Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 1.6% to 31,998.77 while the NASDAQ rose 0.04% to 12,924.99. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.79% to 3,872.48.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 28,999,540 cases with around 525,030 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 11,229,390 confirmed cases and 157,850 deaths, while Brazil reported over 11,019,340 COVID-19 cases with 265,410 deaths. In total, there were at least 116,907,500 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 2,594,720 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Materials shares rose 2.3% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Kraton Corporation (NYSE:KRA), up 12%, and Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:METC), up 9%.
In trading on Monday, information technology shares fell 0.3%.
Top Headline
After a marathon overnight session and lots of political maneuvering, the U.S. Senate on Saturday passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan in a party-line vote.
The bill is expected to be passed by the House and signed by Biden before unemployment benefits expire on March 14. The bill featured a measure to more than double the minimum wage to $15 per hour, which the Senate also rejected.
Equities Trading UP
Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYES) shares shot up 91% to $11.05 on continued momentum from Friday after the company reported FDA approval for its Argus 2s Rentinal Prosthesis Systems.
Shares of Anchiano Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ:ANCN) got a boost, shooting 63% to $5.44 on above average volume. The company intends to hold a special meeting in Q1 to vote on the merger with Chemomab.
Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPTT) shares were also up, gaining 27% to $3.39 after the company posted a narrower quarterly loss.
Check out these big movers of the day
Equities Trading DOWN
Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLNO) shares tumbled 44% to $1.4990 after the FDA said that it would require an additional controlled clinical trial for DCCR (diazoxide choline) in Prader-Willi Syndrome.
Shares of AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) were down 34% to $19.36 after the reported disappointing top-line data from its Phase 2 (POPLAR) trial of imsidolimab for palmoplantar pustulosis. The study failed to meet its primary endpoint of improvement on disease severity index from baseline at week 16, compared to placebo.
Luokung Technology Corp. (NASDAQ:LKCO) was down, falling 16% to $0.8425 after the company announced it received a notice from Nasdaq informing the company its shares will be suspended on March 15th due to being placed on the "Communist Chinese Military Companies" list that operates directly or indirectly in the US by the DoD.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.7% to $65.60, while gold traded down 1.1% to $1,679.10.
Silver traded down 0.2% Monday to $25.25 while copper rose 0.5% to $4.0955.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 2.08%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.79% and the German DAX 30 gained 3.28%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 rose 2.07%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.28% and Italy’s FTSE MIB surged 3.16%.
Spain's industrial production dropped 2.2% year-over-year in January, while industrial production in Germany declined 2.5%percent month-over-month for January.
Economics
US wholesale inventories increased 1.3% for January.
The Investor Movement Index for February is scheduled for release at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Check out the full economic calendar here
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