Mid-day market update: Nu Skin jumps on strong sales guidance; Document Security Systems shares plunge

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.84% to 25950.28 while the NASDAQ rose 0.70% to 10226.09. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.78% to 3,140.11.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 2,686,580 cases with around 128,060 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 1,448,750 COVID-19 cases with 60,630 deaths, while Russia reported a total of at least 660,230 confirmed cases and 9,660 deaths. In total, there were at least 10,716,060 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 516,720 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Material shares climbed 1.7% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Norbord Inc. OSB 9.39%, up 8%, and The Chemours Company CC 8.91%, up 9%.

In trading on Thursday, real estate shares fell 0.2%.

Top Headline

The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs during June, versus a revised 2.7 million gain in May and exceeding market expectations of 3 million. The unemployment rate also declined to 11.1% in June, versus market estimates of 12.3%.

Equities Trading UP

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. NUS 24.26% shares shot up 25% to $48.22 after the company raised preliminary Q2 sales guidance above estimates. Jefferies upgraded Nu Skin from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $42 to $50.

Shares of GEE Group, Inc. JOB 328.57% got a boost, shooting 326% to $2.19 after the company announced it has eliminated over $47 million in debt and mezzanine financing. Alliance Global Partners upgraded GEE Group from Neutral to Buy and announced a $2.5 price target.

Francesca's Holdings Corporation FRAN 68.59% shares were also up, gaining 83% to $6.35 after the company announced a partnership with Poq to develop the company’s first mobile application.

Equities Trading DOWN

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. AEZS 27.78% shares tumbled 29% to $0.382 after the company priced its 26.66 million unit offering at $0.45 per unit.

Shares of Document Security Systems, Inc. DSS 24.35% were down 24% to $6.16 after the company announced a common stock offering of 1.02 million shares at $6.25 per share.

Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp. ZOM 23.66% was down, falling 23% to $0.1729 after the company reported a $30 million public offering.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.1% to $39.77, while gold traded up 0.5% to $1,788.20.

Silver traded up 0.7% Thursday to $18.345, while copper fell 0.1% to $2.7335.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.7%, the Spanish Ibex Index surged 3.5%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 2.7%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 climbed 2.5%, French CAC 40 climbed 2.2% and UK shares rose 0.93%.

Economics

The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs during June, versus a revised 2.7 million gain in May and exceeding market expectations of 3 million. The unemployment rate also declined to 11.1% in June, versus market estimates of 12.3%.

The US trade deficit increased to $54.6 billion in May versus a revised $49.8 billion in April. Analysts projected a gap of $53 billion.

U.S. initial jobless claims eased to 1.427 million in the week ended June 27. However, analysts projected a reading of 1.355 million..

U.S. factory orders climbed 8.0% in May, versus a record 13.5% decline in April.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Data on money supply for the latest week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.