Mid-Day Market Update: Cardlytics Jumps On Upbeat Q3 Results; Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Shares Plunge

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.04% to 27,701.84 while the NASDAQ fell 0.06% to 8,481.28. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.03% to 3,092.80.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares climbed 1.2% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Companhia Paranaense de Energia - COPEL ELP, up 4%, and PG&E Corporation PCG, up 5%.

In trading on Wednesday, financial shares fell 0.5%.

Top Headline

Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc SPB reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.

Spectrum Brands reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.1 per share. Its sales came in at $993 million, versus expectations of $987.21 million.

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Equities Trading UP

Nortech Systems Incorporated NSYS shares shot up 96% to $5.46 after the company reported Q3 results.

Shares of Electromed, Inc. ELMD got a boost, shooting up 25% to $8.90 after the company announced upbeat Q1 results.

Cardlytics, Inc. CDLX shares were also up, gaining 29% to $51.53 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results. The company also issued FY19 sales guidance above analyst estimates.

Equities Trading DOWN

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. APDN shares tumbled 74% to $4.98 after the company reported pricing of upsized $12.0 million underwritten public offering.

Shares of Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. DFFN were down 51% to $0.2637 after the company announced a $4 million offering of common stock and warrants.

Exela Technologies, Inc. XELA was down, falling 40% to $0.3579 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results. The company also issued FY19 sales guidance below analyst estimates.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.8% to $57.25, while gold traded up 0.8% to $1,465.30.

Silver traded up 1% Wednesday to $16.865, while copper fell 0.4% to $2.635.

Euro zone


European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.29%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.34%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.94%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.45%, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.22% while UK shares fell 0.19%.

Economics

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% for October, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.3% increase.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak in La Crosse, Wisconsin at 1:30 p.m. ET.

The U.S. Treasury budget report for October will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak in Wilmington, Delaware at 7:30 p.m. ET.