Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Down 3%; MTBC Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.03 percent to 21,322.68 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.05 percent to 6,223.56. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.08 percent to 2,438.50.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services sector was the top gainer in the US market on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell by 1.58 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. TOO, down 9 percent, and Whiting Petroleum Corp WLL, down 9 percent.

Top Headline

H & R Block Inc HRB reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share on Tuesday.

H & R Block reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $3.76 per share on revenue of $2.328 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $3.53 per share on sales of $2.32 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Medical Transcription Billing Corp MTBC shares shot up 20 percent to $1.85 following the release of a PR announcing the launch of MTBC WebSoft.

Shares of WOLVERINE BANCORP, INC. WBKC got a boost, shooting up 23 percent to $39.17. Horizon Bancorp HBNC announced plans to merge with Wolverine Bancorp.

H & R Block Inc HRB shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $29.69 after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc ALDX shares dropped 11 percent to $4.57 after the company disclosed that its Phase 2b trial did not meet primary endpoint.

Shares of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. HA were down 11 percent to $48.87. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Hawaiian from Hold to Sell and lowered the price target from $60.00 to $40.00.

Liberty Tax Inc TAX was down, falling around 10 percent to $11.60 after the company reported weak Q4 earnings.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 3.1 percent to $45.02 while gold traded up 0.81 percent to $1,278.90.

Silver traded up 2.58 percent Wednesday to $17.20, while copper fell 0.35 percent to $2.5875.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.07 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.39 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.05 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.64 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 0.16 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.04 percent.

Economics

The Consumer Price Index dropped 0.10 percent for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.10 percent growth.

U.S. retail sales declined 0.30 percent for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.10 percent gain.

U.S. business inventories declined 0.20 percent in April, compared to economists’ expectations for a 0.20 percent drop.

Domestic crude supplies dropped 1.66 million barrels for the week ended June 9, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. Gasoline stockpiles gained 2.1 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles increased 328,000 barrels last week.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.