U.S. markets were again soft today, as a weak jobs report and some mediocre economic news at home and from China created a bad start to Q2 2015.
The ADP employment report for March showed an increase of 189,000 private payroll jobs — far lower than the 225,000 expected by the Street, prompting worries about the monthly Labor Department report out this Friday. Meanwhile, China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.1 from 49.9 in February, but was still seen as insufficient for American economic growth.
All told, broader indices dropped fractionally — the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down 0.44%, 0.42% and 0.4%, respectively. Among Wednesday’s best stocks were Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) and Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ:DYAX).
Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (ABX)
ABX stock blasted more than 9% higher today, as gold stocks were generally up across the board while traders awaited Friday’s jobs report. On the Comex, June gold futures rose 1.5% to push just above $1,200 an ounce. By contrast (and helping gold prices out), the dollar was a bit weaker. The ADP private jobs data was creating angst among traders that the labor market could be getting worse instead of better.
Several other gold stocks, such as Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) and Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) were also up nicely on the day.
Nabors Industries Ltd (NBR)
NBR stock was up over 3% after Wells Fargo & Co on Tuesday raised its rating to “outperform” from “market perform.” This came one day after Deutsche Bank reiterated its buy rating on NBR stock, with a $20 price target. Nabors also has had its rating reiterated by analysts at Goldman Sachs recently.
NBR endured a long decline from $30 to $10 from July 2014 to February 2015, but has since seen a bounce as energy prices recovered.
Dyax Corp. (DYAX)
DYAX stock soared over 53% today after some very positive results were reported late Tuesday, for DX-2930, a drug that works on angioedema. A dosage of 300 milligrams of DX-2930 was reported to eliminate all attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE). Interestingly, giving patients 400 milligrams of the same drug diminished attacks by only 88%.
Boosting DYAX stock was analyst Michael Yee of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, who said that the DYAX drug looks to be “best-in-class HAE treatment.”
Investors should keep in mind that the DYAX drug was only tested on a small sample of 37 people with HAE disorder, and that more testing is required before full approval can be gained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, DYAX executives are saying they believe DX-2930 could receive fast-track designation for quicker approval.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
