60% Increase In US Covid Cases In Fortnight

US Covid cases increased by 60 percent in the last fortnight, according to the New York Times’ latest tally.

With 30890 new cases reporting on Sunday, the total number of people infected with the killer bug in the country has risen to 82,476,893, as per Johns Hopkins University’s latest data.

With 32 Covid deaths, the total U.S. Covid casualties reached 999,607.

All other Covid metrics in the U.S. are showing an upward trend.

Hospitalizations due to the viral disease increased by 24 percent in the last fortnight, while 15 percent rise was recorded in ICU admissions in the same period.

21,547 patients are remaining in the country’s hospitals for treatment for the viral disease. Out of this, 2,302 patients are admitted in intensive care units.

81,282,964 people have so far recovered from the disease, the Worldometer tally shows.

As per the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 220,597,701 Americans, or 66.4 percent of the eligible population, have been administered both doses of Covid vaccine so far. This includes 90.7 percent of people above 65.

46.3 percent of the eligible population, or 102,232,228 people, have already received a booster dose that is recommended to provide additional protection from the killer virus.

625 additional deaths were reported globally on Sunday, taking the total number of people who lost their lives due to the pandemic so far to 6,264,178.

Gold Prices Hit Over One-week High

Gold prices rose about 1 percent on Monday to hover near a one-week high as a calmer mood in equity markets pressured the dollar.

A persistent COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing and fears of slower economic growth also supported safe haven buying of the precious metal.

Spot gold rose about 1 percent to $1,864.21 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 1.1 percent at $1,862.80.

Equity markets steadied and the dollar weakened after U.S. President Joe Biden said he was weighing cutting tariffs on Chinese goods.

“I am considering it. We did not impose any of those tariffs. They were imposed by the last administration and they’re under consideration,” Biden said.

On the COVID-19 front, Beijing extended work-from-home guidance for many of its 22 million residents after reporting 99 new infections for the previous day, the largest daily tally so far during a month-old outbreak.

Elsewhere, Shanghai deployed more testing and curbs to hold on to its hard-won ‘zero COVID’ status after two months of lockdown.

Denmark registers first case of monkeypox infection

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark has registered its first incidence of infection with monkeypox in an adult male who had returned from a trip to Spain, the health ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“Health authorities do not expect widespread infection in Denmark, but we are following the situation closely to be prepared for a possible development in the infection situation,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said in a statement.

The man is currently in isolation and authorities are in touch with any close contacts, the ministry said.

Seagen Announces Positive Topline Results Of Phase 2 MOUNTAINEER Trial Of TUKYSA With Trastuzumab

Seagen Inc. (SGEN) announced Monday positive topline results from the pivotal phase 2 MOUNTAINEER clinical trial investigating TUKYSA (tucatinib) in combination with trastuzumab in patients with previously treated HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

The results showed a 38.1% confirmed objective response rate (cORR) per blinded independent central review (BICR). The median duration of response (DoR) per BICR was 12.4 months. The combination of tucatinib and trastuzumab was generally well-tolerated.

The company said data from this trial will form the basis of a planned supplemental New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program.

Merck, known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, is commercializing TUKYSA in regions outside of the U.S., Canada and Europe and plans to discuss these results with health authorities as it continues to accelerate the filing of TUKYSA in its territory.

People with HER2-positive previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer have a significant unmet need for new therapies.

Pre-market Movers: SIGA, VMW, EVTL, TNXP, EBS…

The following are some of the stocks making big moves in Monday’s pre-market trading (as of 06.45 A.M. ET).

In the Green

SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA) is up over 37% at $17.11
VMware, Inc. (VMW) is up over 19% at $114
Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (EVTL) is up over 18% at $7
Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (TNXP) is up over 16% at $2.97
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) is up over 14% at $40.44
Chimerix, Inc. (CMRX) is up over 13% at $2.67
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL) is up over 12% at $7.60
FinVolution Group (FINV) is up over 6% at $3.98
Ouster, Inc. (OUST) is up over 6% at $2.53

In the Red

Bright Green Corporation (BGXX) is down over 8% at $10.30
NeuroMetrix, Inc. (NURO) is down over 8% at $3.95
Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NM) is down over 8% at $3.01
Redbox Entertainment Inc. (RDBX) is down over 6% at $4.98

XPeng Q1 Net Loss Widens, Revenues Climb; Sees Revenue Growth In Q2

Chinese smart electric vehicle company XPeng Inc. (XPEV) reported Monday that its first-quarter net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB1.70 billion or $268.3 million, compared with RMB786.6 million for the same period of 2021.

Adjusted net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of XPeng was RMB1,528.2 million or $241.1 million, compared with RMB696.3 million last year.

Net loss per American depositary share was RMB2.00 or $0.32, compared with RMB0.99 last year.

Adjusted net loss per ADS was RMB1.80 or $0.28, compared with RMB0.88 a year ago.

Total revenues were RMB7,454.9 million or $1.18 billion, an increase of 152.6 percent from RMB2,950.9 million in the same period last year, but down 12.9 percent sequentially.

Total deliveries reached 9,002 vehicles in April 2022, representing a 75 percent increase year-over-year.

Looking ahead for the second quarter, the company expects total revenues to be between RMB6.8 billion and RMB7.5 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of approximately 80.8 percent to 99.4 percent.

Deliveries of vehicles to be between 31,000 and 34,000, representing a year-over-year increase of approximately 78.2 percent to 95.4 percent.