Benzinga | Jul 20, 2021 02:56PM EDT

Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Jumps Over 600 Points; NeuroMetrix Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 1.83% to 34,583.56 while the NASDAQ rose 1.74% to 14,523.41. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.70% to 4,330.82.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 34,133,830 cases with around 609,260 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,174,320 cases and 414,480 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,391,840 COVID-19 cases with 542,750 deaths. In total, there were at least 191,010,440 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,098,560 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Industrials shares climbed 2.7% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Williams Industrial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:WLMS), up 12%, and Orbital Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:OEG), up 11%.

In trading on Tuesday, consumer staples shares rose by just 0.1%.

Top Headline

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed views.

Phillip Morris reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $1.55 per share. The company's revenue came in at $7.59 billion, versus expectations of $7.67 billion.

Phillip Morris said it now expects FY21 adjusted EPS of $5.79 to $5.89.



Equities Trading UP

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shares shot up 15% to $249.34 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results. The company also raised its FY21 EPS and sales guidance.

Shares of NeuroMetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NURO) got a boost, shooting 152% to $8.23. NeuroMetrix's Quell device received Breakthrough Designation from the FDA to treat fibromyalgia symptoms in adults.

Immunome, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMNM) shares were also up, gaining 17% to $19.50 after the company reported the pre-clinical testing results of its antibody cocktail. Immunome announced that its three-antibody cocktail, IMM-BCP-01, demonstrated neutralizing activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. The company also said that IMM-BCP-01 showed in-vitro activity via non-neutralizing mechanisms.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares tumbled 74% to $2.00 after the company announced it received an FDA letter regarding the NDA for tenapanor indicating deficiencies that preclude discussion of labeling and post-marketing requirements/commitments at this time. Piper Sandler and Wedbush downgraded the stock to Neutral.

Shares of Intrusion Inc. (NASDAQ:INTZ) were down 51% to $4.1701 after the company said CEO Jack B. Blount has left the company. The company also reported weak preliminary sales for the second quarter.

Datasea Inc. (NASDAQ:DTSS) was down, falling 37% to $2.78 after the company priced 2.437 million shares at $3.48 per share.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.7% to $67.55, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,810.50.

Silver traded down 0.6% Tuesday to $25.00 while copper rose 1.5% to $4.2660.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.52%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.68% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.55%. Meanwhile, the London's FTSE 100 rose 0.54%, French CAC 40 surged 0.81% and Italy's FTSE MIB gained 0.59%.

German producer prices increased 8.5% year-over-year in June compared to a 7.2% rise in the prior month. The Eurozone recorded a current account surplus of EUR 4.3 billion in May versus a EUR 0.7 billion deficit in the year-ago month.

Economics

US housing starts surged 6.3% to an annual rate of 1.643 million in June, while building permits fell 5.1% to an annual rate of 1.598 million.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index jumped 14.5% year-over-year during the first two weeks of July.

Check out the full economic calendar here