(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - N.America)
US stocks remained firm at midsession on Monday after a positive tone on growth from Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen and buoyant oil prices, while pharma stocks were weighed down after a flurry of clinical trial results.
Yellen told an audience in Philadelphia that markets should not overreact to last Friday's disappointing jobs report. While rate watchers are edging towards prospects for a rate hike in September rather than June, Yellen insisted that the Fed needs to raise rates, but she stepped back from putting a time frame.
She said the Fed funds rate probably needs to rise gradually over time, and that should come before all of the central bank's economic goals have been fully reached, she said.
The market bellwether S & P 500 was up 0.4% at 2,107, but off its best of the day following the slightly hawkish sentiment from Yellen.
The S & P Midcap 400 was up 0.6% at 1,509, while the S & P Smallcap 600 gained 0.9% to 715 and the wider small-cap Russell 2000 was up 0.9% as well at 1,174.
The US oil benchmark WTI was up 1.5% at $49.37.
But for some pharma stocks it was a rough ride.
Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRTX) was the biggest faller on the Russell 2000 index of small-caps, dropping by 43% to $10.46 after updating on its current clinical trials.
Mirati was also downgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Group from a 'buy' rating to a 'hold' rating in a note issued to investors on Monday. They presently have a $17.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $27.00. Jefferies Group's target price would indicate a potential downside of 7.36% from the stock's previous close.
But that decline was still behind that of ProNAi Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNAI) which recorded a 65% loss to $2.24, after reporting interim data from its Wolverine Phase 2 Trial of PNT2258.
Meanwhile, Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ:ADMP) shares were down 53.7% to $4.13 after receiving a Complete Response Letter from the US FDA. The regulator said that in order to support approval of the product, the Company must expand its human factors study (patient usability) and reliability study (product stress testing), both of which were part of the final PFS NDA. The Company believes that it can finalize the study protocols with the FDA and complete the additional testing within a relatively short period of time at an immaterial cost, and submit the data back to the FDA sometime in the second half of 2016.
Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL) shares shed 42.7% to $6.78 after announcing topline results of its second Phase 3 clinical trial of Dextenza for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis.
On the flipside, Vascular Biogenics Ltd (NASDAQ:VBLT) shares rocketed by 84% to $7.30 after the company presented positive phase 1/2 trial results for its ovarian cancer treatment at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.
The results for the VB-111 drug, which treats patients with recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, were statistically significant, with a median overall survival of 810 days in the drug dose arm compared with 172 days in the low-dose arm, the company said. It also said there was a doubling in the response rate for the drug compared with Genentech's Avastin.
Open
As expected, stocks have opened higher, with investors preferring to take the plunge rather than waiting until after Janet Yellen's speech this evening.
Yellen, the chair of the US central bank, is expected to give her reaction to Friday's underwhelming May jobs report, which most observers believe has all but extinguished the prospect of an interest rate rise in June.
That has had an adverse impact on the US dollar, as a low interest rate environment will deter foreign cash holders from parking their money overnight in the US, but it has given a lift to the oil price, which is quoted in dollars.
The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, was up 2.3% while the European counterpart was 2.1% higher.
The S & P 500, which measures the performance of blue-chips, was up nine points at 2,108, after a little more than 30 minutes' trading.
Supermarket chain was doing its bit to bolster the index, rising 0.3% to $71.10, after broker Jefferies upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and bumped up the target price to $82 from $60.
Mid-caps, as measured by the S & P 400, were also going well, with the index 0.5%, or eight points, higher at 1,508.
The small caps-focused Russell 2,000 was five points (0.4%) to the good at 1,169.
Yingli Green EnergyHoldingCo Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:YGE) was the best performer on the New York Stock Exchange. The Chinese solar panel maker reached a zenith of $5.08 in early deals before slipping back to $4.85, up $1.17 on the day.
On Nasdaq, the hot stock was Vascular Biogenics Ltd (NASDAQ:VBLT), up 58% at $6.30.
The Israeli biotech firm shot up after it said a phase I/II trial of V/B-111, its candidate for the treatment of patients with recurrent platinum resistant ovarian cancer demonstrated a substantial increase in survival prospects.
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