Mid-Day Market Update: H & R Block Gains Following Upbeat Q3 Results; Wheeler Real Estate Shares Fall

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.52 percent to 24,753.66 while the NASDAQ declined 0.04 percent to 7,369.15. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.22 percent to 2,722.09.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Wednesday, the technology shares gained 0.26 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Autodesk, Inc. ADSK, up 13 percent, and FormFactor, Inc. FORM, up 10 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell 0.61 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR, down 15 percent, and Quanex Building Products Corporation NX down 6 percent.

Top Headline

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF reported better-than-expected quarterly results for its fourth quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch reported adjusted earnings of $1.38 per share on sales of $1.193 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.10 per share on sales of $1.16 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Medifast Inc MED shares shot up 36 percent to $91.12 following a fourth quarter earnings and sales beat. The company issued strong first quarter and FY18 guidance.

Shares of Regenxbio Inc RGNX got a boost, shooting up 17 percent to $34.59 as the company posted strong Q4 results.

H & R Block Inc HRB shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $28.70 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc WHLR shares dropped 20 percent to $3.98 following Q4 results. The investment trust posted funds from operations of $1.7 million.

Shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR were down 15 percent to $88.23 after the company posted downbeat quarterly earnings and issued a weak forecast.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SPPI was down, falling around 13 percent to $18.27 following Q4 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.27 percent to $62.43 while gold traded down 0.40 percent to $1,329.80.

Silver traded down 1.33 percent Wednesday to $16.56, while copper fell 0.74 percent to $3.1355.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.35 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.10 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 1.16 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.84 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.20 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.44 percent.

Economics

Private sector employers added 235,000 jobs for February, according to the ADP national employment report. However, economists were expecting a gain of 195,000 jobs.

The U.S. trade deficit gained 5 percent to 56.6 billion in January, versus $53.9 billion in December. Economists projected a $55.2 billion deficit. Exports slipped 1.3 percent, while imports were unchanged in January.

U.S. nonfarm productivity was unchanged in the fourth quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.10 percent decline.

Domestic crude supplies gained 2.41 million barrels for the week ended March 2, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts expected a gain of 3 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles slipped 788,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 559,000 barrels for the week.

The Federal Open Market Committee will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Data on consumer credit for January will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.