US stocks fluctuated amid an unexpected decline in jobless claims, while European equities plunged and the euro rose on concern additional stimulus will fail to boost inflation and revive the economy. Crude sank below $90 for the first time in 17 months.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell less than 0.1% at 10:04 am in New York, after the gauge plunged 1.3% on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 1.6%, the most since March. The euro rose for the first time in three days versus the dollar.

Semina Industria e Comercio Ltda, The Female Health Company (NASDAQ:FHCO) distributor in Brazil, wins an exclusive contract via public tender to supply up to 50M FC2 Female Condoms to the Brazilian Ministry of Health through August 20, 2015. The government will order at its discretion. Pricing is undisclosed. Separately, the company announces that preliminary FC2 unit sales for fiscal Q4 (ended September 30) was 9.7M (+15%).

Thinly-traded nano cap GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCMKTS:GOVX) announces that it has initiated an Ebola vaccine development program based on its DNA/MVA (modified vaccinia Ankara) platform.It will develop GOVX-E301 as a single dose vaccine to the ZEBOV strain of Ebola, which is the strain responsible for the current outbreak, and two-dose GOVX-E302 for routine immunization and protection against the three Ebola strains known to be lethal to humans.

Thinly-traded nano cap Heat Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBX) jumps 29% premarket, albeit on turnover of only 2100 shares, in response to the company's announcement that it dosed the ninth and final patient in the Phase 1 portion of its Phase 1/2 clinical trial of Vesigenurtacel-L in patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The company expects to start Phase 2 this quarter, which is a quarter earlier than originally reported.

The FDA designates Ariad Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:ARIA) investigational cancer drug, AP26113, a Breakthrough Therapy for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive (ALK+) metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are resistant to crizotinib (NYSE:PFE).

Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY) earns a $60M milestone payment from Novartis (NYSE:NVS) related to reimbursement of Jakavi (ruxolitinib) in Europe. Incyte will record the amount as contract revenue in Q3. Novartis has exclusive development and commercialization rights to ruxolitinib ex-U.S. for all hematologic and oncologic indications. Incyte retains the rights in the U.S. It sells ruxolitinib under the brand name Jakafi.