Dow Drops More Than 1,000 Points, Akero Therapeutics Shares Spike Higher

U.S. stocks traded sharply lower toward the end of trading, following the release of inflation data for August.

The Dow traded down 3.34% to 31,298.22 while the NASDAQ fell 4.49% to 11,715.11. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 3.69% to 3,958.75.

Also check this: Bitcoin Remains Above This Major Level While Solana Rises Sharply; Here Are The Top Crypto Movers For Tuesday

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares fell by just 1% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Cheniere Energy, Inc. LNG, up 5% and Vertex Energy, Inc. VTNR up 4%.

In trading on Tuesday, communication services shares tumbled by 4%.

Top Headline

The Labor Department reported an 8.3% year-over-year increase in the consumer price index for August, another sign that inflation may have peaked in June. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the headline CPI rose 8.3% in August, down from 8.5% in July. The August CPI reading came in above average economist estimates of 8%.

 

Equities Trading UP

 

• Akero Therapeutics, Inc. AKRO shares shot up 130% to $28.24 after the company's Phase 2b HARMONY study met its primary endpoint for both the 50mg and 28mg EFX dose groups.
• Shares of NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NRBO got a boost, shooting 138% to $39.69 as the stock started trading on a 1-for-30 reverse split basis.
• Comera Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. CMRA shares were also up, gaining 33% to $2.5525 after a late Monday Form 4 filing showed multiple insider purchases of the stock.

 

Equities Trading DOWN

• Rent the Runway, Inc. RENT shares tumbled 34% to $3.24 after the company reported issued Q3 guidance below estimates and announced a workforce reduction of 24% of corporate employees.
• Shares of Cardiff Oncology, Inc. CRDF were down 39% to $1.9699. Following a strategic review, Cardiff Oncology decided it will not independently fund any future clinical activities in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), citing clinical data and therapeutic landscape.
• Codiak BioSciences, Inc. CDAK was down, falling 30% to $1.1750 after the company priced 13.33 million share offering plus accompanying warrants at combined price of $1.50 per share plus warrant.

Also check out: NIO, Lucid Group And Other Big Gainers From Monday

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.9% to $87.00, while gold traded down 1.5% at $1,714.30.

Silver traded down 1.9% to $19.485 on Tuesday while copper fell 1.8% to $3.5440.

Euro zone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.55%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.17%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.59%. The German DAX declined 1.59%, French CAC 40 fell 1.39% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.36%.

The annual inflation rate in Spain fell to 10.5% in August from 10.8% in the prior month, while annual inflation rate in Germany was confirmed at 7.9% during the month.

The unemployment rate in the UK declined to 3.6% in the three months to July, the lowest since 1974, while average weekly earnings including bonuses rose by 5.5% year-over-year to GBP 613 during the same period.

 

Economics

 

• The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 91.8 in August from 89.9 in July.
• The Labor Department reported an 8.3% year-over-year increase in the consumer price index for August, another sign that inflation may have peaked in June. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the headline CPI rose 8.3% in August, down from 8.5% in July. The August CPI reading came in above average economist estimates of 8%.
• The U.S. government recorded a budget deficit of $219.6 billion for August, compared to $170.6 billion in the year-ago period.

Check out this: Market Volatility Increases Ahead Of US Inflation Data

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 97,164,730 cases with around 1,076,050 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,504,940 cases and 528,180 deaths, while France reported over 34,722,710 COVID-19 cases with 154,520 deaths. In total, there were at least 614,400,750 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,518,290 deaths.