Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.28% to 34,967.12 while the NASDAQ rose 0.08% to 14,714.09. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.23% to 4,379.69.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 33,854,110 cases with around 607,150 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 30,874,370 cases and 408,760 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,089,940 COVID-19 cases with 533,480 deaths. In total, there were at least 186,846,570 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,032,630 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Financial shares rose by 0.6% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included State Auto Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: STFC), up 194%, and 1st Constitution Bancorp (NASDAQ: FCCY), up 5%.
In trading on Monday, consumer staples shares fell 0.3%.
Top Headline
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) will acquire Prothena Corporation plc’s (NASDAQ: PRTA) clinical stage antibody PRX004 and broader ATTR amyloidosis program.
PRX004 is a Phase 2 ready immunotherapy designed to deplete the amyloid deposits associated with the disease pathology of ATTR amyloidosis. Under the terms of the agreement, Prothena is eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $1.2 billion, including $100 million in upfront and near-term clinical milestone payments.
Equities Trading UP
State Auto Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: STFC) shares shot up 194% to $50.72 after the company agreed to be acquired by Liberty Mutual Insurance for $52 per share in cash.
Shares of Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ: SEED) got a boost, shooting 35% to $12.12 after the company announced it expanded its GMO trait portfolio.
Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDX) shares were also up, gaining 27% to $41.12 after the company reported data from its CDX-0159 Phase 1b study in chronic inducible urticaria. HC Wainwright & Co maintained a Buy rating on the stock and raised its price target from $36 to $50.
Check out these big movers of the day
Equities Trading DOWN
Moving iMage Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MITQ) shares tumbled 30% to $11.11 after dropping over 33% on Friday. Moving iMage Technologies recently priced its initial public offering of 4.2 million common shares at $3 per share.
Shares of ToughBuilt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBLT) were down 29% to $0.7404. Toughbuilt Industries shares jumped over 45% on Friday after the company reported first-half sales through Amazon of $5.48 million, up 118% year over year.
BIT Mining Limited (NYSE: BTCM) was down, falling 16% to $5.75 as the company reported a $50 million private placement.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1% to $73.86, while gold traded down 0.2% to $1,806.30.
Silver traded up 0.2% Monday to $26.29 while copper fell 0.6% to $4.3175.
Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 surged 0.68%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.38% and the German DAX 30 climbed 0.68%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.13%, French CAC 40 rose 0.52% and Italy’s FTSE MIB jumped 0.89%.
Wholesale prices in Germany surged 10.7% year-over-year in June following a 9.7% rise in April.
Economics
The Treasury is set to auction 3-month bills and 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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