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 The global tally for confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 climbed above 19 million on Friday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, and the death toll rose to 715,163. At least 11.5 million people have recovered. The U.S. case tally climbed to 4.88 million and the death toll rose above 160,000, after the U.S. added another 1,000 deaths overnight and counted another 57,000 new cases. Brazil is second to the U.S. with 2.9 million cases and 98,493 deaths. India is third measured by cases that rose above 2.0 million on Thursday, followed by Russia with 875,378 and South Africa with 538,184. Mexico has 462,690 cases and 50,517 deaths, the third highest in the world. The U.K. has 309,796 cases and 46,498 fatalities, the highest in Europe and fourth highest in the world. China, where the illness was first reported late last year, has 88,460 cases, and 4,680 fatalities.|
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Stocks fell as U.S-China tensions and ongoing coronavirus stimulus negotiations dampened the market's enthusiasm over a strong jobs report.
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Shares of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC slumped 12% Friday, after the company swung to a loss in the second quarter, hurt by the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.K. company is the only one to have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a cannabis-based drug, Epidiolex, a treatment for severe forms of childhood epilepsy. The company posted a loss of $8.8 million, or 2 cents a share, for the quarter, after income of $79.7 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $121.3 million from $72.0 million. "We were pleased with the strength of U.S. Epidiolex sales in the second quarter in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic," Chief Executive Justin Gover said in a statement. Epidiolex sales came to $117.7 million. "Further, the recent approval and imminent launch of Epidiolex for the treatment of seizures associated with TSC provides a meaningful new opportunity to accelerate momentum through the second half of 2020 and beyond," he said. Leerink analyst Marc Goodman said the numbers were "solid" coming in the midst of the pandemic, and in line with management's guidance from its first-quarter conference call. "... we think GW executed through the volatility well, and thus we are surprised that the stock is down ~10% in the after market," he wrote in a Thursday note to clients. Leerink rates the stock as outperform with a $190 stock price target. Shares have gained 11% in the year to date, as the S&P 500 has gained 3.6%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Jobs Report: Economy Adds 1.8 Million Jobs In July As Coronavirus Fails To Stall Recovery; Dow Jones Futures Pare Losses Investor's Business DailyA 'golden cross' has formed in the Dow Jones Industrial Average MarketWatchStock futures are flat in overnight trading with all eyes on July jobs report MSN MoneyWall Street opens lower on Sino-U.S. tensions, slowing jobs growth ReutersNew docum
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 The coronavirus shutdown has resulted in a resurgence of day trading, particularly on zero-commission apps. But could the entry of large numbers of speculative day traders create a bubble in stocks?
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A Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Air India Express crash landed at Kozhikode airport in Kerala state in Southern India before breaking in two, AFP reported Friday, citing local officials and media reports. A deputy from the state told the news agency that at least the pilot had died in the crash. "The flight was coming from Dubai. It had over 185 passengers. Rescue operations are on but the rains are making it difficult," an emergency services official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. Boeing shares were last down 1.2%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Popular mobile app TikTok said in a Friday statement that it was "shocked" by the Trump Administration's executive order that will ban U.S. companies from dealing with the owner of TikTok starting in 45 days. The Administration issued a separate order Thursday banning transactions with WeChat, which is owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd. While the specifics of the orders remain somewhat vague, President Donald Trump has been threatening a ban on TikTik use in the U.S., citing national security concerns. TikTok said that it has "sought to engage with the U.S. government in good faith" but that what the company "encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses." TikTok maintained that it has never shared user data with the China government and hinted at a possible legal battle ahead. "We will pursue all remedies available to us in order to ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and our users are treated fairly - if not by the Administration, then by the U.S. courts," the company said.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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The stocks making the biggest moves in premarket trading include TripAdvisor, T-Mobile US, FedEx, Uber, and more.
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The major indices closed higher for a fifth consecutive day on Thursday. However, it was a "lumpy" performance that saw the "FAAMNGs" - or FAANGs, or FANGs, depending on which tech-related mega-cap stocks you're referring to - do most of the pushing, while broad swaths of the market failed to join in.
Wall Street received a little good news in that new unemployment-benefits applications declined last week to 1.2 million, well below analyst estimates for 1.4 million, but it still marked the 20th consecutive week of 1 million or more new jobless claims.
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"The improvement in claims is a welcome relief after weeks of stalling at elevated levels, and suggests a moderation in the rate of job separations," writes Pooja Sriram, vice president, U.S. economist, at Barclays. "That said, with initial claims still above a million, there is a long way to go for labor markets to normalize to pre-COVID levels.
Meanwhile, federal stimulus negotiations remained stalled Thursday, leaving little hope that a deal will be hammered out before the weekend.
Nonetheless, Facebook (FB, 6.5%) rallied after launching Instagram Reels, a feature meant to rival controversial social app TikTok. And the rest of the "FAAMNGs" - the group of Facebook, Apple (AAPL, 3.5%), Amazon.com (AMZN, 0.6%), Microsoft (
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