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Closing Bell Movers: Ultragenyx slumps 25% on UX143 recommendation

Closing Bell Movers: Ultragenyx slumps 25% on UX143 recommendation

In the opening hour of the evening session, U.S. equity futures are little changed, with S&P 500 above 6,300, Dow Industrials up a decimal at 44,760, and Nasdaq 100 above 23,000. In commodities, WTI Crude Oil remains bid above $68 per barrel amid the ongoing Red Sea turbulence after Houthi militants attacked and sank a second ship this week. Precious metals remain subdued above $3,300 for Gold and $36.80 for Silver, though Copper remain volatile, opening the session with fresh strength above $5.50.
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Utilities, Tech, and Communication Services were the best performing sectors in the S&P 500 on Wednesday, supported by lower Treasury yields following a decent 10-year bond auction and Fed minutes foreshadowing interest rate cuts later this year. The VIX was below 16 for the first time since February, while the CME FedWatch tool expectations for 3 or more rate cuts by 2025-end rose to 35%, with the base case still at two easings starting in September.
Check out this evening's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
HIGHER AFTER EARNINGS –
Nurix Therapeutics (NRIX) up 10.2%
Bassett Furniture (BSET) up 3.0%
ALSO HIGHER –
WK Kellogg (KLG) up 54.9% after WSJ report of takeover talks by Ferrero
PTC Inc. (PTC) up 17.7% just before close on Bloomberg report of potential Autodesk (ADSK) tieup
Personalis (PSNL) up 7.5% after expansion of Tempus AI strategic collaboration
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) up 1.1% after June sales data
DOWN AFTER EARNINGS –
Methode Electronics (MEI) down 14.0%
AXT Inc (AXTI) down 9.5% after below-consensus Q2 pre-announcement
ALSO LOWER –
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (RARE) down 26.8%, Mereo BioPharma (MREO) down 35.7% after DMC recommendation to continue Orbit study evaluating UX143 in pediatric and young adult patients
Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>>
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US notches worst 3 months for jobs growth since pandemic
US notches worst 3 months for jobs growth since pandemic

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US notches worst 3 months for jobs growth since pandemic

U.S. job growth cooled sharply over the past three months and the unemployment rate rose, showing the labor market is shifting into a lower gear amid widespread economic uncertainty. Payrolls increased 73,000 in July after the prior two months were revised down by nearly 260,000, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report out Friday. In the last three months, employment growth has averaged a paltry 35,000 - the worst since the pandemic. The data send a stronger signal that the labor market is weakening more noticeably. Not only is job growth cooling markedly and unemployment rising, it's harder for unemployed Americans to get a job and wage gains have largely stalled. That poses further risks to a slowdown in consumer and business spending that's already underway. The report caps a week of high-profile data that show underlying economic momentum is cooling and inflation progress is stagnating, reasons why the Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates unchanged again in a divided decision. Chair Jerome Powell maintained that the labor market is solid and the central bank needs to be wary of inflation risks - especially with President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs. "The cracks in the labor market have widened substantially and add further pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and support the dissenting Fed Governors' views that the FOMC should have lowered rates this week," Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic said in a note. She was referring to the Federal Open Market Committee, the panel that sets interest rates. The S&P 500 opened lower while Treasury yields and the dollar fell as traders upped their bets that the Fed will cut rates at their next meeting in September. Officials will see another employment report and a few more on inflation before then. After the report, Trump again called on the Fed to cut rates in a social media post. The sluggish payrolls growth reflected declines in manufacturing, professional and business services as well as government. Downward revisions to local government education payrolls contributed to the overall revisions in the prior two months. Private payrolls rebounded after barely rising in June, in large part due to health care and social assistance. Trump's efforts to pull back on government spending are still rippling through the job market. The federal government shed jobs for a sixth month in July, and unemployment is creeping higher in parts of the country that are hubs for government work, including the nation's capital. The cuts have also spilled over to layoffs at universities and nonprofits reliant on federal funding. Elsewhere in the labor market, demand for workers remains mostly healthy. Vacancies are still hovering above prepandemic levels, and initial applications for unemployment benefits have fallen in recent weeks, suggesting companies are holding on to their workers. Layoffs are generally low, though rising particularly in the tech sector due in part to the rise of artificial intelligence. Data later Friday showed consumer sentiment rose to a five-month high in July on a recent stock-market rally, while U.S. factory activity contracted at the fastest pace in nine months. "The main takeaway from the jobs report is that labor demand appears to be falling faster than labor supply - the labor market is not 'solid,' as Powell characterized it, and we expect him to revise his opinion accordingly. While a rate cut in December remains our base case, we see growing chances of an earlier move." The jobs report is composed of two surveys - one of businesses, which produces the payrolls figures, and another of households, which publishes unemployment and participation, among other metrics. The participation rate - the share of the population that is working or looking for work - dropped to 62.2%, the lowest in nearly three years. The rate for those between the ages of 25 and 54, known as prime-age workers, also declined. Some economists say Trump's immigration crackdown is pushing foreign-born workers out of the labor force, which is taking a toll on participation and also helping keep a lid on unemployment. The rise in joblessness partly reflected more people who lost their jobs outright. The number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or longer rose to 1.83 million, the highest since the end of 2021. The jobless rate among Black Americans rose sharply also to the highest since late 2021. Central bankers pay close attention to how labor supply and demand dynamics are impacting wage gains - especially with inflation risks poised to the upside. The report showed average hourly earnings rose 3.9% from a year ago. ______ (With assistance from Chris Middleton, Jarrell Dillard, Reade Pickert and Nazmul Ahasan.) Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.

Stock market posts worst week in months on renewed economic fears
Stock market posts worst week in months on renewed economic fears

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After months of rallying and periods of relative calm, stocks tumbled Friday as fresh economic data reflected unexpected signs of weakness in the labor market and President Donald Trump announced steep new tariffs against some of America's largest trading partners. The S&P 500 ended the day down 1.6%, capping one of the index's worst weeks since Trump wrought chaos across the global trading system when he unveiled his first round of steep tariffs in April. The benchmark fell 2.4% for the week. On Friday, investors parsed through the president's latest tariff plans and how they might further drive up costs for companies and consumers. But it was a report from the Labor Department that caused the most alarm. U.S. employers added 73,000 jobs in July, fewer than the roughly 100,000 that economists had expected, and the unemployment rate rose slightly. The report also revised down the data on hiring from May and June by a combined 258,000 jobs, suggesting the labor market was under greater strain than initially believed. The weaker-than-expected hiring data, particularly the large downward revisions for May and June, raised concerns about the strength of the economy under Trump and created new uncertainty about the timing of the Federal Reserve's next interest rate cut. With the stock market swooning and his critics raising new questions about the efficacy of his economic policies, Trump took the extraordinary step of publicly calling into the question the veracity of the hiring data. In a social media post Friday afternoon, he blamed, without evidence, a Biden administration appointee in the Bureau of Labor Statistics for producing faulty numbers. Trump's charge did little to soothe investors' concerns about the economy, however, as the market remained lower throughout the afternoon. 'This is the first eye-opening bad number,' said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide. 'It's a reminder that volatility still exists.' Investors had been 'lulled into a sense of complacency' over the past few months as stocks surged, Hackett added. The market rally was headed for a pause, he said, but 'the payroll number really changes the conversation.' As recently as Wednesday, Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, described the labor market as 'solid' when explaining the central bank's decision to keep holding interest rates steady. For Wall Street, the data Friday cast fresh skepticism on that assessment. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds slid more than a tenth of a percentage point, a large move in that market that reflected expectations for lower rates. (Yields move inversely to prices.) The dollar also dropped sharply against other major currencies. Traders' bets on a September rate cut rose to more than 90% Friday, up from roughly 40% the day before, according to CME FedWatch. The Trump administration also seized on the weak hiring numbers to continue to hammer Powell to cut rates soon, to jolt economic growth. Posting on social media, Trump said Powell should 'substantially' lower rates. If he doesn't, the Fed board should 'assume control,' the president said. Friday's losses were steepest in the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index, which fell 2.2%. Stocks in Asia and Europe also lost ground Friday. The declines put a damper on a weekslong rally, supported by solid corporate earnings from many major technology companies. But the downward shift Friday -- the fourth consecutive daily drop for the S&P 500 -- echoed Wall Street's tariff-induced meltdown in April. Back then, rounds of selling pushed the index to the brink of a bear market, before Trump paused his most punitive tariffs. By late June, the S&P 500 had surged to a record high and regained all the ground it lost in March and early April. Analysts have noted that market declines fueled by fears of tariffs have tended to give way to rallies, as deadlines were extended or altered. But now that steeper tariffs are set to take effect Thursday, a renewed escalation of Trump's global trade war -- coupled with signs of weakness in the economy -- is injecting volatility into financial markets again. 'It's kind of a warning sign about where the economy might be headed,' said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. 'The labor market is not nearly on a solid footing as we had thought.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025

Ex-Trump Commissioner Warns of 'Dangerous Precedent' After New Firing
Ex-Trump Commissioner Warns of 'Dangerous Precedent' After New Firing

Newsweek

time2 hours ago

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Ex-Trump Commissioner Warns of 'Dangerous Precedent' After New Firing

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner, was "totally groundless" and "sets a dangerous precedent," warns William Beach, former bureau chief. Newsweek reached out to economic analysts via email for comment Friday. Why It Matters The dismissal of McEntarfer by Trump has raised significant concerns among economists and former officials regarding the independence of the BLS and the integrity of federal economic data. The firing followed the release of bleak job figures for July, as Trump claimed the numbers were "rigged," without providing evidence. The number of new jobs dipped well below even modest expectations, with only 73,000 positions added, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 100,000. The firing coincided with a significant drop in U.S. stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 542 points (1.2 percent), the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite dropped 2.2 percent. This downward movement was attributed to both weak job figures and a new round of U.S. tariffs announced by Trump. What To Know Trump announced McEntarfer's firing on Truth Social Friday, also accusing her of manipulating data to benefit former Vice President Kamala Harris around the 2024 presidential election "to try and boost Kamala's chances of Victory." Beach took to X, formerly Twitter, to voice his frustrations with Trump's decision, saying in part, "The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau." He also attached a full statement, which in part added: "Today, President Trump called into question the integrity of the Employment Situation report that the BLS released this morning. He accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of deliberately reporting false numbers to reflect poorly on this administration. This baseless, damaging claim undermines the valuable work and dedication of BLS staff who produce the reports each month. This escalates the President's unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system." Beach added that he and other Friends of BLS Co-Chairs are calling for Congress to investigate Dr. McEntarfer's removal and to "respond immediately." Trump nominated Beach for commissioner in 2017. The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau. For a full statement opposing this move, read: — William Beach (@BeachWW453) August 1, 2025 McEntarfer's tenure as BLS commissioner began following her 2024 Senate confirmation by an 86-8 vote after being nominated by former President Joe Biden. She previously held senior roles in the Treasury Department, White House Council of Economic Advisers and U.S. Census Bureau, her bio notes. What People Are Saying Justin Wolfers, professor of economics at the University of Michigan, posted to X on Friday: "This is a remarkable — and brave — statement from the guy who was Trump's handpicked BLS Commissioner in Trump's first term." Representative Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio Democrat, posted to X on Friday: "Firing the nonpartisan commissioner of Bureau of Labor Statistics just hours after a deeply worrying report showing serious job loss in manufacturing is what you'd expect in a Banana Republic. Dr. McEntarfer is nonpartisan, and was confirmed with 86 bipartisan votes. This is no way to run a nation." What Happens Next It is immediately unclear who will replace McEntarfer. Trump said in his post on Truth Social that "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified."

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