower this morning, with the Dow Jones tumbling around 100 points on Monday.

The Dow traded down 0.33% to 32,869.51 while the NASDAQ fell 0.01% to 12,333.71. The S&P also fell, dropping, 0.27% to 4,120.74.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares climbed 1.7% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Redbox Entertainment Inc. RDBX, up 44% and Luokung Technology Corp. LKCO up 16%.

In trading on Monday, real estate shares dipped by 1.2%.

Top Headline

The ISM manufacturing PMI dropped for a second straight month to 55.4 in April from 57.1 in March. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 57.6.

Equities Trading UP

SoundHound AI, Inc. SOUN shares shot up 44% to $9.36 after tumbling 13% on Friday. SoundHound had their IPO on Thursday.

Shares of Redbox Entertainment Inc. RDBX got a boost, shooting 48% to $8.83. Redbox recently reported CFO transition.

Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. APRN shares were also up, gaining 31% to $3.9450 after the company announced a $70.5 million planned capital infusion through debt and equity financings.

Equities Trading DOWN

Global Cord Blood Corporation CO shares tumbled 26% to $2.5466. Global Cord Blood will acquire Cellenkos Inc and the rights to develop and commercialize all of its existing and future products worldwide.

Shares of HUTCHMED (China) Limited HCM were down 18% to $12.39 after the company announced it received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA for surufatinib for the treatment of advanced neuroendocrine tumors.

Vaxxinity, Inc. VAXX was down, falling 17% to $5.78. Vaxxinity received FDA fast track designation for UB-311 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 3.6% to $100.93, while gold traded down 1.9% to $1,876.40.

Silver traded down 1.8% Monday to $22.66 while copper fell 1.6% to $4.2935.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.3%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.2%. The German DAX dipped 1.1%, French CAC 40 fell 1.8% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.5%.

The S&P Global Eurozone manufacturing PMI rose to 55.5 in April from an initial estimate of 55.3. The consumer confidence indicator in the Eurozone dropped to -22 in April, recording the worst since April 2020, while services confidence indicator fell to 13.5 in April from 13.6 in March. The economic sentiment indicator in the Eurozone dropped for a second straight month to 105 in April, notching the weakest reading since February 2021.

The unemployment rate in Italy fell to 8.3% in March from 8.5% in the prior month, while manufacturing PMI declined to 54.5 in April from 55.8 in the previous month. The S&P Global French manufacturing PMI increased to 55.7 in April from a five-month low level of 54.7 in March, while manufacturing PMI for Germany rose to 54.6 in April from a preliminary reading of 54.1.

Economics

The S&P Global manufacturing PMI was revised lower to 59.2 in April from a preliminary reading of 59.7, but remained above the March’s level of 58.8.

The ISM manufacturing PMI dropped for a second straight month to 55.4 in April from 57.1 in March. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 57.6.

US construction spending rose 0.1% for March.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

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COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 83,083,420 cases with around 1,020,850 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 43,082,500 cases and 523,860 deaths, while Brazil reported over 30,454,490 COVID-19 cases with 663,560 deaths. In total, there were at least 513,670,100 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,262,090 deaths.