Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded down 2.46% to 33,835 while the NASDAQ fell 1.24% to 14,248.21. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.93% to 4,243.58.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 34,080,000 cases with around 609,020 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,144,220 cases and 414,100 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,376,570 COVID-19 cases with 542,210 deaths. In total, there were at least 190,467,680 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,089,900 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Consumer staples shares slipped by just 0.8% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included TDH Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETZ), up 7%, and Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD), up 4%.
In trading on Monday, energy shares tumbled 4.4%.
Top Headline
AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN) reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Monday.
AutoNation reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $4.83 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $2.58 per share. The company’s revenue came in at $6.98 billion, versus expectations of $6.02 billion. AutoNation also reported a $1 billion buyback plan.
Equities Trading UP
Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CYTK) shares shot up 40% to $27.00 after the company announced positive topline results from Cohorts 1 and 2 of REDWOOD-HCM Phase 2 trial of CK-3773274 (CK-274) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The Company plans to initiate Phase 3 trial by the end of 2021.
Shares of NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NRXP) got a boost, shooting 65% to $14.06 after the company announced it presented evidence that its ZYESAMI helps prevent “Cytokine Storm” in patients with COVID-19.
Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR) shares were also up, gaining 59% to $5.39 after the company won a $10.8 million single purchase order from its lead silicon carbide test and burn-in customer for multiple FOX-XP systems and complete sets of WaferPak Contactors to meet their increased production capacity needs.
Check out these big movers of the day
Equities Trading DOWN
Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT) shares tumbled 44% to $4.00 after the company priced 13.33 million shares at $4.5 per share to raise $60 million in a secondary public offering.
Shares of Moving iMage Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: MITQ) were down 21% to $4.20. Moving iMage Technologies recently priced its initial public offering of 4.2 million common shares at $3 per share.
Aeva Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AEVA) was down, falling 8% to $8.90. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Aeva Technologies with an Equal-Weight rating and announced a price target of $11.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 8.1% to $66.03, while gold traded down 0.4% to $1,808.00.
Silver traded down 2.6% Monday to $25.135 while copper fell 3.1% to $4.1895.
Euro zone
European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 2.3%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 2.4% and the German DAX 30 dropped 2.62%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 fell 2.34%, French CAC 40 declined 2.54% and Italy’s FTSE MIB fell 3.34%.
Construction output in the Eurozone surged 13.6% year-over-year in May compared to a record 45.2% growth in the earlier month.
Economics
The NAHB housing market index dropped to 80 in July from 81 in the prior month, .
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