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Markets End Mixed Having Digested Remdesiv Failure, Jobs Claims & Home Sales Reports

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.

Thursday’s markets ended mixed and seemingly confused as it had a number of significant news items and economic points to digest in addition to the fact that the COVID-19 situation continues to persist. We now have more than 2,682,225 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world & more than 187,330 worldwide deaths while the US has 877,489 confirmed cases with 49,605 deaths and we still do not have a reliable treatment or vaccine. The somewhat negative and alarming reports surfaced today that the WHO accidentally posted a summary of study results finding that a leading experimental coronavirus treatment, Gilead’s remdesiv, did not help a group of COVID-19 patients with severe cases. However, Gilead (GILD) ($77.78/share, -4.34%) stated that the summary posted on WHO’s site “included inappropriate characterizations of the study” and that the data “suggest a potential benefit for remdesivir, particularly among patients treated early in disease.” Nonetheless, it caused confusion around the subject and the markets drifted. We also received the initial claims report for the week ending April 18 which confirmed a decline by 810k to 4.427M, while continuing claims for the week ending April 11 rose to a record to 15.976M. We also learned that new home sales declined by  15.4% month/month in March and on a year/year basis it was down by 9.5%. At the end of the day, the S&P 500 closed down by -.05% while the Dow added +.17%, the Nasdaq lost -.01% & the Russell 2000 added a respectable +1.04%. The US treasuries were mixed as the 2-yr US treasury yield rose by 1 basis point to .22% & the 10-yr yield fell one basis point to end at .61%. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by +.1% to end at 100.50. 

The popular FAANG stocks ended mixed as follows: Facebook (FB) closed at $185.13/share, up by +1.56%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,399.45/share, up by +1.52%,  Apple (AAPL) closed at $275.03/share dropping by -.39%, Netflix (NFLX) increased by +1.25% closing $426.70/share, & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,276.31/share up by +1.04%. 

Oil prices rebounded again today while the energy sector lead all sectors with a +3% as WTI crude futures ended AT $16.80/bbl UP +3. A few of the major energy producers rallied as follows: Chevron (CVX) closed at $86.80/share up +2.79%, Exxon (XOM) closed at $43.45/share up +3.13% & Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) closed at $13.87/share up +6.53%. 

Gold prices ended at higher again today at $1,747/oz (+26) while silver prices closed at $15.37/oz (+.26). North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) jumped +2.92% to end the day at $2.47/share.

MOVERS TODAY

Shares of plant-based meat company Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) flew higher again today up by +12.8% and closed at $99.78/share after recent reports confirming that they were moving into China with the aid of Starbucks (SBUX).

Shares of INVO Bioscience (INVO) closed higher again today up +10.50%. This week is National Infertility Awareness week and Vios Fertility Institute of Chicago showcased INVO Bioscience’s INVOCELL, an infertility treatment that uses the woman’s body to naturally incubate the eggs, sperm & early embryo development in their interview on WTMJTV Milwakee’s show The Morning Blend that you may watch here. INVO recently announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019, which was highlighted by a 199% increase in their topline revenues in 2019. Learn more

Shares of Immunomedics, Inc. (IMMU) rose +19.05% today closing at $26.18/share after hitting a new 52-wk high of $29.67/share in intraday trading. IMMU announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Trodelvy™ (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have received at least two prior therapies for metastatic disease. Trodelvy is the first ADC approved by the FDA specifically for relapsed or refractory metastatic TNBC and is also the first FDA-approved anti-Trop-2 ADC.

LATE IN THE DAY

The House has approved the $484B measure which offers more funds for the Paycheck Protection Program adding $320B to revive the program, which offers loans to small businesses, after being exhausted last week.

TOMORROW

Tomorrow’s significant economic data report schedule will include the following:

  • Durable Goods Orders for March
  • The revised University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for April

Economic Reports

  • On Monday, we did receive any significant economic reports.
  • On Tuesday, we received the existing home sales report which confirmed a drop by -8.5% month/month in March while total sales increased by +.8% year-over-year.
  • On Wednesday, a couple of economic reports surfaced today. The FHFA Housing Price Index for April confirmed a move higher by +.7% & the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index confirmed a drop by -.3%.
  • On Thursday, we received the initial claims report for the week ending April 18 which confirmed a decline by 810k to 4.427M, while continuing claims for the week ending April 11 rose a record to 15.976M. We also learned that new home sales declined by  15.4% month/month in March and on a year/year basis it was down by 9.5%

Investing & Inspiration

 

 

I believe the returns on investment in the poor are just as exciting as successes achieved in the business arena, and they are even more meaningful!” -Bill Gates

“Every portfolio benefits from bonds; they provide a cushion when the stock market hits a rough patch. But avoiding stocks completely could mean your investment won’t grow any faster than the rate of inflation.” – Suze Orman

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility, and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.” – John F. Kennedy

“If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.
-George Bernard Shaw

“The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.
I get up at 4:30 in the morning, seven days a week, no matter where I am in the world. I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately. What I’ve really learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership.” Bob Iger, Ceo of Disney

“There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.”-Ed Seykota

“Let this scenario play out on its own, in its own fashion. As you watch it unfold, you will soon be grateful that you choose the peaceful path. Remember — those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“As long as you enjoy investing, you’ll be willing to do the homework and stay in the game.” -Jim Cramer

“I rarely think the market is right. I believe non-dividend stocks aren’t much more than baseball cards. They are worth what you can convince someone to pay for it.” -Mark Cuban

Michael Marcus taught me one other thing that is absolutely critical: You have to be willing to make mistakes regularly; there is nothing wrong with it. Michael taught me about making your best judgment, being wrong, making your next best judgment, being wrong, making your third best judgment, and then doubling your money.” -Bruce Kovner

“The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” -Jawaharlal Nehru

“The only true test of whether a stock is “cheap” or “high” is not its current price in relation to some former price, no matter how accustomed we may have become to that former price, but whether the company’s fundamentals are significantly more or less favorable than the current financial-community appraisal of that stock.” -Philip Fisher

“I learned to avoid trying to catch up or double up to recoup losses. I also learned that a certain amount of loss will affect your judgment, so you have to put some time between that loss and the next trade.” -Richard Dennis

“The four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it’s different.” -Sir John Templeton

“Money doesn’t make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Tomorrow

Tomorrow’s significant economic data report schedule will include the following:

    • Durable Goods Orders for March
    • The revised University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for April

Videos

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