Crude Oil Moves Lower; Moderna Shares Plunge

Author: Avi Kapoor | August 01, 2024 02:34pm

U.S. stocks traded lower toward the end of trading, with the Dow Jones index dipping more than 650 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded down 1.61% to 40,184.39 while the NASDAQ fell 2.77% to 17,111.79. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 1.78% to 5,424.16.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares gained by 1.5% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, information technology shares fell by 4%.

Top Headline

Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) stock dipped more than 20% on Thursday as the company lowered its 2024 sales guidance due to weaker demand for its COVID-19 vaccines.

Moderna now projects 2024 net sales of between $3 billion and $3.5 billion from its respiratory franchise versus previous guidance of about $4 billion, citing low EU sales in 2024, potential revenue deferrals for certain international sales into 2025, and an increasingly competitive environment for respiratory vaccines in the U.S.

Moderna reported second-quarter revenue of $241 million, compared with $344 million a year earlier, beating the consensus of $132.18 million.

Net loss was $1.28 billion, or $3.33 a share, versus a loss of $1.38 billion, or $3.62 a share, a year earlier, surpassing the consensus of $(3.36).

Equities Trading UP

RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDHL) shares shot up 80% to $0.69 after the company announced a new publication showed data demonstrating that triple antimicrobial therapy with RHB-104 plus standard of care, targeting Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, is 64% more effective than SoC alone in Crohn’s disease.
Shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) got a boost, surging 23% to $56.26 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results. Also, the company announced an exclusive license agreement with TwinStrand Biosciences.
Omnicell, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMCL) shares were also up, gaining 31% to $38.20 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued FY24 guidance above estimates.

Equities Trading DOWN

Vintage Wine Estates, Inc. (NASDAQ:VWE) shares dropped 41% to $0.0305 after the company announced a bankruptcy filing and a voluntary delisting and SEC deregistration.
Shares of ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXO) were down 40% to $2.89. The company released topline data from its Phase 2 ASPEN-06 clinical trial.
Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATEC) was down, falling 29% to $7.15 after the company reported mixed second-quarter financial results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.8% to $76.53 while gold traded up 0.3% at $2,481.50.

Silver traded down 1.9% to $28.395 on Thursday, while copper fell 2.8% to $4.0595.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 1.23%, Germany's DAX fell 2.30% and France's CAC 40 fell 2.14%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 1.9%, while London's FTSE 100 fell 1.01%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dipping 2.49%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.23% and S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.15%.

Economics

The ISM manufacturing PMI declined to 46.6 in July versus 48.5 in the prior month, below market estimates of 48.8.
Construction spending declined by 0.3% month-over-month to an annual rate of $2,148 billion in June.
U.S. initial jobless claims by 14,000 to 249,000 in the week ending July 27th, beating market estimates of 236,000.
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased by 2.3% in the second quarter, compared to a revised 0.4% rise in the prior period.

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