Oil Prices Reverse Early Losses As Recession Worries Ease

Oil prices were unchanged on Friday, reversing an early slide as strong service sector data from Asia and Europe helped calm market fears that a recession may be imminent.

Benchmark Brent crude futures were marginally higher at $84.79 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were virtually unchanged at $78.16.

Oil prices headed for a weekly gain of nearly 2 percent amid a pullback in the dollar and on optimism over China’s demand recovery.

Activity in China’s services sector expanded at the fastest pace in six months in February due to easing of pandemic-era restriction, a private sector survey showed earlier today.

Japan’s services sector in February expanded at its fastest rate since June 2022, while the services sector in Australia bounced back into expansion in February, separate reports showed.

Elsewhere in Europe, S&P Global’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached an eight-month high of 52.0 last month from 50.3 in January, helping ease worries of a euro zone recession for now.

Meanwhile, the dollar index eased and was on course for its first weekly loss since January after comments from a Federal Reserve official raised hopes that the Fed with stick with a 25-bps rate hike at its next meeting in March.

141 Nations Back UN Motion Demanding Russian Withdrawal From Ukraine

The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution calling on Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw all of its military forces from the war ravaged country.

The resolution was introduced at an emergency special session on the eve of the first anniversary of the war.

141 UN Member States voted in favor of the resolution and seven countries, including Russia, Belarus, North Korea and Syria, voted against it. Among the 32 abstentions were China, India and Pakistan.

The Assembly, through the resolution, urged Member States to cooperate in the spirit of solidarity to address the global impacts of the war on food security, energy, finance, the environment and nuclear security and safety.

The Assembly also emphasized the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Ukraine through independent national or international investigations and prosecutions

The world body on Thursday rejected an amendment proposed by Belarus that calls on Member States to refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict.

Pre-market Movers: SLS, BAER, LUNR, OCEA, BIGC…

The following are some of the stocks making big moves in Friday’s pre-market trading (as of 07.35 A.M. ET).

In the Green

Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (BAER) is up over 28% at $5.67.
Intuitive Machines, Inc. (LUNR) is up over 17% at $23.75.
Nyxoah S.A. (NYXH) is up over 16% at $5.71.
Monopar Therapeutics Inc. (MNPR) is up over 14% at $3.75.
Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) is up over 13% at $19.51.
Millicom International Cellular S.A. (TIGO) is up over 9% at $20.58.
Cryoport, Inc. (CYRX) is up over 8% at $22.30.
Guardant Health, Inc. (GH) is up over 7% at $27.79.
MediaAlpha, Inc. (MAX) is up over 7% at $15.62.
Farfetch Limited (FTCH) is up over 7% at $5.34.
Block, Inc. (SQ) is up over 6% at $79.25.
Tenon Medical, Inc. (TNON) is up over 6% at $2.59.

In the Red

SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. (SLS) is down over 36% at $2.33.
Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (OCEA) is down over 16% at $9.00.
BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) is down over 16% at $9.51.
Sweetgreen, Inc. (SG) is down over 13% at $8.01.
CS Disco, Inc. (LAW) is down over 11% at $8.25.
Ambrx Biopharma Inc. (AMAM) is down over 7% at $6.06.
Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated (DBD) is down over 7% at $2.77.
Edison International (EIX) is down over 5% at $62.00.
Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) is down over 5% at $18.00.

Gold Inches Higher On Weaker Dollar

Gold prices inched higher on Friday and looked set to post their biggest weekly gain since mid-January as U.S. rate hike worries eased.

Spot gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,846.46 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.6 percent at $1,851.50.

The dollar index eased and was on course for its first weekly loss since January after comments from a Federal Reserve official raised hopes that the Fed with stick with a 25-bps rate hike at its next meeting in March.

Treasury yields also declined after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said he favored “slow and steady” path of interest rate hikes.

In economic releases, strong service sector data from Asia and Europe helped calm market fears that a recession may be imminent.

The U.S. ISM non-manufacturing PMI numbers and several FOMC member speeches are due later in the New York session, heading into Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony and the release of U.S. employment data next week.

Veru: FDA Declines To Grant Request For Emergency Use Authorization For Sabizabulin

Veru Inc. (VERU) announced the FDA has declined to grant at this time the company’s request for Emergency Use Authorization for sabizabulin for treatment of hospitalized adult patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 who are at high risk for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

The FDA also provided comments on a proposed confirmatory Phase 3 study protocol submitted by the company for hospitalized moderate to severe COVID-19 patients at risk for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and death that could support a new EUA authorization and/or NDA approval. FDA said in the potential confirmatory Phase 3 clinical study design: “strong consideration should be given to appropriate time frames for interim analyses so that – should a strong efficacy signal again be observed – the trial could be stopped in an efficient time frame.”

Shares of Veru are down 31% in pre-market trade on Friday.

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