Benzinga | Sep 29, 2020 12:01PM EDT

Mid-Day Market Update: Dow Tumbles Over 200 Points; Aptorum Group Shares Jump

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.83% to 27356.07 while the NASDAQ fell 0.31% to 11,083.06. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.61% to 3,331.18.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 7,150,820 cases with around 205,100 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 6,145,290 confirmed cases and 96,310 deaths, while Brazil reported over 4,745,460 COVID-19 cases with 142,050 deaths. In total, there were at least 33,417,380 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,002,860 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares rose 0.1% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Sohu.com Limited (NASDAQ:SOHU), up 8%, and ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ZI), up 8%.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares dipped 3.5%.

Top Headline

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.

McCormick reported quarterly earnings of $1.53 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.52 per share. The company reported sales of $1.43 billion, surpassing expectations of $1.39 billion.

McCormick said it expects FY20 adjusted EPS of $5.64 to $5.72 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $5.76 per share. The company also announced a 2-for-1 stock split.



Equities Trading UP

U.S. Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:USEG) shares shot up 182% to $12.12 after the company announced the acquisition of non-operated producing properties in New Mexico.

Shares of Flux Power Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLUX) got a boost, shooting 25% to $6.74 after the company reported Q4 results.

Aptorum Group Limited (NYSE:APM) shares were also up, gaining 650% to $9.15 after the company announced the launch of an infectious disease liquid biopsy diagnostics subsidiary and its newly established exclusive in-licensing arrangements with Accelerate Technologies.



Equities Trading DOWN

Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:HYMC) shares tumbled 10% to $10.02 after reporting a proposed underwritten public offering of 7.22 million units of common stock and warrants.

Shares of Myovant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:MYOV) were down 22% to $16.48 after the company announced that its Relugolix did not achieve a statistical superiority for castration resistance-free survival compared to Leuprolide acetate in men with metastatic disease through 48 weeks.

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) was down, falling 12% to $16.85 after the company reported Q4 earnings.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 4.3% to $38.85, while gold traded up 0.8% to $1,896.60.

Silver traded up 2.5% Tuesday to $24.190 while copper fell 0.4% to $2.9790.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.43%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.87%, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.37%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 fell 0.35%, French CAC 40 fell 0.15% and London's FTSE 100 dropped 0.4%.

Economics

The US trade deficit on goods increased to $82.94 billion in August versus a revised $80.11 billion in the earlier month.

U.S. wholesale inventories rose 0.5% in August.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index increased 3.9% year-over-year in July versus a 3.5% rise in the prior month.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index climbed to 101.80 in September versus prior reading of 84.80.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal Quarles will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal Quarles will speak at 3:00 p.m. ET.