The major averages are mixed at midday, with the Nasdaq higher and the S&P and Dow lower. Concern over the surge in virus cases and the return of increasingly stringent restrictions, as typified by New York City closing down in-person schooling, is fueling some risk aversion. An unexpected increase in initial jobless claims following four weekly declines is also weighing a bit on sentiment.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims gained 31,000 to 742,000 in the week ended November 14. The Philly Fed index dropped 6 points to 26.3 in November. Existing home sales rose another 4.3% to a 6.85M rate in October. The index of leading indicators rose 0.7% in October to 108.2.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) were fractionally lower near noon after the company reported better than expected third quarter results but provided weaker than expected data center guidance for the fourth quarter. Of note, Nvidia said that it expects its gaming segment to be up sequentially in Q4, despite it being a seasonally down quarter.
Also on the earnings front, L Brands (LB) shares jumped 15% after the company reported better than expected Q3 earnings and revenue, with comparable store sales for the quarter rising 28% year-over-year. Looking ahead, L Brands said it has a "cautious" view of Q4, therefore it did not provide guidance. The company added that it believes it is at the beginning of a "very significant" turnaround.
In COVID-19 news, BioNTech (BNTX) CEO Ugur Sahin told CNN that the company and its partner Pfizer (PFE) will file paperwork for the emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine with the Food and Drug Administration tomorrow. Sahin expects the vaccine's approval process to be completed and distribution to begin before the end of 2020. "Depending on how fast this is really accomplished, we might get an authorization, or conditional approval already in 2020 which might help us start distribution of the first vaccine batches already in 2020," Sahin added.
In M&A news, Nasdaq (NDAQ) shares are up 2% near noon after the company agreed to acquire Verafin, an "industry pioneer" in anti-financial crime management solutions, for $2.75B in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), which rose 24% after the company secured a win over Teva (TEVA) in Teva's challenge of its Korlym Label patent. Also higher were Nuance (NUAN) and Sonos (SONO), which gained a respective 17% and 27% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Ebang (EBON), which declined 26% after it priced its follow-on public offering of 4M units at $5.25 per unit. Also lower was GoPro (GPRO), which fell 11% after announcing a $100M convertible senior notes offering.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 105.96, or 0.36%, to 29,332.46, the Nasdaq was up 55.45, or 0.47%, to 11,857.06, and the S&P 500 was down 3.94, or 0.11%, to 3,563.85.
Nvidia
-2.99 (-0.56%)
L Brands
+4.91 (+14.56%)
BioNTech
+2.57 (+2.84%)
Pfizer
-0.37 (-1.02%)
Nasdaq
+3.14 (+2.56%)
Corcept Therapeutics
+4.53 (+24.24%)
Teva
-0.135 (-1.42%)
Nuance
+5.88 (+17.29%)
Sonos
+4.62 (+27.05%)
Ebang
-1.905 (-26.35%)
GoPro
-0.895 (-11.19%)