Stocks were rallying in early trading following the latest news of a promising coronavirus vaccine test. Moderna (MRNA) reported last night that its experimental vaccine produced the desired immunity for all 45 people in an early trial and a new study will begin later this month with around 30,000 adults in the U.S. Major markets in Europe saw gains, while Japan's Nikkei rose as well, but China's CSI 300 index was a global stock laggard following news of President Trump signing an executive order ending Hong Kong's special status. U.S. stocks weakened in the late morning amid reports that China was planning to retaliate following the signing of the "Hong Kong Autonomy Act."
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Empire State manufacturing index increased 17.4 points to 17.2 in June, which was stronger than forecast. Import and export prices each rose 1.4% in June, which was hotter inflation than expected. Industrial production rose 5.4% in June, lifting capacity utilization to 68.6%, both of which were above forecast.
The latest data at the state level for some U.S. virus hot spots showed Florida now has 301,810 COVID-19 cases, up more than 10,000 from yesterday, while Arizona disclosed 131,354 COVID-19 cases, up 3,257 from yesterday's report.
TOP NEWS: Goldman Sachs (GS), similar to JPMorgan (JPM) yesterday, reported better than expected results that were driven by its trading and investment banking operations. Shares saw an initial pop following the quarterly report, but have come off their early highs, with the stock up about 1% near noon.
Fellow Dow member UnitedHealth (UNH) is seeing a 2% decline in its shares following a mixed report that included an earnings beat and revenue miss. UnitedHealth CEO David Wichmann said there has been an "unprecedented" decline in healthcare services during the pandemic, adding that he expects slightly elevated levels in the second half of the year as people go back for deferred care.
In news on the search for pharmaceutical answers to COVID-19, Moderna announced that an interim analysis of open label Phase 1 study of its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine was published in the New England Journal of Medicine detailing an immune response across three dose levels in 45 healthy adults. Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff, who raised the firm's price target on Moderna to $134 from $100, believes the data demonstrate "clean safety and robust immunogenicity" of the 100 microgram mRNA-1273 dose, supporting the planned Phase 3 trial scheduled to start on July 27.
Meanwhile, Walmart (WMT) announced it will require all shoppers to wear a face covering starting Monday, July 20. "Currently about 65% of our more than 5,000 stores and clubs are located in areas where there is some form of government mandate on face coverings," the COOs of Walmart U.S. and Sam's Club said in a post to the company's blog.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was ForeScout (FSCT), which rose 15% after it reached an amended merger deal with Advent International for $29 per share.
Also higher was Organogenesis (ORGO), which gained 11% after it provided upbeat Q2 revenue guidance.
Among the notable losers was Zynex (ZYXI), which slid 13% after a 2.5M share block trade priced at $22.00 per share. Also lower was BNY Mellon (BK), which fell 7% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 76.30, or 0.29%, to 26,718.89, the Nasdaq was down 54.01, or 0.51%, to 10,434.57, and the S&P 500 was up 6.12, or 0.19%, to 3,203.64.
Goldman Sachs
+3.01 (+1.40%)
UnitedHealth
-5 (-1.62%)
Moderna
+3.63 (+4.84%)
Walmart
+0.46 (+0.35%)
ForeScout
+3.91 (+15.66%)
Organogenesis
+0.45 (+13.85%)
Zynex
-3.18 (-12.14%)
BNY Mellon
-2.71 (-6.95%)