Benzinga | Sep 11, 2020 03:07PM EDT

Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Nasdaq Drops Over 100 Points; A-Mark Precious Metals Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.26% to 27607.31 while the NASDAQ fell 1.05% to 10805.00. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.24% to 3331.34.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 6,397,540 cases with around 191,800 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 4,562,410 confirmed cases and 76,270 deaths, while Brazil reported over 4,238,440 COVID-19 cases with 129,520 deaths. In total, there were at least 28,200,030 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 910,130 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Materials shares climbed 1.4% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Teck Resources Limited (NYSE:TECK), up 10%, and Forterra, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRTA), up 17%.

In trading on Friday, information technology shares fell 1.2%.

Top Headline

Kroger Co (NYSE:RH) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.

Kroger reported quarterly earnings of $0.73 per share, which exceeded analyst expectations of $0.55 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $30.49 billion, which also surpassed estimates of $29.95 billion.

The company raised its adjusted free cash flow guidance from $1.6 billion-$1.8 billion to $2.5 billion-$2.7 billion, and also announced a $1 billion buyback of its common stock. Kroger also said it expects FY20 adjusted earnings of $3.20 to $3.30 per share.

Equities Trading UP

Biofrontera AG (NASDAQ:BFRA) shares shot up 17% to $8.60 after the company reported a mutual agreement with Wilhelm KT Zours and Deutsche Balaton on key elements of mediation deal.

Shares of Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) got a boost, shooting 11% to $28.08 after reporting upbeat results for its second quarter.

A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRK) shares were also up, gaining 25% to $32.61 after the company swung to a profit during the fourth quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:STSA) shares tumbled 14% to $4.8350 after various analysts downgraded the stock. Satsuma Pharmaceuticals shares tumbled 76% on Thursday after reporting topline results from EMERGE Phase 3 trial of STS101 for acute treatment of migraine.

Shares of Evofem Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVFM) were down 23% to $2.1006 after the company's CEO sold 122,500 shares at an average price of $3.26.

Amyris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRS) was down, falling 28% to $2.26 after LAVVAN filed an $881 million lawsuit against the company for patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.2% to $37.37, while gold traded down 0.7% to $1,949.90.

Silver traded down 1.3% Friday to $26.95, while copper rose 1.4% to $3.0395.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.13%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.8%, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 0.01%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 declined 0.05%, French CAC 40 rose 0.2% and London's FTSE 100 rose 0.48%.

The U.K. economy expanded by 6.6%, while industrial production rose 5.2% in July. Spanish consumer prices declined for the fifth consecutive month, falling 0.5% year-over-year in August.

Economics

Annual inflation rate rose to 1.3% in August versus 1% in July.

The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 1 to 180 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.

The U.S. budget deficit came in at $200 billion for August, versus analysts' expectations for a $245 billion deficit.