Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.27 percent to 21,840.68 while the NASDAQ declined 0.36 percent to 6,274.96. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.28 percent to 2,445.69.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the energy shares climbed by 0.40 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included CGG SA (ADR) CGG, up 28 percent, and Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. HOS, up 14 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, healthcare shares fell by 0.45 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Compugen Ltd. (USA) CGEN, down 4 percent, and Insmed Incorporated INSM down 3 percent.
Top Headline
Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported weaker-than-expected profit for its second quarter on Wednesday.
Lowe's earned $1.57 per share in the second quarter on revenue of $19.5 billion, while Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.61 per share on revenue of $19.53 billion. Net earnings for the quarter rose from $1.2 billion a year ago to $1.4 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc ITCI shares shot up 30 percent to $14.70 after the company issued positive regulatory update on schizophrenia program.
Shares of Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc PRTK got a boost, shooting up 35 percent to $25.80 after Bloomberg reported that the company is exploring strategic options, including a potential sale.
Express, Inc. EXPR shares were also up, gaining 23 percent to $6.72 after the company posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
Equities Trading DOWN
Precipio Inc PRPO shares dropped 48 percent to $2.35. Precipio reported that it has priced its $6,000,000 public offering.
Shares of Root9B Holdings Inc RTNB were down 23 percent to $2.32. Root9B Holdings has issued secured convertible promissory notes for principal amount of $500,000.
La-Z-Boy Incorporated LZB was down, falling around 19 percent to $25.25 as the company posted weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Tuesday.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.44 percent to $48.04 while gold traded up 0.19 percent to $1,293.50.
Silver traded up 0.15 percent Wednesday to $17.085, while copper fell 0.27 percent to $2.9995.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.62 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.87 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.73 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.50 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.45 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.02 percent.
Economics
The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity declined 0.5 percent for the latest week.
The IHS Markit flash manufacturing PMI dropped to 52.5 in August, compared to 53.3 in July. The services PMI climbed to 56.9, versus 54.7 in July.
New-home sales dropped 9.4 percent to an annual rate of 571,000 in July. However, economists were expecting a 616,000 rate.
Domestic crude supplies dropped 3.33 million barrels for the week ended August 18, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a fall of 3.45 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles slipped 1.22 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose 28,000 barrels last week.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Midland, Texas at 1:05 p.m. ET.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
