Commenting on Eli Lilly’s antibody treatment being halted and today’s trading, Gorilla Trades strategist Ken Berman said:
Q3 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Eli Lilly's Antibody Treatment Halted
The major indices are mixed and flat at midday following a choppy and nervous morning session on Wall Street. The financial sector was in focus with regards to earrings for the second day in a row this morning and today’s reports were much weaker than yesterday’s ones. Bank of America (BAC, -4.1%) missed on its top line, while Wells Fargo (WFC, -5.0%) reported bearish earnings, with only Goldman Sachs (GS, +0.3%) posting reassuring numbers. We also got another worrisome COVID-related report, as similarly to Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ, -0.1%) vaccine trial, the clinical trials of Eli Lilly's (LLY, -0.3%) antibody treatment were halted as well, due to safety concerns, which put pressure on the hardest-hit industries in early trading.
Despite the gloomy headlines and the still large number of new infections, the large-cap benchmarks continue to trade near their recent one-month highs and just a tad below their recovery highs. In economic news, the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the core PPI both came in at 0.4%, well above the consensus estimates, easing the fears of deflation and a slowing economic recovery. The worse-than-expected Eurozone industrial production highlighted the overnight session, but global risk assets remained stable following yesterday's broad selloff.
Market Wrap
Dow: 28,646, - 34 or 0.1%
S&P 500: 3,511 - 1 or 0.03%
Nasdaq: 11,868, + 4 or 0.04%
Russell 2000: 1,639, + 3 or 0.2%
Market breadth has been in line with the performance of the major indices this morning, with advancing issues outnumbering decliners by a less than 3-to-2 ratio on the NYSE at midday. Only 11 stocks hit new 52-week lows on the NYSE and the Nasdaq, while 130 stocks hit new 52-week highs. The major indices have been hovering around their daily VWAPs (Volume-Weighted Average Price) for throughout the morning session, pointing to a mixed and choppy afternoon intraday. Yesterday's trends reversed at the level of the key sectors, as cyclical issues bounced back, with the exception of financials, while consumer-related and tech stocks pulled back, meaning that directionless trading could continue. Stay tuned!
