U.S. stock futures experienced a significant downturn on October 3, 2023, with the Dow futures dropping nearly 700 points. This decline was primarily influenced by a sharp fall in shares of Valneva SE, which reported troubling news regarding its chikungunya vaccine. Valneva announced the withdrawal of its IXCHIQ Biologics License Application (BLA) and Investigational New Drug (IND) submission in the U.S. following a suspension from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a review of new serious adverse events. As a result, Valneva’s shares plunged 7.7% to $9.29 in pre-market trading.
Several other companies also faced declines as traders reacted to the broader market sentiment. Rezolve AI PLC saw a notable drop, with shares falling 15% to $3.92. Meanwhile, POET Technologies Inc experienced a decline of 11.2%, bringing its shares down to $7.37.
Other Notable Declines in Pre-Market Trading
In addition to Valneva, a variety of companies reported significant losses in pre-market trading. Forward Industries Inc fell 10.5% to $7.70, reversing its previous gain of 4% on Friday. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc experienced a decline of 9.9%, reaching $7.59, while Bakkt Holdings Inc dropped 9.5% to $19.38 after a substantial gain of 10% the prior session.
Other companies facing declines included Applovin Corp, which decreased 9.5% to $515.03, and ALT5 Sigma Corp, down 8.9% to $2.36. Notably, ALT5 Sigma recently reported regaining compliance with Nasdaq regulations.
Additional losses were reported by HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd, which fell 7.7% to $3.20, and Aeva Technologies Inc, which declined 6.8% to $18.01. Bitdeer Technologies Group and Terrestrial Energy Inc both saw declines of 6.8% and 6.3%, respectively.
Tesla Inc also faced a decline, with shares dropping 2.7% to $425.75. CEO Elon Musk confirmed that vehicles equipped with the AI4 chip will be capable of achieving unsupervised autonomous driving without requiring additional upgrades. Meanwhile, NVIDIA Corp saw its shares decrease 2.4% to $181.77.
As trading continues, investors and analysts will be closely monitoring these developments, particularly the implications of Valneva’s vaccine withdrawal and its impact on market sentiment.
