Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Higher; Flexion Receives FDA Nod For Zilretta Label Expansion

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.15% to 28,664.55 while the NASDAQ fell 0.05% to 9,018.25. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.05% to 3,241.67.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed 0.3% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Fiverr International Ltd FVRR, up 3%, and GreenTree Hospitality Group Ltd - ADR GHG, up 11%.

In trading on Friday, energy shares fell 0.3%.

Top Headline

Flexion Therapeutics Inc FLXN said the FDA approved its sNDA for a label expansion for Zilretta in osteoarthritis knee pain.

"ZILRETTA is an invaluable non-opioid option for managing chronic OA knee pain, and it is encouraging to see a new product label that better informs clinical decision making," Dr. John Richmond, a clinician, said in a statement.

Originally, the FDA had set a PDUFA action date of Oct. 14, which was extended by three months.

Equities Trading UP

Iterum Therapeutics plc ITRM shares shot up 132% to $5.69 after the company reported the completion of enrollment in Phase 3 trial of oral sulopenem in uncomplicated urinary tract infection.

Shares of Mereo BioPharma Group plc MREO got a boost, shooting up 54% to $3.31 after jumping 97.25% on Thursday.

Pintec Technology Holdings Limited PT shares were also up, gaining 78% to $2.2768 after the company announced an agreement deal with China Unicom to offer next-generation handset financing services to its broad base of subscribers.

Equities Trading DOWN

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. ACOR shares tumbled 12% to $2.43 after surging 43.23% on Thursday.

Shares of Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. TTPH were down 15% to $3.0465 after climbing 50% on Thursday.

Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. HARP was down, falling 14% to $16.05. Harpoon Therapeutics 8-K showed that the company and Werewolf Therapeutics amended deal to include grant to Werewolf of exclusive, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license under certain patents owned.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.1% to $61.73, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,514.90.

Silver traded down 0.4% Friday to $17.915, while copper fell 0.5% to $2.835.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.4%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.3%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.5%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.6%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.4% while UK shares rose 0.3%.

Economics

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

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

Data on farm prices for November will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.