- The Nasdaq closed down 0.4% at 14,839 on Friday but added 1.1% for the week.
- Groupon shares tumbled 14% on second-quarter results.
- Novavax plummeted 19% on delaying its U.S. COVID-19 vaccine submission.
The US markets closed mixed on Friday as US payrolls and unemployment data showed the economy added 943,000 jobs in July, and the jobless rate fell to 5.4%, indicating the labour market is strengthening amid the growing Delta COVID-19 threat.
The Dow Jones rose 0.41% to finish the trading day up 144 points to close at 35,209 points. For the week the
The tech heavy NASDAQ fell 0.4% to finish the trading day down 59 points to close at 14,836 points
One bitcoin is worth US$44,107 going into the Asian trading day.
The Australian dollar is firm against the major currencies and is buying 73.32 US cents.
Shares in online coupon marketplace Groupon tumbled more than 14% on Friday after the company released second-quarter results. For the period, Groupon beat analysts expectations for EPS at US$0.33/share compared to the expected US$0.22/share, as investors focused closer on the 33% decline YoY of revenues to US$266m and an increase of marketing expenses by 73% to US$43.7m.
US-based biotech company Novavax plummeted on Friday after it delayed submission in the U.S. for its COVID-19 vaccine for a third time, pushing it back to the fourth quarter. Novavax has already filed for emergency use authorisation in India, Indonesia and the Philippines, and expects to submit the vaccine for authorisation in Australia, the UK, Europe, Canada and NZ in the third quarter. The biotech company also reported a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss of US$4.75/share, compared to the expected US$3.63/share.
And Tesla and Amazon are requiring workers in factories to wear masks even if they are fully vaccinated as the growing Delta COVID-19 outbreak has been known to infect even those who are fully vaccinated.