The S&P started the week on an up note as concerns over a second wave of virus infections were offset by enthusiasm about the easing of state lockdowns. Outside of the domestic reopening narrative, ongoing worries over worsening relations between the U.S. and China were competing with the PBoC's statement it will use "more powerful" policies to support the Chinese economy.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., no economic data of note was reported.
Meanwhile, the latest data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 4.14M confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 283,526 deaths due to the disease. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo reported 161 coronavirus deaths in the state yesterday versus 207 deaths the day before. In his daily remarks, Cuomo also unveiled the "NY FORWARD" plan to reopen the state.
TOP NEWS: Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet over the weekend that his company is filing a lawsuit against California's Alameda County immediately around the core Fremont factory remaining shut given the current lockdown and health regulations due to COVID-19. Musk went on to say "this is the final straw" and that the automaker will now move its headquarters and future programs to Texas or Nevada.
AMC Entertainment (AMC) shares surged 29.8% following a report from The Daily Mail of the U.K. that Amazon (AMZN) may be interested in acquiring the theater chain. However, Deadline's Jill Goldsmith said her sources are telling her "that there are no talks" between the two companies regarding such a takeover.
Quidel (QDEL) announced that it has received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA to market its rapid point-of-care test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in nasal or nasopharyngeal specimens.
Shares of Under Armour (UAA) fell 9.4% after the athletic wear maker reported worse than expected sales and losses for the first quarter and said it is still unable to provide guidance with the pandemic continuing to force store closures.
Meanwhile, Twitter (TWR) announced that it is rolling out new warning messages for misleading information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was MyoKardia (MYOK), which surged 58.6% after its Phase 3 EXPLORER trial met its primary and secondary endpoints. Also higher were Cardinal Health (CAH) and AutoNation (AN), which gained a respective 6.8% and 2.9% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was SSR Mining (SSRM), which slid 5.5% after it announced a "zero-premium" merger of equals with Alacer Gold (ALIAF). Also lower was Mosaic (MOS), which fell 5.8% after Bank of America analyst Steve Byrne downgraded the stock to Underperform from Buy.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 109.33, or 0.45%, to 24,221.99, the Nasdaq gained 71.02, or 0.78%, to 9,192.34, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.52, or 0.01%, to 2,930.32.
Tesla
-8.2 (-1.00%)
AMC Entertainment
+1.225 (+29.91%)
Amazon.com
+29.28 (+1.23%)
QuidelOrtho
+50.59 (+31.91%)
Under Armour
-0.94 (-9.46%)
Under Armour
-0.9 (-10.10%)
MyoKardia
+35.88 (+58.75%)
Cardinal Health
+3.33 (+6.67%)
AutoNation
+1.13 (+2.95%)
SSR Mining
-0.97 (-5.35%)
Alacer Gold
+ (+0.00%)
Mosaic
-0.69 (-5.79%)