Benzinga | Sep 18, 2020 12:06PM EDT

Mid-Day Market Update: Nasdaq Turns Lower; Westport Fuel Systems Shares Surge

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.11% to 27872.20 while the NASDAQ fell 0.58% to 10,847.47. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.39% to 3,343.85.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 6,676,410 cases with around 197,650 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 5,214,670 confirmed cases and 84,370 deaths, while Brazil reported over 4,455,380 COVID-19 cases with 134,930 deaths. In total, there were at least 30,205,220 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 946,670 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Financial shares climbed 0.6% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB), up 9%, and Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN), up 8%.

In trading on Friday, real estate shares tumbled 1.2%.

Top Headline

US consumer sentiment increase in September, with the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index climbing to 78.9 versus 74.1 in August.

Economists were expecting a reading of 75.9 for September.



Equities Trading UP

Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) shares shot up 35% to $9.54 following news of two insiders buying stock Thursday even for a total of about 225,000 shares.

Shares of Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) got a boost, shooting 19% to $17.25 after Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating and raised its price target from $21 to $23.

Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:WPRT) shares were also up, gaining 34% to $2.175 after the company announced its Weichai Westport joint venture received certification from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China for its 12-liter engine equipped with the HPDI 2.0 fuel system.

Equities Trading DOWN

BioVie Inc. (NASDAQ:BIVI) shares tumbled 19% to $10.15 after the company reported the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 1,565,200 shares at $10.00 per share.

Shares of Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ:ADMP) were down 11% to $0.7046 after the company announced pricing of offering of common stock at $0.62 per share.

IsoRay, Inc. (NYSE:ISR) was down, falling 19% to $0.6316. IsoRay reported a loss for the fourth quarter, while sales missed expectations.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $41.27, while gold traded up 0.6% to $1,962.00.

Silver traded up 0.2% Friday to $27.150 while copper rose 0.1% to $3.0725.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.5%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 2.1%, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dropped 1%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 declined 0.3%, French CAC 40 dropped 1.1% and London's FTSE 100 fell 0.4%.

Retail sales in the UK climbed for the fourth consecutive month, rising 0.8% in August. German producer prices fell for the seventh straight month, declining 1.2% year-over-year in August.

Economics

The current account deficit increased by 52.9% to $170.5 billion during the second quarter.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index climbed to 78.9 in September versus 74.1 in August.

The index of leading economic indicators increased 1.2% for August, versus analysts' estimates for a 1.3% rise.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.