Benzinga | Nov 5, 2020 10:24AM EST

Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; General Motors Profit Tops Estimates

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 2.32% to 28,493.89 while the NASDAQ rose 2.57% to 11,888.71. The S&P also rose, gaining 2.47% to 3,528.47.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 9,488,270 cases with around 233,730 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 8,364,080 confirmed cases and 124,310 deaths, while Brazil reported over 5,590,020 COVID-19 cases with 161,100 deaths. In total, there were at least 48,175,550 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,226,440 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Materials shares climbed 4.1% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM), up 13%, and Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK), up 13%.

In trading on Thursday, real estate shares rose by just 1.1%.

Top Headline

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.

General Motors reported quarterly earnings of $2.83 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $1.38 per share. The company posted sales of $35.50 billion, versus expectations of $35.51 billion.





Equities Trading UP

Altus Midstream Company (NASDAQ:ALTM) shares shot up 77% to $17.75 after the company reported Q3 earnings. The company also announced a $1.50 per share dividend beginning in March 2021.

Shares of Kaixin Auto Holdings (NASDAQ:KXIN) got a boost, shooting 42% to $3.945 after the company announced it entered into a binding term sheet and made changes to senior management.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) shares were also up, gaining 40% to $28.40 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results. The company issued strong sales guidance.



Equities Trading DOWN

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) shares tumbled 20% to $13.09 after the company issued weak guidance for the fourth quarter.

Shares of Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVS) were down 17% to $4.70 after the company reported downbeat Q3 sales.

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) was down, falling 17% to $48.53 after the company said it is adjusting its submission timing from the second half of 2021 to late 2022 for its LentiGlobin gene therapy for sickle cell disease. The decision comes after the FDA's feedback regarding BLA submission for LentiGlobin, alongside COVID-19 related shifts and contract manufacturing organization COVID-19 impacts, the company said. The company also reported third-quarter results.



Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.2% to $39.08, while gold traded up 1.1% to $1,917.80.

Silver traded up 2.8% Thursday to $24.565 while copper fell 0.5% to $3.0905.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.6%, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index climbed 1.8%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 gained 1.7%, French CAC 40 rose 1.2% and London's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%.

Eurozone's Producer Price Index rose 0.3% month-over-month for October but declined 2.4% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the Composite and Services PMI for the region exceeded consensus.

Economics



US initial jobless claims fell to 751,000 in the week ended October 31, from revised level of 758,000 in the previous week.

Labor productivity increased by an annualized 4.9% in the third quarter, while unit labor costs declined 8.9%.

The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 8-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.